Spiders, ants, flies and mosquitos are everywhere and so annoying! Here are some tips on how to keep bugs out of your house.
We all love a BBQ with family and friends, but there’s nothing worse than flies buzzing around the food when you’re trying to enjoy meal! Bring on the evening and the mosquitos want to come out and join in on the action! It’s not only the outdoors that present a bug problem, spiders, mosquitos, ants and flies and other creepy crawlies love being indoors, especially if there’s food around!
Here are some tips on how to keep the bugs out of the house.
FLIES
- An old school method of keeping flies away is to put a handful of coins and water into a zip-lock bag and and hang up near the doorway. It is said the shiny coins and water together create a sort of prism which reflects all the colours and the flies don’t like that.
- Another simple trick to keep flies at bay is to keep your bins clean. Keep your inside bins clean and consistently emptied and washed. Your outside bins should be kept clean too, if you haven’t cleaned your big bins in a while, you can do it yourself with detergents / bleach and a hose / pressure cleaner. Keeping your bins cleans will keep away flies and maggots.
- Flies love the inside and the outside of the house. If you’re trying to enjoy a meal, I have found that the shooaway is great to keep flies off food. These shooaways are a natural fly repellant and have been quite popular over summer and bonus – they are chemical free!
ANTS
Ants can become a problem inside and outside the home. Ants are generally attracted to sugar and most food and drink have sugar so it can be challenging if you are a messy eater or have children.
A few ways to keep ants at bay are:
- Wipe down kitchen benches, and dining tables, morning and night.
- Have a designated eating area, usually the dining room or kitchen so if you do drop food crumbs on the floor you can easily clean it up.
- Regularly empty and wash out bins with soapy water.
- If you have pets, clean their food bowls daily and don’t leave pet food out all day (or use an ant-proof pet dish).
- Seal holes and cracks where ants are getting into your home (check window sills, inside kitchen cupboards, and around doors).
- Remove indoor plants that are harbouring ants.
- I have a great chemical-free DIY Ant Repellent Spray recipe you can try – it’s the perfect home remedy solution!
SPIDERS
Spiders love to just pop up all around the house – no matter how clean your home is! The clothes line, outdoor furnitures and the garden shed are also some place spiders love to hang out.
Even though you can’t really get rid of spiders altogether, there are a few natural ways to keep them away from your space.
- Spiders don’t like strong smells like vinegar. The vinegar has a sour taste and smell which spiders seem to be highly sensitive to.
- Spiders also don’t like citrus scents. You can make my natural spider repellant recipe and use on surfaces inside and outside the home.
- Another smell spiders don’t like is mint. You can put dried mint leaves into little sachets and keep around the home or you can have the mint plants in little pots outside your doors, windows or inside on window sills.
- Try and keep the dust at bay, spiders love making webs in dusty areas.
- Peppermint is another strong scent spiders don’t like so you diffuse in an oil diffuser.
- I also put lemon essential oil on a pillow case and run it around the cornise’s of my home to help prevent spiders webbing in corners of the ceiling.
Mosquitos
Have you battled with a mosquito only to get frustrated and give up? Some people are more prone to mozzie bites than others and it can ruin an outing or a good nights sleep if you have them flying around.
- Mosquitos like to breed in pools of water, for example, I have a lot of bromeliads in my garden. A good strong hosing will flush the pooled water with larvae out of your bromeliads, I do this once a week to disrupt the mosquitoes life cycle.
- Make sure there are no buckets and containers outside your home that fill up with water. After a big rain make sure you empty and pour all water out.
- Mosquioto’s are not strong fliers, so use a fan in the daytime and during the night to keep them away.
- Make DIY bracelets with a few drops of essential oils, wrap them around wrists or ankles to stop them biting feet. You can even put a few drops onto hats, scrunchies or fabric bows and hair ties to keep mosquitos away from faces.
Fruit Flies
Fruit flies can become a nuisance if you’re not careful. They are usually attracted to rotting, overripe or decaying produce. Fruit flies can also come into your home in the fruit and vegetables you buy.
A few easy ways to keep fruit flies away are:
- Store your fruits and vegetables in the fridge during the warmer months.
- Clean your produce as soon as you bring it into the house. I clean all my produce with a chemical-free natural fruit and vegetable wash.
- Fruit flies love the smell of apple cider vinegar so pop some into a glass, fill it halfway with water (alternatively put a few pieces of banana into the bottom of a cup) and cover it with glad wrap. Poke some holes into the plastic wrap with a toothpick, the fruit flies will be attracted to the smell but they will become trapped and won’t be able to get out.
- Old wine and beer in bottles is also a good way to trap fruit flies. They will be attracted to the fermented fruit smell and become trapped once they go in.
DO YOU ANY TIPS ON HOW TO KEEP BUGS OUT OF YOUR HOUSE?
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