Nontoxic Pest Control for Your Home and Garden

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 by: TC Thorn

Pesticides are toxic and, while often effective against
pests, can be dangerous for your family and pets. Outdoors, sprayed
pesticides might drift on a breeze and dust your vegetable garden or
your neighbor's yard. Indoors, pesticides can linger in the air,
exposing the family to harmful chemicals. For these reasons, many
people are turning to nontoxic pest control methods.

Prevention is the best way to control pests, but there
are times when even the most thorough preventative measures will not
save you from intruders, so this article discusses both preventative
pest control methods and nontoxic pest control products.

Preventative Pest Control Methods

Sanitation:

As they say, cleanliness is next to godliness. And it
keeps pests out, too. Keeping your home clean is the most effective
pest control method. If you don't leave food or dirty dishes lying
around the house, animals and insects won't be attracted to the smell.
Sweep and vacuum regularly. Remember, just because you can't see crumbs
doesn't mean they don't exist. Clean inside pantries and cabinets
cabinets, under and around the stove and refrigerator at least once a
year.

Screens:

This may seem obvious, but screens on doors and windows
are a simple and relatively cheap way to keep insects out of the house.
Also, screens on crawlspaces keep rodents from obtaining easy access
routes into the house.

Caulking:

By caulking cracks in your house, you can minimize places
for insects to hide and nest. Target bathrooms and the kitchen,
especially doors and windows.

Nontoxic Pest Control Products

Traps:

There are many kinds of traps available that target many
kinds of pests. Some examples are sticky traps for cockroaches,
glueboards for mice, flypaper, bug zappers, and traps specifically for
rats, gophers, or moles. You can usually pick up traps at your local
Home and Garden store.

Pheromones:

Pheromones, essentially insect scent hormones, can be
used in traps as bait. By emitting the scent of the female insect,
pheromones can be used to lure males into a trap, where they are caught
in a sticky glue. Insects are only attracted by pheromones emitted by
their own kind, so you need to know exactly what kind of insects you're
trying to eliminate and plan accordingly.

Biological Control:

Biological control is more often used in agriculture but
can sometimes be used in home and garden situations as well. Basically
it means using desirable organisms to eliminate undesirable organisms.
For instance, planting certain plants in your garden can deter certain
pests. For example, spearmint repels ants. Garlic repels Japanese
Beetles. Indoors, spiders eat fruit flies and houseflies, so it may be
worth leaving some of those webs around.

Repellents:

There are nontoxic repellents available for pest control.
Mosquito repellents are the most popular, but if you look around, you
can find repellents that target other pests. Some herbs, like
eucalyptus and wormwood, are known for repelling animals and insects.

About the Author

TC Thorn writes for http://www.pestinformation.com/ where you can find more pest control information.

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