Mosquito control has become a very tough challenge this year with all of the spring rains and flooding we have had. Those nasty little blood suckers can really ruin a backyard party, grill out, or evening on the porch. There are several ways to help control the mosquito populations on your own property. Make sure and check you yard for any low lying areas that are holding water. These low spots are prime breeding grounds for mosquitoes. If you have any old planters, tires, or other containers sitting on the porch that might have standing water they will also be mosquito havens.
Controlling mosquitoes can be done with several gadgets that are readily available at your hardware store or garden center. For immediate mosquito control use an industrial propane fogger be for holding your back yard event. Allow time prior to the event for the fog to settle and the mosquitoes to die or vacate the area. Lasting or ongoing mosquito control can be achieved using a mosquito magnet or bug zapper. Other alternatives to controlling mosquitoes include using citronella torches and candles during the evening hours when mosquito are at their worst.
If anyone out there is really adventurous and an animal lover your could go so far as to put a few bat houses in place. Bats can consume huge amounts of mosquitoes in the evening and a few patrolling your yard wont hurt.
Household Pest Control | Mosquito Control
Household Pest Control | Plants To Keep Ants Away
In my on going battle to kill the ants invading my house, storage shed and property I began looking into natural means to help keep them away. Besides the normal routes of using ortho pest killers, ant bait systems, and the good old smack em with a shoe option, I decided to try some plants. I had done some research on the Internet and found that there are several types of plants to keep household pests like mice, ants, fleas, and ticks not only out of the yard but out of the house.
A couple examples of these types of plants are mints. Spearmint, Peppermint, Lemon Balm and many other common herbs are known to produce enough fragrance that they mask the scent trails left by ants. There are far too many plants that can aid in eliminating or deterring household pests from coming into the home too mention on this site but I have tried the ones listed above.
Some ideal places to plant these natural household pest controlling plants would be around the foundation of your home, landscaping around the storage shed, near entrances or windows to the home and anywhere else you have noticed ants or other household pests trying to enter your house. Since I have just planted these pest controlling plants, I can't say for sure that they work but they are far less expensive than using chemical products like Ortho ant control. I'm sure if they do work I'm sure I will not see the instant gratification I saw when spraying the pests with bug killers but I'm willing to give it a shot.
In addition to surrounding your property with these household pest controlling plants, I have heard you can even pick a few leaves and leave them in cupboards, closets, drawers and other areas pests might frequent. If you know of other natural ways of controlling household pests feel free to leave a comment and tell us about them.
Household Pest Control | Sugar Ants
I've had it with the sugar ants this year. You know the one them little tiny black ants that magically appear out of nowhere. This is one household pest I've been fighting for years. Every now and them they come migrating into my house like they are going to attempt to take over the world. I actually was able to find the source of these nasty household pest yesterday and have taken corrective action in eliminating this household pest from my home.
Here's how I killed all those pesky sugar ants. After I located the ants nest and was amazed at the sheer number of the little annoying pests, I headed to Walmart's household pest control department. I armed myself with a brand new ortho 3 gallon sprayer, a jug of ortho ant and roach killer, a second bottle of ortho indoor household pest control product and was off to do battle.
I immediately went to the source of these nasty little sugar ants that had taken up refuge in my storage shed and began spraying them with bug killer. The amount of the pest killer I was spraying must have seemed like Niagara falls to those annoying sugar ants. The began fleeing for their lives, scrambling to grab their ant larva and eggs, and dying by the thousands. Once I had rid my shed of the nest of sugar ants I followed their trail up to the house and began applying the same ortho pest contol spray to the foundation of the house, window and door frames and near by areas they may wander. I was quite pleased as I saw these little buggers scrambling for their lives.
Not only did I rid the yard and shed of these household pests but I also applied the same household pest control techniques to the interior of the house. I cleared the baseboard of all surrounding furniture and hit every crack and crevice with my trusty indoor ortho spray. I was pleasantly surprised to find far fewer in the house than I had expected and now that I have killed the nest of sugar ants hope It stays that way. I plan on repeating the process of spraying the foundation and interior locations again in a few days just as a follow up. In addition, I'll keep my eyes peeled as I mow the lawn looking for any new ant nest that might appear. For now at least I can avoid the cost of hiring a professional exterminator to control these household pests.
