Homeopathic Ways to Rid Your Home of Bugs & Spiders

Spiders

• Many spiders feed on insects and control pests. If you have poisonous spiders such as brown recluses or black widows, however, try these methods. Take a package of chewing or pipe tobacco and soak it in a gallon of boiling water until it cools. Strain it into a clean container. Add 1 cup of tobacco juice and 1/2 cup of lemon dish soap into a hose-end sprayer and spray your yard and patio.

  You can also place chestnuts around exterior walls and on windowsills to discourage spiders. Some people have success placing pieces of bois d'arc, or osage orange tree fruit, in the corners of every room.

Ants

• Ants can be controlled by using food and common household products. Place a few bags of mint tea in areas where ants tend to gather. You can also use dry, crushed mint leaves or cloves. Cucumber slices or peels can be placed near ants' entry point, as they have a natural aversion to it. You can also halt ants by pouring a small line of lemon juice, cinnamon, cayenne pepper or coffee grounds.

  Make an easy homemade bait by mixing 1 liter of water with 1 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of Borax. Soak cotton balls in the solution and place in a small plastic margarine or yogurt tub with holes punched in the lid to allow ants access. Place the container in areas where ants are active. They will take the bait back to the colony, where it eventually kills the colony. This should be used only indoors and kept away from children and pets.

Cockroaches

• Place catnip in areas where roaches live. You can also simmer catnip in a small amount of water and make a tea to spray in infested areas. Only use this method if you don't have cats. Garlic, cucumber slices and bay leaves also repel cockroaches.

  You may also try diatomaceous earth, which kills bugs by cutting their waxy exoskeleton. There may be a temporary increase in cockroach activity, as they start searching for water. Sprinkle DE in infested areas.

Fleas

• Since many fleas enter your home courtesy of your pets, try a homemade flea repellent. Add a thinly sliced lemon to a pint jar, cover with boiling water and let it sit overnight. The next morning, spray or rub the mixture into your pet's fur and skin until damp, not wet. A dish of soapy water under a light near your pet's bed will attract and drown fleas.

  Fleas don't like the smell of eucalyptus leaves, so place cut-up stems and leaves in jars around your house. Hang pod-filled socks on tree branches around your yard. You can find eucalyptus leaves at craft stores.