Pest Precautions and Treatments

Here in our neck of the woods, people are already complaining of having to share their homes with unwelcome guests--MICE and BUGS!!! So, now is the time to gather our defences against them BEFORE they take hold.

I have spoken to people who had to put up with the nasty mice all fall, winter and most of the summer at their houses. Today, I learned of a recently human vacated house in Wichita County. Unfortunately, the people forget to pack their mice to go with them to their new house--or maybe they never planned on taking them with them. Hmm...

First of all, prevention is always the best measure when you don't want mice or bugs. On the exterior of your home, make sure that grass, flowers, etc. are cut short and that dead leaves, etc. are raked away from your home. Mice and bugs use the overgrowth of this as a hiding place. Hopefully, when they do not find a hiding place at your house, they'll move on down the road.

Take a good look around the exterior of your home. If you find any unnecessary cracks, holes such as around dryer vents, fill them up with steel wool, caulk, etc. Use steel wool around any and all pipe that goes in or out of your house. This filling in around your pipes alone will go along way in keeping bugs and mice OUT. Remember that mice and bugs need a gap only as big as a DIME to get into your home. Plus, any size of gap allows drafts and moisture to enter your home. Of course, that is not good either.

Cleanliness goes a long way in the fight against pests. Mice and bugs take cover behind trash and clutter. When bugs and mice cannot find any easily accessible food, they are forced to move on. Any crumbs or liquids left on counters and floors, will only serve to keep your pests around. Flour is a major attraction for bugs and mice. It should be kept inside your refrigerator or in canisters with seals such as Tupperware. Since mice and bugs need water for survival also, make sure that any water leaks are fixed immediately.

Here are some natural and HEALTHY remedies against these varments:

Ant problems? The most common "house ants" are grease and sugar ants. Deter them by sprinkling cayenne pepper or paprica or peppermint leaves across their trails. If you are feeling that they have invaded your house, dust Boric Acid into cracks and crevices with a soft paintbrush. Hardware stores usually sell Boric Acid.

Cockroaches??? Cockroaches are devious little creatures. They've been here for millions of years and there is a reason for their long existence. Their antenae can actually sense chemical pesticides which will cause you a very difficult job of ridding your home of these nasties. The strong scent of SOAP actually repels them so clean, clean, CLEAN! Catnip Oil is a big turn-off for cockroaches. Prepare catnip tea to "serve" to them by mixing 1 tsp. of the oil to 1 quart of water. Place it in a spray bottle and then spray it around baseboards.

Are beetles, weevils and grain moths buggin' you? All that you need to do is place a cinnamon stick or a bay leaf in your flour, pasta or grains. These strong-smelling spices will repel or kill insects without affecting the foods flavor or smell.

If flies are getting to you, go to a hardware store and buy a non-treated sticky flypaper and hang it from your ceilings near exterior doors and it will catch and kill them.

Use great caution whenever you are handling concentrated essential oils. Always wear gloves, long pants, sleeves and a face mask. If you don't want to do that, try MITESOUT!, a cleansing spray that uses neem oil to kill dust mites, a common allergen. Spray it directly on fabrics, mattresses, carpet and other cloth surfaces.

Orange GUARD, a water-based indoor/outdoor insecticide may be used around food, humans and pets since it is made from extractions from orange peel, it works on ants, roaches, fleas and silverfish.

VICTOR POISON-FREE ANT AND ROACH KILLER uses a mint oil and a lecithin formula to help kill soft-bodied insects.

One or two pests are nuisances but if you do nothing to rid them from your home, you are looking at a nasty invasion of your home. Besides being unsightly, they are real health hazards. Chemical pest control can be very dangerous to adults and children.

1. Pyrethrin-based pesticides can effect neurological development, disrupt hormones, intice cancers and suppress the immune system. Pregnant should really be aware of these poisons because they can harm a fetus' developing nervous system. They also cause miscarriages a long time before the mother shows any other signs of being poisoned herself.

2. Roach and Ant pesticides can depress the central nervous system and respiratory tracts and cause muscle weakness, dizziness, headaches and nausea. Research has shown that they are capable of damaging DNA and negatively affect neurological and respiratory health in children. Bottom line: DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!

VLE-B