Natural Solutions to Things That Bug You (7 page)

Mix the following ingredients together in a small bowl:

             
3 ½              Ounces of Strawberry jam (any sweet jam will do)                           

             
1 ½              Tablespoons of wet, canned cat food (cheap brand)

1              Teaspoon of boric acid

Make very small balls from the mixture and leave them where you have seen the workers foraging for food.
Keep mixture away from pets and kids.

ANT DUST

The following ingredients will be needed:

             
¼              Pound of dried peppermint (from health food store)

              ¼               Pound rock dust (from nursery)

              ¼              Pound seaweed powder (from garden supply)

              ¼              Pound alfalfa meal (organic, from health food store)

              ¼              Pound cayenne pepper

Place all ingredients in a well-sealed jar or plastic container and shake well to mix.
Avoid getting any of the powder on your hands and possibly into your eyes.
Use a small amount of the powder where the ants frequent. This will keep them away but not kill them.
Keep away from children and pets.

WINDOW BOX PROTECTOR

If you have window boxes and have an insect problem in them, just clean them out and whitewash them. This will stop the insects and reduce the risk of dry rot.

FEED THEM MELON

If you have a bad ant problem and can’t get rid of them, just leave a slice of watermelon or cantaloupe in your yard far from the house. They would prefer melon to anything you have in the house (most of the time, unless you spilled honey on the floor).

BEAN THEM!

Soyabean® (glycine max) is an excellent ant repellant and has been used for many years in Africa. Just prepare the spray by soaking the plant stems in water for 24 hours then using the water as a spray. This also works for aphids and codling moths.

REPEL THEM WITH TANSY

If you sprinkle some fresh tansy leaves in the corners of your kitchen counter and in the windowsills it will repel ants 100%.

GET OUT THE MAGNIFYING GLASS

    If you think you know where the ants are entering the house and need to be sure, just place some strips of masking tape glue-side up and put some sugar or honey on it. Check it in the morning and see how many ants you trapped.

SLIPPERY SUGGESTION

To keep ants from getting on your plants, just place some lard, Vaseline®, Crisco®, butter, etc. around the base of the plant.

TREAT THEM TO A GREAT BREAKFAST CEREAL
Ingredients:

1½ cup Cream of Wheat

Kaboom!
Just place a dish of Cream of Wheat where the ants can easily access it. After they eat it, the cereal will expand and the ants will explode.

KILL THEM WITH KINDNESS

If you want to trap ants and make them really happy, all you have to do is open a bottle of cheap maple syrup (not the real expensive stuff); the ants will find the bottle very quickly, enter it and drown.

DON’T CHEW IT FIRST!

The only chewing gum that works to repel ants is a mint-flavored or spearmint gum. Just place an opened piece in all the drawers of the kitchen or wherever you are having a problem. Also, works great at the base of a houseplant.

THE ANT TRAPPER

    The following ingredients will be needed:

  6              Tablespoons of granulated sugar

                6              Tablespoons of active dry yeast (fresh)

              ½              Cup standard grade molasses or honey

              10              Small plastic lids or bottle caps

Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix thoroughly until it is smooth. Place a small amount of the mixture into the lids or caps and place them near an ant trail or near their mound. The mixture can also be spread on a piece of cardboard or small stick and placed in their pathway or in a crevice.

ANTS BY THE POUND

It takes 500,000 sugar ants to equal 1 pound. If you weigh all the ants on earth, they will weigh more than all humans on earth.

    
BIG NEWS! ANT KILLS ELEPHANT

    In Africa a hungry ant can enter an elephant’s ear and eat them from the inside out. A number of elephants every year fall prey to ants.

GETTING RID OF ANT HILLS

The following ingredients will be needed:

             
¼              Cup of liquid hand soap

1              Gallon of cool tap water

Place the ingredients into a bucket and mix well, then pour 1-2 cups on the anthill and repeat after 1 hour to be sure that the mixture penetrates deep into the chambers.             

FOLLOW THAT ANT

    All ants leave a scent trail, which you need to follow by observing the ant’s behavior. If you can find the nest, you can eliminate the entire nest thus solving the problem.