Natural recipes for insect prevention: Protect your family from ants and roaches

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It’s hot out there, but people and pets are not the only ones searching for relief from the heat (Bugs on the Move in Houston). Thanks to the dry climate in Houston, recently, as well as in many other cities in the US, many other “creatures” are searching for relief from the heat, in particular ants and roaches may be scrambling, straight into your home. After all they enjoy a long, cold drink of water and cool air as much as the next  – well person?

Many recommend using the services of an exterminator to keep ants and roaches out of your home. But for those parents who are looking for a more environmentally friendly and safer way for their family to not only treat but to prevent these troublesome insects from entering their home will appreciate these natural recipes for ant and roach prevention and extermination.

There are a variety of ants from carpenter to sugar so treatments vary.
For outdoor treatments: try planting mint around your home. While most humans enjoy the aroma and the mint plants are attractive to look at, the scent repels most ant types. You can also try pouring boiling water down ant holes, but you will have to do this several times to kill the colony.

Other suggestions include using bay leaves or cloves around window sills, behind canisters and other places that ants may be entering or roaming in your home.

You can also try: Mix sugar water and baking soda, sprinkle DE around the areas they come in or leave out a bowl of cream of wheat. They will eat any of the above and make their way back home, dying along the way.

Other all natural products you can use to prevent or exterminate ants and roaches include:
Sugar and Baking Soda
Diatomaceous earth
Cream of Wheat
Borax
Vinegar

Each of these products has been reported to work against several different types of pests. You can leave out the powdery products or make them into a paste using butter or water. Vinegar can be sprayed directly onto surfaces and acts as a repellant.

Other more “natural” methods of preventing insect infestations in your home include some general household maintanence such as: sealing cracks, replacing broken screens, checking vents and caulking holes in the walls from installation of shelving or other heavy items. Drains can also allow pests to enter.

So, until the rains begin, try these natural and environmentally methods and recipes to keep your home safe from ants and roaches. Beat the heat and the insects. The good news is the mosquito population is done, so you can spend more time outside enjoying the scent of mint on the breeze.

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