Rid Your Apartment of Pests the Natural Way

It’s been found that pesticides and herbicides cause a whole slew of health and environmental problems, so it’s no wonder many people are looking for natural remedies for their pest issues.

Here are a few steps you can take to deal with the bugs while avoiding dangerous chemicals:

Step 1

Bugs—roaches, water bugs, silverfish and even spiders (which actually act as a sort of debugger—more about that later)— were put on earth to fulfill their evolutionary mission, but they couldn’t care less about whether that mission keeps them in the great outdoors or brings them to your high rise or into your 5^th floor walk-up. Contrary to what you may have heard, bugs aren’t in your home because they’ve decided it’s a you-or-them scenario. If you take away their food and water, they’ll move on.

Bugs can live on a thumb smear of jelly or on a fingernail you’ve clipped and let drop on the floor. From now on, you will wipe away any and all food stains and think twice before leaving nail clippings around. You will also wipe up all droplets of water around the sink. Use a paper towel as a quicker-picker-upper. You will become Mr. or Mrs. Clean…and you will not have bugs!

Step 2

Garbage has to be taken out more than once. Did you know there is actually a cosmopolitan city in the North of Spain that picks up its resident’s garbage daily? That city’s bug infestation problem is probably non-existent. Yes, bugs have to live somewhere, but in cases where they are not welcomed indoors, they’ll settle quite nicely in the soil, sand, grass, gravel and dirt. Not keeping refuse around where the smells attract insects really does make a difference.

Step 3

Check those plants you’re over watering. Those plates that catch the excess water need to be drained if the plant isn’t absorbing the water quickly enough. Water attracts bugs!

Step 4

The only exception to leaving water around is if  fleas are an issue. Every day, place warm water in a plastic lid and leave it directly under a night light. The fleas that aren’t living off your pets will be caught in the water. The water is easier for bugs to “smell” if it’s warm. Place a drop or two of liquid soap in the water to increase the slippery factor. A bar of castile soap placed in a warm bowl of water for a few minutes will create a sudsy soap and will work well here.

Step 5

Diatomaceous Earth is a wonderful and perfectly natural powder that will eliminate insects. Be careful you don’t buy the Pool Grade kind. You need the Food-Grade type that can be ingested (although you might not want to do that)—it’s that safe. You don’t need much. One caveat: Do not toss it in the air or let it waft into an airborne cloud. It’s a little rough on the breathing apparatus. I wear a paint mask and those disposable gloves to rub it into the animal’s fur, as it’ll make skin gritty if used much.

Think positively!