Pests like cockroaches, ants, flies, and rodents can easily invade a home and become a nuisance. Chemical pesticides may seem like an easy solution, but they can be toxic to humans and pets. Fortunately, there are many natural, non-toxic ways to control and prevent pests without using harsh chemicals. Here are 15 natural pest control and prevention tips to try at home:
Keep Your Home Clean and Clutter-Free
One of the best ways to prevent pests is to keep your home clean and free of clutter. Pests are attracted to food scraps, grease, crumbs, and other organic matter. Be sure to:
- Clean counters, floors, and other surfaces regularly to remove food sources. Vacuum carpets and mop hard floors often.
- Take out the trash frequently and avoid letting dishes pile up in the sink.
- Keep food stored in airtight containers, and don’t leave pet food or water bowls out overnight.
- Get rid of cardboard boxes, newspapers, bags, and other clutter where pests can hide.
Keeping your home tidy eliminates shelter and food sources for pests, making it much less inviting for them.
Seal Cracks, Crevices, and Entry Points
To prevent pests from entering in the first place, seal any cracks, crevices, holes, or gaps along floors, walls, ceilings, windows, doors, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, and pipes. Caulk and weatherstrip any potential entryways and use copper mesh, steel wool, or other materials to plug holes. This denies pests access to your home.
Pay special attention to areas around utility lines, the foundation, and windows and doors. Make sure screens on doors and windows are in good condition and fit snugly in their frames. Repair any damaged screens right away.
Remove Standing Water Sources
Mosquitoes, flies, and other pests need access to water to breed and survive. Get rid of any sources of standing water around your home:
- Empty water that collects in flower pots, old tires, buckets, toys, and other outdoor items. Change water in bird baths and pets’ water bowls daily.
- Clear clogged roof gutters so that water can drain properly.
- Fill any holes or low areas in your yard where water can collect and pool after rains.
- Make sure air conditioning units are properly drained and not leaking.
- Repair leaky outdoor faucets, pipes, hoses, and sprinklers.
Removing standing water denies pests the moisture they rely on.
Use Essential Oils
Many essential oils naturally deter pests like ants, cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes. For example:
- Peppermint, eucalyptus, citronella, lemongrass, and tea tree oils repel insects.
- Lavender, thyme, oregano, citrus, and garlic oils keep away a variety of pests.
Mix a few drops of these concentrated oils with water in a spray bottle. Spritz doorways, window frames, and anywhere else pests may enter. As an added bonus, these mixtures smell pleasant! Just be sure to keep essential oil sprays away from children and pets.
You can also use cotton balls soaked with oils around problem areas. Refresh weekly or monthly.
Set Out Traps for Rodents
For mice, rats, and other rodents, trapping is an effective and eco-friendly solution. Try these humane trapping tips:
- Use old-fashioned snap traps baited with peanut butter, cheese, or other food treats. Place them along baseboards or anywhere you see signs of rodents.
- For live trapping, use cage-style traps so you can release rodents outdoors unharmed. Bait them similarly.
- Make DIY bucket traps by placing bait at the bottom with a ramp or pole leading inside. Rodents enter but cannot escape.
- Glue traps or sticky pads also capture rodents humanely so they can be disposed of.
Check all traps daily and release or dispose of rodents promptly. Trapping eliminates infestations without poisons.
Grow Pest-Repelling Plants
Many herbs, flowers, and other plants naturally deter pests:
- Mint, garlic, chives, onion, and oregano repel aphids, ants, flies, and mosquitoes.
- Lavender, chrysanthemums, petunias, and marigolds help keep bugs away.
- Pepper plants repel cabbage worms, squash bugs, and other garden pests.
Plant these around doors, windows, gardens, and anywhere else pests enter your yard. You can also crush leaves or flowers and spread around problem areas for an extra punch of pest protection.
Use Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a natural dust made from ancient fossilized algae. It has microscopic sharp edges that cut into soft-bodied insects like fleas, bed bugs, ants, and cockroaches.
Apply food-grade DE along baseboards, under appliances, and anywhere else pests congregate. It’s non-toxic for humans and pets but scratches the waxy exoskeleton of insects, causing dehydration and death. Reapply after vacuuming.
For gardens, sprinkle DE around plants to protect against aphids, snails, beetles, and worms. Just avoid getting it wet or it loses effectiveness. DE works for weeks at a time without chemicals.
Employ Natural Predators
Encourage natural predators to move into your yard to keep pests under control:
- Ladybugs, praying mantises, green lacewings, and ground beetles all devour aphids, mites, caterpillars, and other lawn and garden bugs.
- Small birds like wrens, chickadees, and nuthatches eat insect pests.
- Bats and certain spiders prey on mosquitoes, flies, and other nuisance pests around your home.
You can purchase ladybugs and praying mantises from garden centers to release. For other predators, provide habitat like native plants, birdbaths, bat houses, brush piles, and more. They’ll help eliminate pests without pesticides.
Use Boric Acid for Cockroaches
Boric acid is made from boron and is effective against cockroaches and other crawling insects. It acts as a stomach poison for bugs.
For cockroaches, sprinkle boric acid into wall voids, cracks and crevices, under appliances, behind baseboards, and other areas they hide. The roaches will ingest it while grooming. It may take 1-2 weeks to reduce populations.
Since boric acid is toxic for kids and pets, place it out of reach in areas frequented by roaches. Use gloves and avoid breathing it in during application. With proper use, boric acid provides safe roach control.
