The Home Know-It-All

Pest Problem? Try Green Home Remedies

As much as we all dislike pests, most of us are leery of spraying chemicals around our homes as a means to get rid of them. Instead, here are some non-toxic, homemade remedies to send those invasive insects packing. 

Before you start trying to get rid of any pest, though, take the obvious first step—remove any attractants that are keeping them around. This includes food residue, open food sources, and any standing or dripping water. 

Roaches

Roaches are known as one of the most determinedly difficult insects to eliminate. 

Try spreading bay leaves around the house, or get a hold of some hedgeapples—the fruit of the Osage Orange tree—and leave one in every room in the house. 

Catnip—for homes without cats—serves as an excellent roach repellant. To create an anti-roach solution, simmer catnip in water and then spray it around the house. Again, if you have a cat, it would be best not to use this technique!

Ants

For ant problems, try leaving bags of mint tea, cloves, or crushed mint leaves in high-activity areas. If you can track down the ants' point of entry into your home, create a "fence" of cinnamon, coffee grounds, or cayenne pepper. Sprinkling any of these in a small line around the entry will create a barrier the colony won't cross. 

Flies

Leaving cloth scraps with a few drops of eucalyptus oil on them will keep flies away in problematic areas. Like ants, flies hate mint and cloves, so leaving some around the house will serve double duty in the fight on critters.

Keep a spray bottle of soapy water around for insect sightings too—a well-aimed shot or two will dispatch them handily. For information on repelling other species of insect pests, visit eartheasy.com

Until next time, 

The Home Know-It-All

Stenciling Walls

Plain, painted walls can be boring. Wallpaper is a pain to apply, maintain, and remove. But there's another option. Stenciling. 

We're not talking about a return to your fifth grade art class here. 

Stenciling allows for almost limitless choices and variations—not only in the design of the stencil itself (if you can't find the design you want, you can always make one), but also with the application of shading effects, color choices, and placement on the wall. 

While simple, this technique will add a visually stunning element to any room, reflecting your home's originality with little effort. 

You'll need:

• Chalk line
• Painter's masking tape
• Stenciling brush (1/2" or Medium-size is a good multipurpose brush)
• Stencil pattern
• Paint (can be acrylic, wall paint, or paint specific to stenciling, which can be found at arts and crafts supply stores)
• Moist rag

Painting

When applying paint to the brush, go lightly. Stenciling requires more finesse than many other forms of painting. Besides, it's always easier to add more paint than to take some off! Use a light dabbing and eddying motion when applying the paint to the wall. 

Don't worry if you've made a mistake—use the moist rag you have handy to wipe up fresh mistakes, or simply let it dry and cover it with leftover wall paint. 

For some background information on interior painting, visit the The Home Know-It-All's archives. Let me know how it turns out!

Until next time, 

The Home Know-It-All