Easy and Effective Methods to Remove Pests from Your Yard

When it comes to having pests and bugs in your yard, some are beneficial and you may be able to share living space with them. Others, however, are not so friendly or welcome. Things like worms and potato bugs can really help your lawn and they do not adversely affect you or your family. Ants and other biting insects may not be so welcome. While there are some things that you can do to help rid yourself of these insects, they do not always work. There are some extreme measures that you can take to forever rid yourself of these pests. I do want to warn against obliterating all spiders though. Spiders, no matter how creepy they may be to you, are a necessary part of the insect food chain. If you rid yourself of them, you may find a virtual plague of other insects taking over your home. There is a balance that you should maintain. While bugs may be a little icky to you, they are necessary to your plants and lawn. Here are some things that you can do to keep a good balance and some rather extreme measures that you can take to get rid of them if the more conventional methods do not work.

The first thing that you should try to get rid of the insects in your home is pest sprays. There are several of them on the market and you are sure to find the right one for you and your home. You can easily find a commercial brand that is organic and natural if you need that, or you can easily make your own natural insect repellent. Nicotine, witch hazel, and citrus work well in these and can be quite potent. By adding some citrus to your blend, you can also leave a fresh and appealing aroma versus the chemical smell that usually comes with bug spray. If you do not have animals or children around your home, borax is a great way to exterminate any bug that you may have a problem with. You can find powdered borax for a rather cheap price at many stores. Just sprinkle this around the border of every room and along the outside of your home. This will kill the existing bugs and keep more from coming in.

If you have a mosquito problem, you want to make sure that you continually empty any standing water near your home. This will prevent them from breeding near you. You will also want to keep a slightly high level of chlorine in your pool or Jacuzzi. If you have a koi or other type of fish pond, try getting a small fish that will dine on the mosquito larva. You may also want to burn citronella or "tiki torches" around your porch or lawn. This will help to keep the biting flies and mosquitoes at bay. Having a couple healthy spiders around will also help in this aspect. You can build spider friendly areas around the perimeter of your lawn so that they are far enough away from your home for you to feel safe about them and they can still catch and eat all of the flying insects you don't want around.

If you have a problem with spiders in your home, you can try to find some "Daddy Long Legs" spiders. These will actually eat more dangerous spiders and keep the population down. They are harmless to people as well, so you don't have to worry about getting bit. If you are having troubles with grubs or other burrowing insects, you can add a little salt to your soil. You will need to increase the plant food and fertilizer so that you do not kill off your grass or plants, but a high salt soil can kill some of these pests and drive others away. There are several other chemical and natural methods to get rid of these as well. One thing that I have found to quite effective for interior pests is a little device that you plug into the wall that drives them away. These are ultrasonic pest control devices. They emit a sound that only the bugs and rodents can hear and it keeps them out of your home. It will usually chase them to your neighbor's house, but that is our little secret.

If these do not work, there are some more extreme measures that you can take. If you have a problem with ants or other burrowing type pests, there are some options. The first option is to make some candy "crumbs" and make a trail that leads them away. At the end of this trail you can place a whole candy bar or sweet fruit. About once a week, replace the bait at the end of the trail. This constant food supply will urge them to move to that area. Your neighbors may not like you relocating your ant problem to their yard, but it is an option. You can also lead the trail out to your dumpster. If you choose this method, you can drill a small hole in the base of your dumpster so that they can access the trash. This can be quite effective.

One other method that is a little more extreme is to burn them out. This is actually an interesting thing to do and is fun for kids (under supervision only). Find the ant mound farthest from your home and fill it with about a half gallon of gasoline. Wait about two to three minutes for the gas to settle all the way into their tunnel system and then light it up. You will see little flames shoot out of all the holes. This will burn all of the ants inside, including the queen ant, forcing them to leave and find another colony with a queen. You want to have some water handy when doing this though. If any of the ant hills are near to your home, you may start a small fire. You should only do this under extreme caution.

Another, less pyro-friendly, method is to use about a gallon of bleach. This can be deadly to your lawn though. You can pour the gallon of bleach into the most active ant hill and this will filter down and kill all the ants inside. Not only can this kill the ants, but it can also "burn" your grass and kill any plants that you may have in the area. It is much more fun watching the little flames shoot up out of the hole anyways.

Both of these methods also work for prairie dogs, moles, and gophers as well. If you burn them out, they may come back, if you bleach them, they are likely to stay away. Burning small rodents can also be hazardous. I have personally seen a flaming gopher run straight for the house and start a fire on the back porch. You will need to exercise extreme caution with this choice.

There are several different things that you can do to get rid of pests and rodents. When extreme measures are needed, you can try talking to a local pest control company about things that you can do or stop by your neighborhood Lowe's. There are a lot of experts out there that do not mind giving a little free advice in the best methods to use. A lot of times some harsh cleaners or natural solutions may be all that you need. One that I have found to be really effective is a nicotine solution. Buy a nice size cigar, pouch of pipe tobacco or bag of "roll your own" tobacco and let it soak in a bottle of witch hazel. You can add the pulp and juice of an orange to this to help with the smell. Let that sit for about a week and you will have one of the best bug sprays that money can buy. It may just take a little looking to find the right solution. Just remember, your neighbor may have read this article too. Make sure they aren't leading the bugs to your home.