3 Natural Ways to Keep Pests and Critters Out of The House

If given the chance, insects, rodents and other problematic Pests will happily reside within the confines of your home and property. Unfortunately for these critters, their sheer presence tends to turn the home environment into an uncomfortable living situation for everyone else. Thankfully, you can purposefully keep relentless pests and critters from setting up house in your home using smart, natural pest control tactics.

A natural approach to pest control allows you to eliminate critters from your household, and keep them away, without worry about the health of your pets and family members. Utilize the three following tactics to easily keep pests and critters from infiltrating your homestead now and in the future.

Essential Oils: An Important Element in Pest Deterrence

Essential oils can help you purposefully eliminate and deter pests and critters that you notice in your immediate vicinity. Nearly every type of pest is linked with an essential oil that basically chases them away from the treated area. If you cannot identify the exact pests trying to infiltrate your home, you may treat your household with a mixture of oils, though a targeted approach tends to work best.

Ant colonies will relocate with the quickness if their home base receives a douse of mint extract or eucalyptus oil. For mosquitoes, utilize citronella oil, sweet basil, peppermint extract or sage to discourage those insects from enjoying a feast at your expense. Spiders tend to detest citrus, while moths flap away quickly when given a dose of tea tree oil. These two oils also work well for fleas, ticks, silverfish and roaches, if applied directly to the areas these pests frequent the most. As an added benefit, all these essential oils will make your home and yard smell great, which cannot often be said for commercial pest control product solutions.

Since essential oils are so strong, you can stretch your supply by adding them to a liquid base to spray on the treatment areas. Vinegar also acts as a pest control substance, so it makes the best liquid base for essential oil treatments. If you do not have vinegar on hand, or detest the smell yourself, you can use cold water as your base. Keep the bottle of essential oil spray on hand for regular applications around the perimeter of your home and yard.

Diatomaceous Earth: Harness the Power of This Sedimentary Rock

Although diatomaceous earth powder is derived from relatively unassuming sedimentary rocks, this substance means business when it comes to the control of insect pests. Despite its sheer efficiency in killing pests, this powder is actually food grade, so it is safe to spread throughout your home. The powder works hard at killing insects by actually dehydrating them through their exoskeleton. As the powder draws out moisture, the lack of hydration kills the insects.

Even better, the powder works slowly, so insects bring it back to their nests and spread it throughout the colonies before decimation occurs. Therefore, a little bit of diatomaceous earth will do while treating your home for pest infestations. You will use this powder as it is sold without mixing it with any other substances. If you do not want to get messy while you apply the powder, you can wear gloves, though it is not necessary since it is safe for contact by humans and animals.

You can use this substance indoors and out to keep pests from living across your property and within your dwelling. Make sure to sprinkle the powder along your interior and exterior walls to create a line of defense against problematic pests. You can also add the powder to your garden beds to kill termites, slugs and other pests that live within the soil.

You will need to reapply the powder as it gets swept or blown away throughout the month. One to two monthly applications should kill the insects in and around your home, and then keep them away for the long term. Make sure to always have this powder on hand to treat pest infestations as you notice them to keep their numbers under control at all times.

Bring in the Predators: Build a Bat House or Welcome Cats into Your Home

Both bats and cats have a natural way of controlling pests and critters around your property and in your home. To utilize bats as your first line of defense, you simply have to build them a home fit for a king. A rectangular bat house made from thin sheets of wood will do, as long as you position it within the confines of your yard. When bats live on your property, they will naturally control the bulk of insects who dare reveal their presence in that realm.

Cats, on the other hand, require a bit more upkeep, but they do not mess around when it comes to the removal of mice, rats, squirrels and other pesky critters. You can keep your cats indoor or out to help deter these pests from stepping foot on your property. Since the cats will hunt the rats and mice, make sure to keep your feline friends vaccinated to prevent the spread of disease carried by rodents of all kinds.

You can keep both bats and cats well fed without worrying about them halting the hunt. Bats will feed on insects all throughout the night even if given supplementary nutrients using a hummingbird feeder. Simply fill the hummingbird feeder with a sugar water mixture to keep your bats fat and happy, and feeding on insects all night long, for years to come.

Cats require a daily meal or two to keep them in great health throughout their lives. Regularly feeding your feline will keep them from devouring their kills as well, which can prevent the spread of illness and limit the mess. Make sure to put all pet food indoors, however, or the tempting treats will attract even more pests and critters to your yard.

Forge Ahead with Keeping Your Home Pest and Critter Free

As you work toward the complete elimination of annoying or unwanted critters and pests around your home, you may notice some stubborn entities resisting your efforts. You may decide to work with a pest control expert at this point to eliminate these creatures from your living space. Once you have their numbers under control, you can easily go back to your natural DIY pest control efforts to keep insects, rodents and other pests at bay. If you come across another resistant pest, bring the experts back in for another look and treatment session. With time, you will be able to keep your home pest and critter free year-round without worry.

Photo by: abel

The post 3 Natural Ways to Keep Pests and Critters Out of The House appeared first on Earth Eclipse.