Apply Diatomaceous Earth for Fleas
If pets have brought fleas inside, use diatomaceous earth (DE) for a natural control method. Sprinkle food-grade DE into carpets and rugs. The tiny fossils will cut into fleas wandering on the fibers.
Allow the DE to sit for a few hours before vacuuming up. You can also rub it directly onto your pets’ coats. For severe infestations, treat bedding and kennels too. Apply monthly for lasting flea protection.
Since DE is non-toxic, you and your pets can rest easy after applying. No need for toxic chemical flea powders and sprays.
Use Fly Paper to Catch Flies
For isolated fly issues indoors, use old-fashioned fly paper or fly tape to humanely catch them. Hang strips in doorways, windows, and other fly “hot spots.” The sticky glue will grab any flies that land on the papers.
Fly paper isn’t the most attractive pest control method, but it’s non-toxic and effective for catching stray flies you notice buzzing around without having to spray chemicals.
Replace the strips regularly when they fill up with trapped flies. Fly paper can help monitor and reduce fly activity.
Apply Garlic Spray for Aphids
If garden aphids are attacking your plants, make an easy garlic insecticidal spray. Simply mix several crushed garlic cloves with 1 quart of water. Allow it to steep for a day, then strain out the garlic chunks.
Pour the garlic water into a spray bottle and liberally mist any infested plants, coating both tops and undersides of leaves. You can add a couple drops of dish soap to help the garlic mixture stick.
The sulfur compounds in garlic naturally deter aphids without leaving harmful residue on edible plants. Reapply weekly or after rain to keep aphids away.
Use Beer Traps for Slugs and Snails
Get rid of slimy slugs and snails in your garden by placing shallow dishes of beer around infested areas. The pests are attracted to the yeasty aroma of beer and will crawl in for a drink…only to drown and perish in the dish.
For best results, set out the beer traps at night when slugs and snails are most active. Dispose of the dead ones each morning, and refresh the beer as needed. The yeast bait also lures in earwigs, sowbugs, and other crawling pests to control them without chemicals.
Make a Vinegar Fruit Fly Trap
Small pesky fruit flies frequently infest kitchens. Make this DIY fruit fly trap to get rid of them:
- Pour apple cider vinegar into a glass jar until it’s 1⁄3 full. Add a few drops of dish soap.
- Cover the jar with plastic wrap, and secure it with a rubber band.
- Poke several tiny holes in the plastic with a toothpick or skewer.
Set the trap out on your counter. Fruit flies will be able to get in through the holes but won’t be able to escape again. You’ve created a simple homemade trap for these annoying kitchen pests!
Use Milky Spore for Japanese Beetles
Japanese beetles can rapidly damage lawns and gardens. A natural biological control is milky spore powder. When watered into soil, the bacteria kills Japanese beetle grubs feeding on roots underground. Apply milky spore in the spring and fall when grubs are active. The effects last for many years without harming beneficial earthworms or other insects.
Milky spore doesn’t control adult beetles above ground, but eliminating the larvae prevents the next generation. It’s safe for kids, pets, beneficial insects, and the environment. Just be patient…it can take 1-2 years to see a decline in beetles as the grubs die off.
Apply Neem Oil Spray for Fungus Gnats
Tiny fungus gnats flying around houseplants can be managed safely with neem oil. Extracted from the neem tree, it smothers fungal growths that their larvae feed on.
Mix a few teaspoons of neem oil with 1 pint of water. Add a couple drops of mild dish soap and shake well. Mist houseplant soil to saturate the top layer where fungus gnat larvae live. The oil kills larvae and eggs while deterring adult gnats. Reapply weekly to break their breeding cycle.
Neem oil is non-toxic for humans and pets. When used as directed, it provides natural pest and fungus control indoors.
Use Insecticidal Soap for Cabbage Loopers
The cabbage looper caterpillar (which also attacks broccoli, kale and other brassicas) can be controlled organically with insecticidal soap sprays.
Mix 1-2 tablespoons of liquid castile soap with 1 gallon of water. Add a teaspoon of vegetable oil so the soap adheres and coats insects well. Spray leaves thoroughly, especially underneath, when loopers first appear. Reapply every 5-7 days to kill larvae on contact and prevent serious damage to vegetables.
Insecticidal soap leaves no chemical residues and is safe for kids, pets, beneficials, and the environment. It disrupts cabbage loopers’ cell membranes on contact so they dehydrate and die without toxins.
Use Row Covers to Exclude Pests
Fabric row covers act as a physical barrier to keep insect pests off vegetables and fruit trees while allowing water, light, and air circulation. Drape the lightweight fabric directly over plants and secure the edges with stones, boards, or garden staples.
Row covers exclude pests like cabbage worms, onion flies, flea beetles, fruit flies, cucumber beetles, and more without insecticides. Keep them on until plants start to flower and need pollination.
For fruit trees, apply covers just before fruit sets to prevent insect damage and migration into developing fruit. No need to spray pesticides with this simple, effective exclusion method.
Conclusion
Controlling pests doesn’t have to mean resorting to hazardous, toxic chemicals. There are many safe, natural options to rid your home and garden of common ants, roaches, flies, mosquitoes, beetles, and other pests.
By sealing up cracks, removing standing water, using plants and oils, trapping rodents, releasing natural predators, and employing other organic methods, you can successfully keep pest problems at bay. And your family, pets, and the environment will thank you.
Give these natural pest control and prevention tips a try to enjoy a pesticide-free home. Visit this site regularly for more insights on safe, eco-friendly pest management methods that really work. What non-toxic strategies do you use to control pests successfully? Please share your best advice in the comments to help other readers.