Repel Pests With Nature

Repel Pests With Nature!

 

It’s that time of the year when, apparently, bugs are on vacation and head to Florida to enjoy the warm weather.  Mosquitoes and roaches are out in full force and they’ve brought their village with them.  Tim hates bugs and he’s very vocal when they’re around.  All you’ll hear is, “Gawddamn bugs!” if you’re within a one mile radius of us at any given time.  Sprays are nice but they leave a residue that I really don’t want my dogs to lick up.  So I’ve turned to plants.  As it turns out…plants do the job nicely!  

Here’s what works for us:

Mums (or their scientific name: Pyrethrum Chrysanthemums) look like daisies.  
I remember when we first got these I told Tim they look like weeds to me.  It turns out that this little plant is the lethal weapon to repel quite a few pests such as roaches, fleas, ticks, bedbugs, lice, silverfish, ants, and a whole lot more.  

According to Wikipedia, the plants affects insects nervous systems.  And it will inhibit female insects from biting.  That’s one half of the mosquito population neutralized!! 

Catnip (Nepeta Cataria) is that legal drug for your feline friend.  
But it also works to repel mosquitoes, flies and roaches.  In fact, research studies showed that some distilled catnip in a test tube repelled mosquitoes ten times more effect than DEET.  Just don’t put it on your skin.  You’ll be raped by all the neighborhood cats.  

Basil is not a favorite herb of mosquitoes although it’s good in pasta dishes.  You can’t eat your OFF…but you can sure eat the basil.  The added bonus is that flies don’t seem to like basil either.  

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon) is everywhere in Florida.  Why?  Because it keeps away mosquitoes and bees.  Or maybe because you can put it in tea if you’re feeling ill.  But I think it’s mostly the mosquito and bee problem. 

Mint (Mentha) not only smells awesome but it keeps ants, roaches, wasps and hornets away.  
If you pick some off the plant and let them dry out, then crush them into little flakes…you can spread this around your doors.  This will keep the little insects from coming into your home without an invitation.  

Bay Leaves can be spread around the pantry and closets to repel moths, flies, roaches and silverfish.  You can also crush them up to spread around windows and doors to keep these critters outside where they belong.  

Rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis) not only adds some zing to your pork dishes, but can also be used to keep mosquitoes away.  These are the easiest plants to cultivate since they need very little water.  They actually live off of the humidity in the air or the seabreezes, which we have plenty of here in Florida! 

Citrus will repel spiders.  It won’t kill them…but it’ll make them think twice about setting up home where YOUR home is.  Simply mix some lemon, lime or orange oil or juice in a spray bottle and spray the area you don’t want the spiders to be.  Spiders taste with their feet and they’ve got eight of them.  Give them some citrus to show them who is boss!  I spray lemon juice around window frames and door frames to keep them away.  

Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea Muscipula) 
Tim has a huge venus fly trap right outside of the back door.  It cures his curiosity about morbid ways to kill an insect.  This plant will lure the flying insect or spider into it’s leaves thus triggering little tiny hairs to close up on the bug and digest it.  Tim will water this plant first before others. If there was ever a fire here….this venus fly trap would be one of the items he would try to rescue.  I have to admit..it’s a fascinating process to watch the plant eat its prey.

I’m sure there are tons more plants out there that will keep your pests away.  This is what we use here at the House O’ Chuck.  They’re easy to get at any nursery or Home Depot or Lowes.  

Show your mosquitoes and roaches and flies and ants that you mean business!! 

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