Mamas Kid-Safe Pest Control Tricks
- OilandWaterMama
- Jan 6, 2016
- 3 min read
My old man and I have had some interesting run ins with pests in our 3 years of marriage. Poor Dennis has been stuck holding a pan to the cieling foreverrrr while we tried to figure out what to do with the scorpion he trapped. Then there was our first week in our new house in Nashville, where Dennis was met with a big friend in the shower who was definitely in the tarantula family! We've also battled mosquitos, chiggers, ticks and obnoxious flies in my gardening adventures. Ew!
Today I'll be giving you some of the tried and tested pest control remedies we trust around our little ones.
*I have not been compensated in anyway for the following information, reviews or testimonials*
SPIDERS
Peppermint Essential Oil
At the time we encountered a major spider probem at our Nashville house, we had Peppermint Oil, no carriers and no spray bottles or anything else. But feel free to get creative!
I used:
Peppermint Oil with a Dropper, no carrier oil.
1-2 drops every 12in. or so around the perimiters of our mattresses.
3-4 drops on a cotton ball rubbed on all widow casings and door frames.
1-2 drops on cotton balls placed in various corners of closets, shoe organization areas, dresser drawers, towel and linen cabinets, kitchen cabinets, under couch cushions, under the couch itself in corners, under beds, mattresses etc.
*Basically anywhere a spider could enter your home or dark places they could hide*
This alone, cut down the spiders we found in our home from 1-2 per day to 0-2 per month.
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth
We've used this product for scorpions, ants and spiders. We saw 100% improvement in and around our homes. This product only kills insects with an exoskeleton. We found Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth on Amazon for about $13 and purchased a Pest Pistol Mini Duster on Amazon as well (about $12), which is very necessary for safely, lightly dusting your home. We dusted the outside perimeter, windows, door frames, under the deck, etc and within 1 day, started seeing results in the form of a bug graveyard! The only downside is that the sweet and curious little snails, slugs and lady bugs that frequent our patios also met their end. That was a bummer, but a price we pay for keeping the Brown Recluses we encountered away from our children!
* Less is more with this product. You want a light dusting around all the entry areas to your home and in other areas insect pests might like to hang out.
* Breathing in this product is not advised and keep kids from touching it as getting it in the eyes will also be very problematic and painful which is why I suggest using this outside and oils inside.
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth has lots of uses and is safe for children, pets and can even be taken interanly as a suplpement and aide to support TONS of body functions and nutrient defficiencies. (I have not personally tried this yet, but plan to for sure! Right now we just use it as pest control) IT MUST STATE FOOD GRADE ON THE PACKAGE IN ORDER TO BE SAFELY USED FOR THIS PURPOSE. DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE USING IT FOR THIS PURPOSE
MOSQUITOS, CHIGGERS & TICKS
ESSENTIAL OILS AND PLANTS
LEMONGRASS, LAVENDER, PURIFICATION, CITRONELLA, PEPPERMINT AND/OR EUCALYPTUS RADIATA OILS
Both in AZ and TN we had a horrid time fighting off mosquitos and just since being in TN learned about chiggers and ticks. I'm not cool with DEET sprays and creams on our skin, especially with my kids having eczema so we turned to oils (surprise surprise). We had a lot of success with this spray combination (minus Purification because I had not joined Young Living yet, but we'll be adding that to our spray this spring).
* Use an 8oz or larger glass/amber spray bottle *this is a must for keeping your home-made spray from losing its potency
* Add 8oz of water (preferably Distilled)
* Add 20-25 drops of each oil
** IVE RECENTLY HEARD OF FOLKS USING EQUAL PARTS WATER & WITCH HAZEL INSTEAD OF ONLY WATER. I LOVE THIS IDEA AND I'LL BE TRYING IT OUT TOO! **
PLANTS
Also consider planting or potting Lemongrass, Peppermint, Eucalyptus and Lavender around the perimeter of your yard, on your patio, or in areas where you generally hang out when outside at your home. This helps deter the pests as these scents are offensive to them and help to mask our own. I've seen potted ready to go plants of each of these at local grocery stores and nurseries so dont stress abotu growing them from seeds unless you're into that :)
Let me know your experience with these remedies and definitely comment your own add ons or blends too! I always love to try new blends and oils.
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