In my opinion, the only thing worse than having a bug-infested house is having a chemical-infested house. Before reaching for toxic pesticides to deter unwanted six-legged visitors, it's worth trying a natural remedy. With the help of Annie Bond (author of Better Basics for the Home) and Gretchen Paluch (director of basic research at EcoSmart), we gave recipes for homemade remedies for ants, bedbugs, flies, mice, and roaches in our June issue. But these over-the-counter solutions are also worth a shot. Click below the slideshow for buying info.
1 Orange Guard uses d-Limonene, which is steam distilled from orange peels, to repel and suffocate insects.
2 The active ingredient in Victor's Poison-Free Ant and Roach Killer is mint oil.
3 Safer Brand's Pantry Pest trap protects grains, flours, and other dried foods from the critters that love them using a pheromone lure and nontoxic glue.
4 EcoSmart's Bed Bug Repellent contains peppermint and rosemary oil.
1. Orange Guard, $16 for 2 32-oz. spray bottles
2. Victor Poison-Free Ant and Roach Killer, $6.50 for a 17.5-oz. can
3. Safer Brand Pantry Pest Trap, $14 for four traps
4. EcoSmart Bedbug Repellent, from $7 for two 2.75-oz. travel sprays
From: Deloris Anderson | 5/3/11 at 2:43 pm
Hi I keep hose on hot water when earwigs come and if i see them on steps or round outside of house i spray hot water, also at night take flashlight and small hammer to kill them i have killed hundreds like that.
leave few cookie crumbs on your deck rail when they come to eat kill them .
my husband made me wooden traps 12 inches long 1/4 inch thick by 4 inches wide, he sawed grooves across it they hide in the groves ,it is easy to get them this way .D Anderson