Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

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?

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?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.