Pest control is quite complicated and complex. There are so many products that only work with a certain type of pest, and they are so difficult to use that sometimes we feel lost with all the options. However, some remedies we can buy from organic shops or produce ourselves are much easier to use than the industrial ones. Let’s take a look at 9 natural remedies for pest control and how to use them. If you need help with pest control in Virginia Beach, keep reading.
- Coffee grounds
Do you like to drink an excellent homemade coffee? What if you can use the coffee grounds for more than making the drink? Yes, coffee grounds are a perfect natural remedy for pest control. You can use your leftover grounds in spots outside your home where you suspect the pests may be coming in. Several critters can’t stand the smell of the coffee grounds, so they’ll keep their distance. Ants and other problems will also be disturbed by the grounds.
- Apple cider vinegar
Are you having problems with fruit flies? Don’t worry; apple cider vinegar may help you with that. All you have to do is pour a little apple cider vinegar into a small bowl. Then, you cover the bowl with plastic wrap and use your pencil or something of the same size to punch some holes in the plastic. The apple cider will attract the fruit flies, which will enter the bowl but won’t be able to get out.
- Essential oils
Essential oils such as eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender, spearmint, tea tree, and more are great to make your own dust mite repellent spray. You need to mix the essential oil with water, put it in a spray bottle, and shake well. Use it to mist linens and furniture and let the spray air dry.
Some pests hate certain smells. For example, if you use 10 to 15 drops of tea tree oil in a spray bottle with 1 cup of water and spray it just as stated earlier, you will keep the bugs away. It may also work with bed bugs and flies, and Peppermint essential oil is good to keep the ants away.
It is vital to notice that all natural remedies need to be applied more frequently but are as practical or even more effective than other pest control methods.
- Onion
Onions are delicious, and what’s even better than using the onions’ leftovers to keep spiders away? Although spiders are a great help in most cases since they are natural predators of some horrible pests, they may be a problem in some places since there are poison spiders. Therefore, you should pay attention to whether the spider species near your house are poisonous or secure.
To keep the spiders away, slice up some onions and toss them in a water bowl. Then you place it where spiders enter your home, and they’ll keep their distance.
- Natural fly traps
To create a natural fly trap, you must fill an empty soda bottle with sweetened water – you can add anything you want to make it sweet, like sugar, honey, syrup, or even overripe fruit since fruits are sweeter when they are overripe. Add some drops of any vinegar, shake it, and it is ready. This trap will be great to keep bees away since they’ll come for the sweet in the water but won’t be able to fly back out while their wings are wet.
Of course, in many places, this is not necessary, and bees are already facing extinction, and we shouldn’t do anything that risks their safety since they are essential to our lives. So only do this natural fly trap if you have a big bee problem you couldn’t solve by calling the responsible authorities.
- Banana peel
Everyone likes bananas, but what should we do after we eat them? It feels a bit wasteful to throw the banana peel away, right? Well, luckily there are several things you can do with it. For example, you can place it under the soil close to the stems of your plants. This action will help keep the bugs away and add nutrients to the oil, working as a bit of fertilizer.
- White vinegar
You must have heard that vinegar is a great cleanser and a great product to keep pests away. One of the best vinegar to use is white vinegar because of its strong smell and attraction to some species. The best thing that you can do with it is to get rid of ant trails.
To use it correctly, you should add two cups of water to a ¼ cup of whiter vinegar and some drops of essential oil. Use it where you saw the ants.
- Cloves
Cloves are lovely to keep the ladybugs away in the easiest way possible. You need to place some bags of cloves or even sprinkle some clove oil in areas that are heavily infested. Ladybugs, like many pests, hate strong scents, so they’ll evacuate. After waiting a bit, you can vacuum or sweep up the cloves.
- Citrus
Several citrus fruits can be used to control pests, especially lemon and orange. You can use the essential oil of any of these fruits to make a natural spider deterrent spray. Drop 5 drops of essential oil, 5 drops of soap, and 1 quart of water to make the deterrent.
Pure lemon juice can also be used; all you need to do is spritzed it around cracks and place lemon or orange peels on bookshelves, cupboards, and other places where pests like to make a home.
- Call a pest control company for further help.
All these remedies help control pests, but they won’t be enough in some cases. If you are already dealing with pests or think you are, and if you need pest control in Virginia Beach, you should call Universal Pest & Termite. This 4,8-star average rating pest control company is famous for its outstanding services. Go to their website and schedule an inspection right now.