House Hold Bugs

Humane mouse trap

Ants 
Seeing a line of ants walking through any room in your home is disconcerting and although they do not carry diseases, are still seen as a threat.
Ants work on a secreted tracks to follow so by breaking that with Vaseline or a mild solution of vinegar and water moped along the track.  It will not kill the ants but will put them off entering the house.  Find out where they are entering the house and fill the holes with Vaseline.  If they do continue, the only other solution is to find the nest and pour boiling water over it that will kill the nest.

Bed bugs
Increasingly bed bugs are making their way into many more homes due to the continued warm weather that allows them to survive longer than if there were long spells of frost.  They cause much distress to those inflicted with them as well as the itchy bites.  As they often come into the home in luggage it is always best to disinfect any luggage every time it comes in to the home from trips. Use hot soapy water to remove the bugs and eggs from inside and out of the luggage before putting away.  If you are infested you will need to go through the infected room thoroughly from ceiling down.  Check all the light fittings, behind and around the bed, the skirting boards, any ripped wallpaper and doorframes and pictures.  Remove all the bedding and place in a plastic bag. Wash at the highest temperature you have with baking soda.  Use Diatomaceous earth (www.greengardener.co.uk) on carpets and rugs which you leave done for a week before vacuuming.  Avoid brand chemical products where possible.

Carpet beetles 
Although small carpet beetles can destroy large areas of carpet, rugs and even curtains that have high wool mix.  The larvae looks like a little woolly bear and are know as the woolly bear beetle.  The damage is not at first obvious until the spring clean starts.  The bald patches left are often under furniture or at the edge of the room.  Use a high suction vacuum to go over all areas and dispose of the bag or empty straight in to the bin outside the home.  Sprinkle Diatomaceous earth onto the carpet or rugs in the room, leaving for a week before vacuuming up. Dispose of as before.  Check any cloths, curtains or other fabrics in the room for signs of infection, remove, and washed at high temperature.

Cloths moths 
The moth is harmless but it is the larvae, which does the damage to clothing and any textile within reach.  They live in clothing which has not been disturbed thus the reason for regular movement of cloths such as a spring clean.
If you discover any sign of the moth, including dead ones, remove all the clothing and textiles then wash after shaking out.  Clean all areas of the drawers and cupboards with a vacuum before washing down with hot water and carbolic soap (www.carbolicsoap.com )  Mothballs are ok if you use the natural cedar wood balls and dried lavender, lemon balm or rosemary will help to keep cloths fresh smelling and moth free and are more environmentally friendly.

Flies 
Be they the small fruit flies to the larger houseflies and bluebottles.  Flies are a source of food poisoning as they vomit on the food before they eat it. Nice!
Simple things like removing ripe fruit and vegetables helps as will a swatter to use rather than chemical sprays.  Fly traps from South Africa which are eco friendly and safe to use is available from www.greeneyedfrog.co.uk or UV light fly killer from the same and other companies.

Fleas 
The most common flea is the cat flea followed by dog and rabbit fleas.  They spread tapeworm and cause irritating bites.  You will need to treat both the home and the pet.  Collars are a good way of treating the pet using a herbal flea repelling collar available from vets or direct from www.petplanet.co.uk where they have Johnson and Petlove herbal flea collars at £3 each. You may also give your pet a food supplement of vitamin B and garlic.  For the home vacuum the areas of concern and each room close by.  Treat with Agrothrin that is a natural product that breaks the breeding cycle available from many pet shops and online.  Often the infestation will appear when the warm weather starts and the eggs hatch.  Vacuuming, dusting with Agrothrin and treating the pets is the only way to cure the problem.  If all this fails, and sometimes it will, get in the professionals in a discreet van to steam clean and treat your home.

Mice and rats 

Rodents spread diseases, damage by gnawing through cables and smells.  They can make nests in the smallest of hollows in the home and garden.  There are many ultrasonic devices on the market and whilst the idea is good, there is little proof that it works.  Spring traps are quick but can be dangerous for young children and pets so one trap is the humane trap that catches the rat or mouse in a box, to free away from the home.  The use of poison and what are called sticky traps are not only cruel but also dangerous for the children and pets.  The sticky traps result in the rat or mouse sticking to the trap and to escape will try to gnaw their feet off.  Organic poison eradi-mouse or eradi-rat to be used if the population is reaching peaks.  This product is bio friendly and safe. (www.eradi-products.com)

Wasps 
Always able to seek out sweet drinks and sugar products on summer days the wasp is a nuisance although some do have beneficial uses in the garden as, unlike the yellow jacket or germane wasp they stick to eating aphid and small insects.  There are a number of products on the market to eliminate the wasp from the UV traps as mentioned before and an organic product called the waspbane from www.waspbane.com  Other ideas is to take a large jar or small plastic bottle and fill half with warm water and half with jam.  Placed away from the home and high enough with string to be away from children.  Change when there is a thick layer of wasp bodies.  Dispose complete in a bin or dig a hole in the garden and dispose of the contents, covering quickly.  Do not attempt to move a nest yourself and call in the specialists listed at www.bpca.org.uk

Both Diatomaceous earth and Agrothrin can be used for flies, fleas, wasps, carpet beetle and the woolly bear.
 

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 8th, 2007 at 10:34 am and is filed under Household, Natural pest control. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.