Living With Insects: 5 Essential Tips
A little bite here, a little sting there, and you might end up tossing and turning in bed all night trying to reach that itchy spot on your body. By then, you should realize that you share your home with a variety of insects, such as ants, mosquitoes, and cockroaches.
Most people shiver at that mere thought. They find insects scary, annoying, and maybe even creepy. But many actually do not know anything about those marvelous creatures. Learning more about them might be a first step to help you change your attitude toward our small crawling and flying cohabitants. You might soon marvel at their delicate sensory antennae, their resilient chitin exoskeletons, or their sharp compound eyes, consisting of thousands of lenses.
However, most people would still rather not share their homes with insects. Therefore, it is crucial to know how you can get rid of domestic insects without harming or killing them. Here are five essential tips for a peaceful coexistence:
- Don’t leave food lying around. Clean up all crumbs after you have eaten, wash dishes promptly, and store food in tightly sealed containers.
- Keep your trash tidy. Make sure your trash bins have tight-fitting lids. Take the trash out regularly and duly. If you live in a house, keep compost piles as far away from it as possible.
- Impede access to your house. Prevent cockroaches and bugs from entering your home by properly sealing up holes and cracks in walls and doors.
- Hide tracks. Ants do not like sour things. Use lemon juice or vinegar to wipe the surface of anywhere you have seen them. This will hide their tracks so that they won’t be able to follow each other through your house.
- Use aromatic herbs and essential oils to peacefully repel insects. Hang up dried lavender in your closet to keep moths away from your clothes. This will also leave a pleasant smell in your closet. Scatter whole bay leaves or catnip throughout the house to protect against cockroaches. Set out bay leaves, pepper clumps, or cinnamon sticks to repel ants. If you live with companion animals who shouldn’t eat the herbs, form small parcels by wrapping them in a very breathable fabric. Apply natural insect repellents made from essential oils such as pennyroyal, citronella, and lemongrass oil to your skin to keep mosquitoes from biting you.
Following these simple tips, you will soon be able to return to enjoying a good night’s sleep with a clear conscience, knowing that you didn’t harm any of the insects we share the Earth with.
Posted by intern Ruth Orli Mosser
