Millions of home owners will soon get unwelcome houseguests. The arrival of spring means insect populations are about to boom across much of the US.
Here’s how to reduce the odds that ants, flies and crickets will get into your home—and how to deal with them naturally if they do…
Ants are the nation’s most common household pest. There are many different species of ants, but certain ant-control strategies are effective against most of the varieties likely to find their way into American homes.
To keep ants out of your home…
Seal or caulk any cracks or gaps in the foundation or walls of your home, including gaps around pipes.
Install door sweeps at the base of exterior doors to minimize any gaps there.
Trim trees back and shrubs so that they don’t come in contact with your home’s roof or walls.
Examine plants growing close to your home for aphids and scales—insects that attract ants. If you find these small insects, use a strong jet of water to wash them off affected plants or apply a garlic spray.
To make a garlic spray: Crush two cloves of garlic in a garlic press, and add to one quart of water…or use a blender to blend two cloves and the water. Let it steep for an hour. Strain and spray to deter ants.
If these solutions don’t work, ask a local garden shop to recommend additional aphid/scale-control techniques or products.
Move stacks of firewood, lumber and bricks away from the perimeter of your home—some varieties of ant like to nest under these.
Sprinkle ground cinnamon around the exterior perimeter of your home and in the crawl space under your home. Cinnamon repels ants. For an average home, you will need about eight ounces. Walmart sells 2.37-ounce containers of cinnamon for less than $1 each.
Other safe products that repel ants include cedar oil, medicated baby powder, Tide detergent and coffee grounds, but I find cinnamon to be especially effective.
If ants do get into your home…
Make ant baits by combining roughly two tablespoons of peanut butter or jelly with one teaspoon of boric acid powder or borax on small pieces of cardboard. (The laundry detergent 20 Mule Team Borax works well here.) Make several of these baits, and place them in spots where you’ve seen ants in your home but where pets and kids can’t get to them, such as behind kitchen appliances. (This combination shouldn’t cause anything worse than a stomachache in a child or pet that consumes a small amount.) NiBan Granular Insect Bait, a commercially sold boric acid bait, also is effective against ants (as well as cockroaches and crickets). Be sure to follow the directions on the label.
Flies buzzing around a home can be a major annoyance. They even can spread disease.
To keep flies out…
Repair holes in window screens, and seal or caulk other gaps in the home’s perimeter.
Remove trash containing food debris from the home as soon as possible.
If flies do get into your home…
Flies generally lose interest in homes if there’s nothing for them to eat inside. With houseflies, clean any food residue from sinks, dishes and trash containers. Also…
Eliminate any other organic debris from inside the home (spilled food, open garbage). Also, eliminate organic debris around the perimeter of your home, including compost piles, dead leaves and pet feces.
If you still need to, make some simple, inexpensive fly baits. Combine two tablespoons of Karo light corn syrup, honey or sugar water with one teaspoon of boric acid in paper cups. Place these around the house to trap and kill flies.
Helpful: When you attempt to swat a resting housefly, aim the flyswatter one-and-a-half inches behind the fly. Houseflies typically leap upward and backward when they take off from a horizontal surface.
Other types of flies require different solutions…
With moth flies —a small variety of fly often found around drains that has hairy wings that make them look like moths—the best solution usually is to clean the gunk out of bathroom and kitchen drains.
With fungus gnats —a small, mosquito-like variety of fly often found around houseplants—the best solution is to not water the houseplants until they’re virtually wilted. Cover the plants’ soil with a layer of aquarium gravel when you finally do water.
With fruit flies —any of several varieties of small fly often found around fresh fruit or vegetables—the best solution is to pour apple cider vinegar into paper cups, then leave these positioned around the kitchen. Fruit flies are attracted to the smell of vinegar, but they can’t escape it once they dive in.
The chirping of crickets can be peaceful and relaxing when we’re outside on a summer night, but it soon becomes irritating when the crickets join us inside our homes.
To keep crickets out…
Secure the perimeter of the home by sealing any gaps and installing door sweeps under exterior doors, as discussed in the section on ants.
If you have a crawl space under your home, dust it with diatomaceous earth, a powdery substance sold in home centers, garden stores and elsewhere. It absorbs the waxy layer on the surface of crickets’ skin, causing them to dry out and die. (It’s effective against scorpions and certain other pests as well.)
Choose food-grade diatomaceous earth, not the version intended for use in swimming pool filters, which is ineffective against crickets. You will need about five pounds. Wear eye protection while spreading this product.
You may want to hire someone to dust it under the house. Once a year is sufficient for most homes.
If crickets do get into your home…
Place pieces of duct tape, sticky side up, near where you believe the crickets are hiding. The crickets will try to eat the tape—they are attracted to the adhesive—but will get stuck to it instead.
Or you can purchase and use NiBan Granular Insect Bait, the commercially sold boric acid bait suggested above. It is very effective against crickets.
Greenbug for Indoors is the most effective safe product for spraying bugs of any sort that you may see from time to time in your home, such as roaches, spiders, ants, flies and others. Its active ingredient is cedar, which is lethal to insects but not harmful to people and pets. ($32.95 for a quart bottle, www.GreenBugAllNatural.com)
