Getting rid of insects with eco-friendly substances
We are well into spring and summer is just around the corner! Now is the time when unwanted multi-legged squatters start invading your home. You want to get rid of them, but you don’t want to use Chem-o-kill to do it. Here are some easy ways to prevent and evict insects with environmentally friendly means.
The first way to keep bugs out of your home is the simplest – clean. A clean home provides less of a haven for unwanted insects to set up shop. Regular sweeping, vacuuming, wiping and dusting can stop infestations from starting or address small numbers of unwanted guests. Try to minimize clutter by having plenty of storage off the floor.
Invest in reusable, waterproof and airtight containers to store foodstuffs in. The more secure the container, the less likely pests will be attracted to it or be able to start munching away. This is also useful for non-food items that may be targets of different insects, such as clothing. Some waterproof tubs for out-of-season wear can help prevent unpleasant discoveries when it comes time to break out the summer or winter clothes.
For ants, try baby powder or cinnamon sprinkled on entryways. You can also poison ants with a mixture of equal parts of honey, sugar and borax. Heat the honey and sugar together until the sugar dissolves. Then add the borax. Put a spoonful on ant pathways and on hills. Watch pets and children while you have the bait out; as little 5 grams of borax can be deadly! It can help if you put the mixture in a small dish or large bottle cap, which can help you dispose of the remainder more easily.
Try soil-free potting mix for plants infested by insects or larvae. Soil can contain larvae of pest insects, while the soil-free mediums tend not to support them. Ask your local nursery for more information about ways to cut down on plant parasites.
Essential oils are another method that some people find keeps the bugs away. Cedarwood, citronella, peppermint oil and rosemary oil tend to have a repellant effect on insects. These tend to have a pleasant scent; citronella in particular is a popular anti-bug strategy.
Garlic, ginger, hot peppers and onions are unpalatable for many bugs and tend to keep them away. While none of these are harmful to humans, in some venues the pungent smell might be off-putting, so be circumspect in the usage. Boiling some sliced hot peppers for 10 minutes can produce a good outdoor bug spray – just make sure you’ve got a lot of ventilation while making and using it! It is recommended that this be used solely outdoors – in the garden, workshop area, etc.
While environmentally friendly solutions to insect pest problems often don’t work as immediately as the standard poisons, they are a lot healthier for you and your family to use. Exploring the green alternative means that you will worry less about your health while still keeping the bugs outside where they belong!
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Organizing the Closets in Your Home
When you open your closets and drawers do things fall out? Do you have to push and pull to get things out of your space? Do you never know where anything is? If so, you need to get some organizational tools that will help you take back the space that is rightfully yours. You don’t have to get rid of the things that you need, you just need to store them in a way that makes sense.
An area of the home that many people have issues with is closets. It is easy to open the door, put something in, and then close the door and forget the organizational problem. Of course, the problem rears its ugly head as soon as you can’t find something or when you open the doors to the closet! The fact of the matter is that you don’t have to live this way.
A great place to start is with your clothing and bedding items. These items are seasonal for most people, which means that there are some clothing item and bedding that are only used for certain times of the year. Why should you struggle with the items that you are not even using? A great solution for these things is space bags. You have probably seen these bags in stores or through advertising, as they are a great tool. You put the items that you want to store in the bags and then you use a vacuum to suck all of the air out of them. This turns big sweaters or comforters into bags that are no thicker than a towel or even smaller! This will increase your closet space and keep things more organized.
Another problem that a lot of people have involves their photos. If you have a lot of people have hundreds or even thousands of pictures and they don’t know what to do with them all. You don’t want to throw them away but you also don’t want them to be ruined. A great way to organize your photos is by putting them into photo boxes. These can be decorative in nature or you can use plain boxes that you can easily store in a closet or even under a bed. You can label the boxes so you know what you have in each box. Photo storage doesn’t have to be complicated, but if you want to get more high tech you can take the time to scan all of the photos and then save them onto discs. This will allow you toss the photos and simply keep them on a disc so you have them when you want them, free to print them if you need, but not taking up any more space than a book.
When you organize your home in these simple and effective ways you will soon find that you have a lot more space than you thought you did. There are storage solutions for just about every type of space or item. Simply shop around and find the solution that best fits your space, your needs, and your preferences.
Caitlina Fuller is a freelance writer. Why should you struggle with the items that you are not even using? A great solution for these things is space bags. You have probably seen these bags in stores or through advertising, as they are a great tool. You can label the boxes so you know what you have in each box. Photo storage doesn’t have to be complicated. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/organizing-the-closets-in-your-home-955050.html