Control Pests Without Harmful Chemicals
By Aldene Fredenburg, Fri Dec 9th

Garden and household pests - unwanted insects, including flies,mosquitoes, fleas, cockroaches, termites, and moths, andintruders like mice and rats - are annoying, destructive, andpotentially harmful to the health of humans and pets. But theuse of chemical toxins to control these pests is a problem - whoknows what some of these chemicals themselves can do to thehealth of our family members?

Luckily, there are ways to combat these invaders withoutresorting to potentially poisonous chemicals. Essentially, thereare four approaches to pest control; used in combination theycan go a long way to eliminating insects and rodents from one'shome and outdoor environment.

First, make sure you're not creating the conditions that invitethese pests onto your property. Standing water attractsmosquitoes; take a walk through your property and make sure youdon't have bowls of water, discarded tires, and otherreceptacles that can contain rain water. If you find them, getrid of them. Poorly stored food and

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stray crumbs can attractants, roaches, and mice. Keep your food stored in airtightcontainers, wipe down counters, tables, etc., and sweep thefloor frequently, discarding the refuse and removing in from thehouse.

Secondly, provide barriers, either physical or biological, torepel insects and rodents. Properly maintained and installedscreens on windows and doors will help block flies andmosquitoes from the home. Simple to use, nontoxic home remediescan repel insects; for instance a brew of catnip tea, sprayed ina solution around cupboards, baseboards, and other areas,particularly in the kitchen and bathroom, can repel cockroaches.

Third, you can add beneficial insects and other organisms toyour environment. Adding ladybugs to gardens has been a naturalremedy for years: ladybugs just love aphids, and will eat thembefore the tiny insects can ruin your growing plants. (Somepeople go so far as to add a gecko or two to their homes; geckoseat cockroaches, and will help keep an infestation undercontrol; you'd have to make up your mind if you really want tolive in the same house or apartment with a couple free ranginglizards. If you have small boys, chances are they'll bethrilled!)

Finally, if all else fails, there are compounds, safe to humanswith normal use, but deadly to pests, that will eliminate someinsects for good. To rid your home of cockroaches, for instance,put containers of boric acid behind counters, in the backs ofcupboards, in shelves, and other areas that cockroachesfrequent; they'll eat the boric acid and return to their nests,carrying more boric acid with them; the boric acid will killthem and the other inhabitants of their nests. (Make sure youkeep the boric acids away from children and pets.)

There are also nontoxic, natural preparations sold commerciallywhich can be used to repel or eliminate pests without adverselyimpacting your home environment. In short, there are many natural, safeoptions for eliminating pests that you can use to make sureyour home is a comfortable, enjoyable environment for yourfamily, not for unwanted guests.

About the author:Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwesternNew Hampshire and frequently contributes to Tips andTopics. She may be reached at amfredenburg@yahoo.com.