house spiderAh, summer. You're full of barbecues and hammocks and sun tans AND MOSQUITOES AND SPIDERS AND ANTS. Seriously, why does warm weather have to bring out so many creepy-crawly insects?

Thankfully, there are some great all-natural ideas out there to keep insects out of your house this summer without the use of all those gross toxic chemicals so many people use.

Here's a little roundup of some great tips for keeping the bugs and other common pests at bay.

1) Mosquitoes love me. If there are mosquitoes in the vicinity, I'm getting bit, which is even more annoying when that mosquito has found its way inside my house. When I read this article in The New York Times about house fans repelling mosquitoes, I literally clapped because I've tried this first hand and IT WORKS. Thank goodness.

2) Bugs can destroy a garden, which is ridiculously frustrating for a gardener. This smart and really comprehensive article from The Stir's very own Shari on Quick, Organic Tips on Common Garden Pests will teach you how to keep a pretty garden during the summertime using old yogurt containers, flour, and, of all things, beer to ward off pests.

3) I can attest again that this article on non-toxic ways to get rid of ants that suggests using black pepper, a mix of water and vinegar, or cinnamon is spot on, especially with cinnamon, a method I've used numerous times myself.

4) Fruit is a summer staple and if you accidentally leave some of that fruit in your sink, on your counter, or in your trash can for too long, fruit flies emerge. And plenty of them at that. Here's an easy remedy to rid your kitchen of fruit flies from Tammy's Recipes that I had to put to use just last week. All those gross flies were literally all gone in 24 hours. As was all my red wine vinegar. Small price to pay!

5) Then there are spiders, which are the most prevalent of all bugs (in my opinion) because there are just so many kinds of them! The easiest way to manage the number of spiders who take up shop in your home is to get rid of all the webs you see as soon as you see them. Dust often!

What are YOUR non-toxic pest remedies?

 

Image via Flickr/Blodgett Esq.