DIY Tips: Household Pest Remedies

The summer season in the Philippines can be so much fun. It can bring in as many beach days as you want in order to refresh yourself from the sun’s rays. However, it is also important to note this season can also become a pain, particularly because your cool home can become a refuge to many pests.

It’s a good thing that there are household items for you to utilize in order to avoid having a pest problem—you may even consider using them as a DIY termite treatments this summer.

Here are some of the household items you may use:

Peppermint

Dried mint leaves, together with peppermint essential oil, can help you combat several household pests, such as ants and flies. All you got to do is mix in 15 drops of the essential oil and a cup of water together. Then, place the solution inside a spray bottle so you can easily spray it on crevices, cracks, and spots that ants frequent.

Eucalyptus

You can place the eucalyptus essential oil (or leaves) inside your storage spaces, such as cupboards, cabinets, and closets. This method will immediately deter pests from entering these areas and ruining any items in there. The best thing about this household item is that it doesn’t smell foul, which means your clothes will still end up smelling really good.

Vinegar

The best thing you can do with vinegar in order to avoid any pest problem in your home is to use it to wash your floors. By doing this, its smell will linger and deter the pests from entering that area in your house.

If you are already having a pest problem at a certain area in your home, you can leave some vinegar inside a small container in that area to deter the bugs from staying in the place.

Citrus

Do you hate spiders?

If you answer yes, then here’s some good news for you: you can easily prevent them from entering your premises by mixing a natural spider deterrent spray. Just combine a quart of water, 5 drops of soap, and 5 drops of orange essential oil. After you are done creating this mixture, you can spray it to places where these little critters prefer to lurk and you can expect for them to hurry and scurry away.

Coffee grounds

People certainly love their coffee. But this is not the case for the ants the live in and around your house. In fact, they hate it so much that sprinkling coffee grounds over their nests is enough for them to deem it inhabitable.

Here’s a tip: you can prevent ants from entering your home by sprinkling coffee grounds around your entrances (doors and windows).

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is another thing humans simply can’t get enough of. But did you know that cinnamon essential oil and ground cinnamon is detrimental to pests?

You read that right. Cinnamon can totally get rid of your pest control problem. Much like coffee, you can sprinkle it over problem areas in and around your home. Or you may also smear pure undiluted cinnamon essential oil to those places.

Soap and water

Soap and water is probably the most common household item you can use in order to prevent pests from residing in your house. This combo can actually be used as an instant cockroach killer. Just mix in 1 tsp. of liquid soap and 1 cup of water. Place this inside a spray bottle and spray it to a cockroach. This will immediately clog its pores, meaning it won’t be able to breathe and eventually die.

Sugar and baking soda

Another cockroach killer you can rely on is sugar and baking soda. All you got to do is mix them equally together. Supposedly, the sweet scent of sugar will attract and lure them. Once they taste it, the baking soda that they consume will mix in with the acid in their stomach and kill them.

These household items work wells if placed in the areas they frequent, so be sure to investigate which place in your house needs it the most.

Lavender oil

Do you want to bar mosquitoes from entering your windows?

You can do this by simply getting a piece of ribbon and placing a few drops of lavender oil on it. It will instantly deter them from entering your premises as they hate its scent very much.

Basil

Do you find yourself wanting to “adopt” a home-grown plant?

Here’s a tip: plant and grow basil near your house’s entrance. By doing this, you will be preventing flies from coming into your home. You might want to even place it near your dining area so you can avoid these pesky pests attacking you while you and your family are eating.

All these household pest remedies sound really simple enough that you may end up believing they won’t work at all. But there’s really only one thing you can do so you can be sure; try them out and see for yourself!

About the author:

Katrina is your average gal living inside the metro who has passion for writing, travel and photography. She admires nature at its finest and always wanted to become one of them. Dreaming to have the Cinderella life one day, humming with the birds, dancing with the clouds.