So we’re almost defrosted here in the Northeast and I have already noticed a few ants ~ although I am hoping they are coming in on the wood for the woodstove ~ but in any event, instead of calling the pest control company, here are a few tricks to try before going that route!

Could this slug be any creepier?!

Cheers to Beers! We have lots of small local breweries in Maine and while you may not want to use a boutique beer to catch bugs, I bet there’s a bottle back in the fridge you could sacrifice! Inside, the fruit flies love beer and so do the slugs outside.Cut a soda bottle in half, coat the inside of the top half with Vaseline, flip it over and put it into the bottom to form a funnel.  Fill with a few inches (see ~ you don’t have to waste much at all!) of beer and you’re ready to go.  Out in the garden, fill a shallow (ready back pie shell pans work great) container with beer and the slugs will belly up to the bar for a drink.

Aroma therapy!  In a negative sense that is, to the ants! Cucumber peels, peppermint tea bags, cloves or cinnamon left at the point of the ant’s entry may stop them from even entering.  Another remedy is good old-fashioned Borax!

I’ve put a little in a  soda cap with a few drops of water and left on the kitchen windowsill and that seems to help.  I’ve also mixed Borax and sugar and spread the dry mixture outside along the edge of the front walk and the ants have disappeared!

Catnip for Cockroaches!  WARNING ~ this is not good for homes with cats!  Catnip is a natural repellent for cockroaches, and non toxic to humans and pets.  Small sachets filled with catnip can be left in areas of cockroach activity, or simmered in water and used as a spray around baseboards etc.!

If you have other ideas to thwart inside or outside pests, please share.  I’m always open to new ideas to keep the pests where they belong ~ in the neighbor’s yard!