Pest Control Tricks
Every home-dweller has to eventually contend with pests such as insects, raccoons, and rodents. But don't fret: There are time-proven ways to deter and eradicate these little beasts. We've collected some here:
First Steps in Pest Management
1 Identify the pest problem. This is the first and most important
step in pest control—figuring out exactly what you’re up
against. Some pests (or signs of them) are unmistakable—most
people recognize a cockroach or a mouse. Other signs that
make you think “pest” can be misleading. For example, what
may look like a plant “disease” may be, in fact, a sign of poor soil
or lack of water.
Use free sources to help identify your pest and to learn the most
effective methods to control it. These sources include library
reference books (such as insect field guides or gardening books)
and pest specialists at your County Cooperative Extension
Service or local plant nurseries. These resources are usually
listed in the telephone book. Also, state university Web sites have
residential pest control information.
2 Decide how much pest control is necessary. Pest control is
not the same as pest elimination. Insisting on getting rid of all
pests inside and outside your home will lead you to make
more extensive, repeated, and possibly hazardous chemical
treatments than are necessary. Be reasonable. Ask yourself
these questions:
u Does your lawn really need to be totally weed free?
u Recognizing that some insects are beneficial to your lawn,
do you need to get rid of all of them?
u Do you need every type of fruit, vegetable, or flower you
grow, or could you replace ones that are sensitive to pests
with hardier substitutes?
u Can you tolerate some blemished fruits and vegetables
from your garden?
u Is anyone in your home known to be particularly sensitive
to chemicals?
Pests, Pest Control, and Pesticides 5
3 Choose an effective option. Use the information gathered in
Step 1, your answers to the questions in Step 2, and guidance in
the sections titled “Preventing Pests,” “Using Non-Chemical Pest
Controls,” and “Using Chemical Pest Controls” to determine
which option you want to choose. If you’re still uncertain, get
further advice from the free sources listed in Step 1.
4 Evaluate the results. Once a pest control method has been
chosen and implemented, always allow time for it to work and
then evaluate its effectiveness by taking the following steps:
u Compare pre-treatment and post-treatment conditions. Is
there evidence of a clear reduction in the number of pests?
u Weigh the benefits of short-term chemical pesticide control
against the benefits of long-term control using a
variety of other treatments, including nonchemical
methods.
It’s easier to prevent pests than to control them.
You may not need to worry about the four pest
control steps just mentioned IF you make the
effort to prevent pests in the first place.
Insects
•Keep ants away from your home with a concoction of borax and sugar. Mix 1 cup sugar and 1 cup borax in a quart jar. Punch holes in the jar's lid, and sprinkle the mixture outdoors around the foundation of your home and around the baseboards inside your house. The ants are attracted by the sugar and poisoned by the borax.
•If you have cockroaches, sprinkle borax powder in the kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Avoid sprinkling where children and pets could be affected.
•If there's a hornet, wasp, bee or other flying insect in your house and you have no insect spray, kill it with hair spray.
•If your home becomes infested with fleas, vacuum rugs thoroughly before spraying, and throw the dust bag out at once.
•Change the water in a birdbath every 3 days to help reduce the mosquito population.
•The presence of carpenter ants indicates another problem. Because they're fond of damp wood, you should check your pipes, roof and windowsills for water leaks.
•Centipedes prey on other bugs, so the presence of centipedes in your house may indicate the presence of other insects as well.
•You can distinguish termite damage from other insect damage by examining any holes you find in wood. Termites usually eat only the soft part of wood, leaving the annual rings intact.
•If you live in a multiunit building, any pest control measures you take individually will be ineffective in the long run simply because insects can travel form one apartment to another. To eliminate bugs completely, the entire building should be treated at one time.
Raccoons and Rodents
•Raw bacon or peanut butter makes good bait for a mousetrap. Make sure a mouse will have to tug the trap to remove the bait. If you're using peanut butter, dab some on the triggering device and let it harden before setting the trap. If bacon is your bait, tie it around the triggering device.
•If a raccoon sets up housekeeping in your attic or chimney, chemical repellants -- such as oil of mustard -- are temporarily effective. (The smell may bother you as much as it does the raccoon.) Your best bet is to let the animal leave, and then cover its entrance hole with wire mesh so that it cannot return.
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•To keep rodents out of your house, seal every opening they could squeeze through. Some need less than 1/4 inch of space. Put poison in deep cracks or holes, and stuff them with steel wool or scouring pads pushed in with a screwdriver. Close the spaces with spackling compound mixed with steel wool fragments.