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Erin, a reader from North Carolina, asked a pest control-related question this week regarding an article about dementia and diabetes being linked to pesticides.
She writes:
I wanted to ask you for ideas about pest control. We live in an apartment in NC and are having a roach problem (we’ve been killing 20, mostly babies per day—they are going wild in our kitchen and dining room at night). I don’t want to have our apartment sprayed with toxic pesticides especially because I have a 1 yr old and 3 yr old. I guess I need a pep talk from another natural mama about why I should not spray and some ideas of alternatives. I spray down the kitchen and dining area with an orange oil spray every morning and night to keep things clean and the orange oil is supposed to be a natural repellent. I also put boric acid in the sink before going to bed. I’m sure you know from living in the South how bad roaches can be! Any other tips? I am feeling a lot of pressure from friends and family to spray. One friend almost pleaded with me “for the sake of my family” to get the place sprayed by a professional! Maybe you could write a post about home pest control sometime if you have not written on that already.
Erin, I have written a related post called Green Herbicides and Pesticides for Your Yard, but I have not written one on non-toxic pest control for your home.
Thanks for the article suggestion!
Here’s how I keep pests at bay in my home in very buggy Florida!
Non-Toxic Pest Control (Homemade Roach and Ant Cookies)
Makes about 20 cookies
There is simply no need to use a pest control service for spraying toxic pesticides in and around your home to control roaches and ants. A super simple solution is to make homemade roach and ant cookies that last for years. Just be sure to hide them well and keep them away from the kids as they look like real cookies and you wouldn’t want one of your children taking a bite by accident!
We once had a bad roach problem in our old home when we remodeled the kitchen but these cookies took care of the problem within a few days.
The roaches begin to decline in number and eventually disappear completely never to be seen again!
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup borax or boric acid (where to find)
1 egg
Instructions
Mix all ingredients together to form a moist batter. Add a bit of water if more moisture is needed to make a paste. Form small cookies about 1 inch in diameter and place on parchment paper on cookie sheets.
Bake at 350F for about 8-10 minutes. Let cool. Hide cookies in the back of cabinets, in corners on the floor and anywhere else you have roach or ant problems. They work great in garages too!
Store leftover cookies in a plastic ziplock back in an upper cabinet away from children and pets. These cookies last for years and so make enough so that you only have to make this recipe one time!
Other Non-toxic Pest Control Ideas
While these roach and ant cookies work beautifully well for keeping pests out of your home, occasionally I will have some ants trailing under a patio door or around the front porch foraging for food. For these situations, I place a bay leaf right at the same spot the ants are trailing in to repel them away in another direction.
Ants do not like bay leaves – at least the ants in Florida! This simple idea quickly and easily turns the ants around and sends them off foraging away from your house! As for fire ants, they are a different kettle of fish. This article plus video shows how I control them very easily with no pesticides.
That’s it! That’s all I do to keep pests away from my house. Two simple ideas that work. If worse comes to worst and your house is infested with more pests than just roaches or ants, be sure to call a green pest control company to fix the problem. There are two in my local area and they cost anywhere from $300-$500/year depending on the size of your house. Earth’s Best Natural Pest Control Management is one of the biggest in my state of Florida from what I understand, but I’m sure there are many others around the country.
More Information
Natural Flea Infestation and Prevention Solutions
Spider Repellent Guaranteed to Work
Natural and Effective Bed Bug Removal Techniques
Safely Get Rid of Carpenter Ants in a Snap
Fast and Effective Fly Repellent
Quick and Easy Homemade Fly Trap
Fast Acting Mosquito Bite Remedy That’s Probably Already in Your Kitchen
Sarah,
I apologize if you get this comment twice, I’m having issues. Anyway, two quick questions:
1. We’ve used the ultrasonic, plug-in pest repellers in our basement, and they seem to be effective for spiders. Any concerns about these that I’m not thinking of?
2. Isn’t boric acid quite toxic? I know it’s rated an 8 at EWG, but I guess cosmetic use is different, where you’d be rubbing it on your skin… just wanted to get your further thoughts on this.
As always, THANK YOU!
Jenn
Hi Jenn, those ultrasonics are fine from what I know but I personally don’t like them on all the time in my house as I’m not sure what the long term affects might be. In a barn or garage would be good, I’m guessing.
Boric acid is toxic but it used to be recommended as a food soak mixed with warm water for infections and the like. It is a good antiseptic. It is one of the least toxic chemicals you can use to kill pests around the home.
I don’t have a problem but have heard that putting cornmeal out for ants is effective. They take it back to the nest and eat it but it is not nutritious for them and the nest starves. Does anyone have experience with this??
Well about flea, you can handle your pet with grapefruit seed extract. Just pour some of it in your hand and put it on your animal. Chamomile is a good insect repellent, so you can put chamomile tea bags in the house, that will help the flea go to your neighbor 😉
Spider don’t like tomato greens. Ask people who grow tomato, they have nos spiders in that area. So try to find someone growing tomatoes (or buy tomatoes with some stalk). Dry the green part and put it at strategic places (windows, doors, bathroom). I still have spiders, but less than I used to.
And thanks for all your other tips 🙂
How about earwigs? Try as I might, I haven’t been able to find a way to get rid of the darn things, they infest my strawberries and my house. Ick!
My roach cookies are baking in the oven now. It does feel VERY strange to be baking poison cookies! Sweet revenge!
Hi Erin, thanks for checking in. Please update us over the next few days to a week as the roaches slowly disappear and how things are going.
We have the bug guy come 4 times a year and hes sprays in all the rooms around the corners and also outside and around the house. they say it is safe. Are there truly side effects for us and our children? What are some of them. This is new to me. I had thought about it, but may have to do something different.
Thanks
Aimee
Hi Aimee, what they spray is toxic. Check out the post I wrote on ADHD in children and the link to pesticide exposure:
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/adhd-in-children-linked-to-pesticide/
If you have a spider or bed bug problem check out http://www.repelpestsnaturally.com for info on natural pest control methods that are non toxic
Here’s a pest contol solution you can eat!
Any advice on getting rid of ticks?
I think they must be living in my house, because we get them on us every day, even if we don’t go outside. It is really concerning me since I have an 11 month old.
We had a tick infestation many years ago when our dog brought them in the house. I went to a dry ice company and got a chunk of dry ice and left it open in the area where the ticks were. The ticks are attracted to the evaporating dry ice as it gives off carbon dioxide (the same thing mammals exhale) and they come right to the box and then you scoop them up and flush them down the toilet.
Fly swatter and a spray bottle with strong soapy water – between those two, it gets most of what I battle with including fire ants (my Rainbow vacuum cleaner is good for sucking them up, too). Mice and cockroaches…haven’t found any “natural” way of getting them really good other than mouse traps for the mice. Keeping the house clean and uncluttered goes a long way in keeping down the pests. We tell the grandkids to be careful about dropping food on the floor (no carpets) so they don’t feed the fireants. They know what those are!