New Mexico Mercury

We are using way too much pesticides in our society, in our homes, in our schools, in public buildings and even in our forests. I have covered the many problems pesticides cause many times in my columns. We have to have a system where we use safe and effective methods for pest control. Some companies do this and I recommend them in some instances. Many companies prefer to spray pesticides because it is easier and you really don't have to know what you are doing. Just spray and pray – spray pesticides and pray you kill something.

There are virtually no household pests that require pesticides for control. Yellowjackets and wasps may be an exception because they can be potentially dangerous. However if you have a wasp nest near your house now when it is cold, it will die out. Knock it down and early next year you can spray some Avon Skin So Soft in the area and the wasps won't nest there. You may as well prevent them rather than have them build on eaves of your home. I had some yellowjackets on my porch last year. I just fed them chicken drumsticks which they loved. The chicken has so many chemicals in it, including traces of arsenic in some cases, the yellowjackets all died off over the winter and never came out this past Spring.

You can control ants with various baits, and the bait depends on the species of ants. Here are a couple of baits you can use for ants. For odorous house ants (Tapinoma sessile), pavement ants (Tetramorium caespitum) and little black ants (Monomorium minimum), you can mix two tablespoons each of peanut butter and jelly with one tablespoon of boric acid. Place where the ants are foraging.

You can also use instant grits to control some species of ants in your yard as well as orange juice and Coca Cola, again depending on the species. You can prevent ants from coming in your home by placing peppermint essential oil in the proper areas. Pesticides are not necessary for ant control.

There are a number of good baits available for controlling cockroaches. You can put equal amounts of baking soda and sugar out in flat containers and they will take it. Outside you can control roaches with pie pans filled with beer. Not Lite beer as they don't like it. You can also repel cockroaches out of areas with several herbs including bay leaves, cucumber peelings and cayenne. Catnip will also repel them.

There are good repellents for spiders, centipedes and scorpions that you can use and natural products you can use to kill any in your house. You can control bed bugs yourself as well. You don't need to pay a small fortune to a pest control company to spray pesticides in your home. You can do it yourself with safe products. Why use pesticides on your child's head if they get lice? You can use coconut oil or olive oil shampoos just as effectively and much more safely.
There are many other baits and repellents you can use for various pests.

Where can you learn more about them? Join the Bugman's Bug Club. I will teach you how to control any household pest you may encounter without the use of pesticides. If you don't know what the pest is, you can send it to me and I will identify it for you and then make a control recommendation. You will get a copy of my book on this subject in pdf format. You may have to use a pest management company for termite control, but you should never have to use one again for household pest control. The purpose of the Bugman's Bug Club is reduce, and hopefully, to someday eliminate the use of pesticides in our society.