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How to kill Home and Garden Pests in Winter Naturally

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It is nearly time for winter. While it means that the holiday season will be soon upon us, it also means a certain kind of dread that we feel around our house. Because there will be some unwanted guests in our house and garden. You know who I mean.. the pests!

Fortunately, with some common sense tips and tricks, it is easy to prepare your home and garden for this onslaught. Here are some ideas that will help you defend your valuables in the garden and inside:

Mice in the Da House

No, peppermint and moth balls will not get rid of mice. Using those to get rid or deter mice is a lie perpetuated by the Internet. You know what really works? Peanut Butter :). Peanut Butter is the best way to get rid of mice by trapping them humanely.

Of course, better still, don’t let mice in the house by using these common sense tips:

  • Plug any gaps in the house. Use steel wool. Mice can chew through anything, but not that.
  • Get rid of food around the house – yes, mice will avoid your house if they can’t find anything to chew on.
  • Clean up the clutter. Goes without saying.

Cockroaches

You know what really works to trap these dinosaurs? Grease an empty margarine container and bait it with a little honey. Leave it lying around and come back in the morning to find any of these creatures in their having a gala good time, but unable to escape. Take them to the cleaners!

Coffee and garlic and chilli based solutions in the garden

Use garlic and chilli based spray for small insects such as aphids and caterpillars and espresso based spray for slugs and snails.

Crush some garlic and chilli with some grease or oil. Add to a spray bottle with dishwashing liquid and spray where you have a problem with aphids and caterpillars. Similarly, dilute some real espresso with water and spray where there is infestation of slugs and snails, and you will see a reduction in the problem within a few weeks.

Finally, use diluted milk spray for blackspot and mildew

Yes, just some simple cow’s milk in a ratio of 1:10, mixed with water and sprayed immediately on areas which have a blackspot and mildew problem will do wonders within a few days.

Hope all these natural solutions help you to get ready this winter to defend your home against these pesky pests! Do you have any home made natural remedies that might help our readers?

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Comments

  1. When I was stationed in North Carolina, an elderly neighbor of ours who had an amazing garden told us that he soaked a plug of chewing tobacco in a couple of gallons of water and added a cup of dishwashing liquid to make a non-lethal spray. The tobacco repelled the creepy-crawlies and the dishwashing liquid made it cling to the plants.

Have you read?

Reflecting on the Past Year with Kids

I’m in deep denial about the fact that new year is almost upon us again! It’s been the fastest and the longest year at the same time, and I can look back and see some good things as well as some things I wish had gone differently.

Doing a year in review with your kids — whether in the classroom or at home — is a good way to capture some of their memories and the things they really liked about the year gone by.

There are a lot of different printable year in review worksheets you can use if you want to make this super easy. Here are links to a few (often part of larger posts about NYE celebrations with kids that are worth a read, too):

  • Teach Beside Me has lots of fun printables fro the end of the year, including a year in review that covers favorite memory, funniest memory and the best book they read, among other topics.
  • NurtureStore‘s version has space for a self-portrait and prompts like favorite toy, best day out this year and future dream job.
  • Remember favorites, their “best idea” of the year and have room for setting goals for next year with this one from The Keele Deal.
  • The year in review from Yes We Made This has room for drawing or writing and includes things like something they learned, a memory they made and a place they visited.

Of course you could pretty easily make your own year in review for the whole family to do that asks questions based on what you most want to remember. (Favorite video game? Best friend? Favorite family memory?)

And if after the year in review you’re ready to look ahead a bit, Mrs. Merry has new year’s resolution printables to inspired kids to look ahead and set goals for things they want to try. You can totally fill this one out as a grownup, too.

[Photo: Mrs. Merry]