PEST AND GARDEN PRODUCT ALTERNATIVES

Pesticides and chemical garden products can be very useful in getting your house and lawn perfect, however, there are some side effects caused by these products. To keep your home and lawn free of pests, why not try some of these alternatives that keep the environment in mind.

Chemical Fertilizer:
Use compost or mulch.

Insect Spray:
Blend 6 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 onion (minced), 1 Tbsp dried hot pepper and 1 tsp pure soap in 4 quarts of hot water. Let sit for 1-2 days. Strain before using;

OR place a cigarette in 1 quart water overnight. Strain and spray.

Mothballs:
Place cedar chips around clothes;

OR dried lavender can be made into sachets and placed in drawers and closets. Newspaper, dried lemon peels or dried mint also repel moths.

Fungicides:
Do not over-water, keep areas clean and dry;

OR aerate soil.

Indoor Insecticide:
Mixture of bar soap and water or old dishwater; spray on leaves and rinse;

OR you can make a fresh mixture of 1/2 capful dishwashing liquid to 500 ml. water, rinse when insects are dead. Repeat every two weeks.

OR when watering household plants, put a used S.O.S. pad and an old tea bag in with your water. The iron from the S.O.S. pad provides food for your plants and the soap residue will keep bugs away.

Outdoor Insects:
Practice crop rotation and companion planting, and use insecticidal soap, diatomaceous earth, beneficial nematodes, or attract insect eating birds to ward off harmful insects. Introduce predators like ladybugs or preyaing mantises.

Arsenical:
Use live traps and remove food supply.

Botanical:
Try insecticidal soap or import predators, eg. ladybugs, ground beetles, preying mantises.

Snail and Slug Killer:
Fill a shallow pan with stale beer or Brewer's yeast and place in the infested area;

OR use an S.O.S. pad in your garden.

Earwigs:
Put S.O.S. pads between garden rows. After a rain the soap suds will be released. Earwigs do not like the suds.

Roaches:
Set out a dish of equal parts baking soda and powdered sugar;

OR set out a dish of equal parts of oatmeal, flour and plaster of paris;

OR put some grease or vaseline on the inside of a jar that contains a banana. Set a tongue depressor near the jar to serve as a ramp. The cockroaches will be trapped inside the jar;

OR place bay leaves around the crackes in the room;

OR caulk and seal openings.

Ant Control:
Pour a line of cream tartar at the place where the ants enter the house. The ants will not cross over it;

OR sprinkle red chili pepper, paprika and/or dried peppermint where the ants are entering the house;

OR place an S.O.S. pad in really hot water and pour around the entry points (outside) or around your patio. The soap keeps the ants away.

Rat and Mouse Poisons:
Use live traps and remove food supply. Seal cracks and other points of entry.

Herbicides (weed killers)
Strong hoeing and hand weeding. Keep grass short or medium length. Spread mulch.