(NaturalNews) The spooky season is here and no hainted haunt would be complete without a forbidding forest of hair-tangling, sputtering-mouthful of spider webs. Yet, most spiders are venomous but not harmful to humans and they serve as guardians of the garden, preying on insect pests caught in those same sticky webs. So, every effort should be taken to not permanently displace or kill garden spiders, but what if they have infested your house?
Pest control experts estimate that 3
Billion pounds of pesticides are applied every year to Canadian and American homes and gardens, damaging our ecosystems irrevocably in many instances. So, natural remedies remain as the most environmentally responsible pest control measures, alone or as a part of an Integrated Pest Management program.
The following 9 easy-to-make elixirs and fixes will shoo the spiders from your home without leaving ghostly residues or using scary chemicals with ghastly names:
1) Place chestnuts at the base of exterior walls and windowsills. Roast any excess in an open fire and give to trick-or-treaters instead of candy.
2) Empty a package of pipe tobacco into a gallon cauldron of boiling water and soak until cool. Strain and combine 1 cup of tobacco juice with ½ cup of lemon dish soap and spray any spider lairs. Toss the tobacco spoils onto the compost pile.
3) Spray infested areas with a spirit-coating aromatic brew of 8 ounces of peppermint or lavender essential oil combined with 1 ounce of pennyroyal, cinnamon or orange
oil.
4) Cut horse apples into quarters and place them in the corners of any haunted rooms.
5) Make every room a spider-free fortress with an ultrasonic insect repeller to keep the marauding arachnids at bay.
6) Send
spiders packing for the tropics by adding a drop of coconut oil to the old stand-by, vinegar and water.
7) Create a poisonous minefield for the 8-legged beasts by dusting corners and under furniture with
natural pyrethrum powder between vacuumings.
8) Dusting with natural diatomaceous earth will pierce the armor of even the most purple-hearted spider. Make sure to use a product with less than 3% crystalline silica-NOT swimming pool grade. Wear a dust mask to prevent inhalation.
9) The non-squeamish can puree bug juice from 5 spiders drowned in a cup of warm water, blended for 30 seconds and strained through a fine sieve before bottling into a sprayer. Recipe can be adjusted for larger spider numbers by increasing the amount of water proportionally.
For more tips on natural pest control, or to sign up for a weekly newsletter, visit
http://pestcontrol.about.com# # #
About the author
Roger Harris is a writer and environmental advocate living on the Big Island of Hawaii. He has formed a network to provide alternatives to pesticides and chemicals,
www.GreenerWorld.net to help the citizens of Hawaii and the world choose a healthier future.
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