KEEP YOUR HOUSE CRITTER FREE

With winter fast approaching, outdoor critters seeking to regulate their temperature are trying their best to get inside. Ants, spiders, moths, mosquitoes, fruit flies, stink bugs, termites, silverfish, and ladybugs, to name a few, can easily make their way into homes, and once they've settled in, it's often hard to get them out.

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Chemical insect solutions are bountiful, but have a range of dangerous consequences for human health and the environment. Insecticide exposure is linked to respiratory and neurologic symptoms, disruption to hormonal balances, and both birth defects and compromised immune systems in infants. These chemicals also impact local ecosystems and destroy delicate balances within food chains; they often kill non-target species as well, and contaminate the air, water, and soil.

As pesky as flies and ants are, it's important to keep them out of our homes through natural means to protect both ourselves and the environment. Here are a few ways to deter and eliminate pests in your home without reaching for chemicals.

1. Mint

Use mint to keep ants, mosquitoes, spiders, and mice away.

Mix 10 to 15 drops of peppermint oil with 250ml of water and put in a spray bottle or, keep a mint plant (indoors or outdoors) to make a homemade spray.

Crush one cup of mint leaves and add to two cups of boiling water. Stir for a few minutes, then allow the mixture to cool before straining and pouring into a spray bottle. Spray the mixture where these species are spotted, focusing especially on entry points like vents, doorways, and windows. Bags of mint tea are also quite effective.

2. Neem oil

Derived from the seeds of the neem tree, neem oil is safe for humans and animals, but kills more than 200 species of insects. It’s also found as an ingredient in cosmetics, toothpaste, soap, and some shampoo.

House plants plagued with thrips, aphids, or white flies will benefit from a spray of the oil every once in a while. It can also be used as a fungicide to combat many common houseplant diseases.

Try using neem oil in the garden as well if pests are harming your outdoor plants.