Control common house and garden pests with safe, non-toxic pesticides that you can make from household ingredients. Here are few tips.

Do It Yourself Organic Pest Control

Most people consider pest control as a boundless combat between them and the pest. No matter how clean your house or backyard is, pest infestation is bound to occur. The question is how do you leave a low environmental impact and still control or prevent pests like bugs, rodents, ticks, fleas, mosquitoes and insects. You need to deal with the problem before it goes out of control. Pest like cockroaches, rodents, termites, bees, ants, ticks and many such are attracted to homes because of the shelter, food and warmth. Some of the pests are simply frustrating, others like mice and rats carry diseases, and some others like spiders can be poisonous. It is always a good idea to know the type of pest problem that you have, so that you can address it effectively. Better deal with the problem in the initial stages, or else they will start infesting all over the place. There are many insecticides available in the market but they pose long term environment and health hazards. The alternative is to use homemade, non-toxic pesticides made from ingredients available at your home. If you are interested in do-it-yourself pest control, read more for safe natural pesticides that you can make at home, and are effective against any pests.
 
Homemade Organic Pesticides
  • Prevention is always better than cure. To prevent bug infestations make sure all the cracks in the house are well sealed. The windows and doors should be sealed with proper fitting screens to keep out the mosquitoes, cockroaches, ants, and spiders. Avoid keeping plants close to the outside walls, keep your food covered, store clothing in plastic bags, clear the debris, and cover your garbage bin.
  • Garlic is considered to be a natural pesticide and insect repellent. Planting garlic along with tomatoes keeps the red spider mites away. Spraying garlic spray in ponds can kill the mosquitoes.
  • You can prepare garlic spray at home. In a bowl add 4 ounces of finely chopped garlic bulbs, and soak them for a day. Dissolve one teaspoon of fish emulsion in one pint of water. Mix this with the garlic-water solution. Filter this liquid, and store in a glass container. While using this mixture dilute one part of the solution to 20 parts of water. This kills mosquitoes, aphids, red ants and onion flies.
  • You can prepare tomato leaf insect spray by crushing tomato leaves in a blender. To the blended tomato leaves, mix 4 pints of water along with one tablespoon of cornstarch. Filter this liquid, and store in the fridge. Use it according to your requirements.        
  • Insecticidal soap is very effective against garden pests like caterpillars, spider mites, beetles, fleas, aphids, whiteflies, and leafhoppers. It has to be sprayed directly on the pest. This soap becomes more potent when mixed with rotenone. When mixed with natural oils it can be used to rid powdery mildew.  
  • Onion and mint are excellent repellents against beetles, fleas, and bugs. Neem, sabadilla, pyrethrin, rotenone are some of the best known organic pesticides. These are quite effective against aphids, beetles, bugs and mites.
  • Borax or boric acid is an effective biocide and fungicide, especially when it is combined with hydrogen peroxide. It kills toxic molds and fungus. It is also effective against ants, ticks, termites, cockroaches, fleas, and other insects.
  • Hang up an orange peel or cloves, or lots of basil and mint around the house to keep the flies away. To get rid of moths, keep cheesecloth bags of mixtures containing 1/2 pound rosemary, 1/4 pound thyme, 1/4 pound ginseng (optional), 1/2 pound mint, and 2 tablespoons of cloves in your drawers and closets.
  • To eliminate ants, mix vinegar in a 1:1 ratio with water, and wash the kitchen surfaces with this solution. Another option is to put bone meal, powdered charcoal or lemon in areas where the ants surface.

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