Ants, cockroaches, mosquitoes, moths, or termites: discover the most natural solutions to protect yourself from them.
Whether you live in a house or an apartment, our homes sometimes suffer from infestations of flying or crawling pests. Don’t panic, most are unpleasant but harmless, starting with ants and silverfish. Even pantry moths don’t pose a real danger and don’t carry any diseases. But since these intrusions are still unwelcome, it’s best to take preventative measures. The most effective weapons are cleaning and tidying up! But there are also simple, natural recipes to repel, or even exterminate, these pesky little creatures.
1/ Homemade recipe: a natural repellent against flies, mosquitoes, and ants
Stick cloves into an onion or an orange. It will shrink without rotting and will release a long-lasting repellent odor against flies, mosquitoes, and ants.
2/ The best allies: animals!
Nature knows best. Natural predators and repellents can help us in our fight. For example, a cat will help you eliminate rodents (mice, voles, rats). A sniffer dog is trained to detect bed bugs. Finally, don’t systematically mistreat spiders: they are a sign of a healthy home and hunt ants, cockroaches, and mosquitoes.
3/ A silent but effective helper: plants.
Chrysanthemums: Dried and crushed, the chrysanthemum flower allows the extraction of pyrethrum, a powerful insecticide that paralyzes the nervous system of insects. Use with caution and gloves.
Scented geraniums: On the patio or balcony, these fragrant geraniums (especially Pelargonium graveolens, available as an essential oil) are effective against mosquitoes, wasps, and flies. Peppermint: Its pleasant scent is an excellent repellent against rats and mice. Unfortunately, our feline friends and spiders don’t like it much either.
Fresh basil: Besides its decorative appeal and delicious flavor in cooking, potted basil placed on a windowsill has the added benefit of driving away a number of unwanted pests, especially flies.
