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Ticks and fleas:
If your pets are infested, wash them well with soap
and warm water, dry them thoroughly and use this herbal
rinse: Add 1/2 cup (125 ml) of fresh or dried rosemary
to a quart/liter of boiling water. Steep 20 minutes,
strain, and allow to cool to body temperature. Spray
or sponge evenly onto pet and allow to air dry. Do not
towel down as this will remove the residue. Make sure
pets are dry before letting them outside.
Flies:
Sunny windows are flies’ most common entrance
into your home, so close windows before the sun hits
them. Use regular sticky flypaper to catch unwelcome
flying guests. You can make your own with honey and
yellow paper.
Ants:
Locate the place of entry, squeeze a lemon onto it and
leave the peel. Ants will also retreat from lines of
talcum powder, chalk, bone meal, charcoal dust and cayenne
pepper.
Cockroaches:
Plug all small cracks along baseboards, wall shelves,
cupboards and around pipes, sinks, and bathtub fixtures.
For a trap, you can try lightly greasing the inner neck
of a milk bottle and putting a little stale beer or
a raw potato in it.
Moths:
Keep vulnerable clothes clean, dry and well aired —
moths are attracted to your body’s oils on the
clothing. Camphor can be used, as it is the major, non-toxic,
ingredient of moth balls. To trap moths, mix 1 part
molasses with 2 parts vinegar and place it in a margarine
or yogurt container. Clean regularly. Cedar chips or
black pepper also work well as all-natural moth deterrents.
Cedar chips can be placed in cloth bags and hung in
the closet or placed in drawers.
Fruit Flies:
Pour a small amount of beer into a wide-mouth jar. Put
a plastic bag across the mouth of the jar with a rubber
band. Poke a small hole in the bag. Flies will enter
through the hole and not be able to find their way out
again. Change the beer when necessary.
House Plant Pests:
Blend 2 or 3 very hot peppers, 1/2 onion and 1 clove
garlic in water, boil, and steep for two days and strain.
Used as a spray, this liquid is good for indoor and
outdoor plants and can be frozen for future use. Also
try spraying 2 Tbsp (30 ml) liquid soap, or 5 grams
dry soap, diluted in 1 quart/liter of water. Remember
to spray with fresh water a few days afterwards (the
shower can be used for this).
Silverfish:
Traps can be made with a mixture of 1 part molasses
to 2 parts vinegar. Place near cracks and holes where
pests live. Silverfish can be repelled by treating baseboards,
table legs and cracks in cupboards with a mixture of
borax and sugar or honey.
Spiders:
Under ideal conditions, do not kill spiders because
they help to control pests.
Stored Food Pests:
Keep mites and moths out of your staples by drying food
in a warm oven for one hour or by freezing for 2-3 days.
Always store food in air tight containers.
Weevils:
Their favorite foods are beans and grains. To keep weevils
away, hang small cloth sacks of black pepper in your
food bins or around your food storage area. A few soap
berries per bushel of stored wheat will also drive out
weevils.
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