Natural Pest Control

Natural Pest Control

By Debra Karplus

You enjoy the flora and fauna of the outdoors, but when insects disturb your family or home, that’s different. In your efforts to avoid harsh, potentially dangerous pest control products, your search online consistently leads you to one safe “solution”, PREVENTION.

Keeping termites away from your property may be easier than you think.

Termites are a natural to Southern California, as they thrive in warm places, living below the soil. Maintain an environment in and around your homes that makes them unwelcome.

Be prudent about storing lumber off the ground in your basement, garage, or workshop. Note that there is actually lumber for your building projects that is termite-resistant; store firewood for your upcoming beach campfire away from the house; keep it on a rack so that termites in the ground have no direct way to get to the wood.

Termites dig and live in “tunnels”. Learn to recognize termite damage. Carefully inspect your home each spring. It’s not a bad idea to pay for a yearly inspection from a professional pest control company.

Woodpeckers live in the Los Angeles area, and like certain other birds, enjoy dining on termites. Additionally nematodes are insects that eat termites, too. Retailers such as Amazon.com actually sell large quantities of nematodes for about $ 20 for the purpose of natural biological termite control. Though it’s a short term fix, it is certainly safer than the use of dangerous chemicals. Purchase nematodes on a regular basis and you may never have to worry about their evil little white cousins, namely termites.

Your family needs to be protected from the potential problems from bee stings, and mosquito and spider bites.

People grow in and out of allergies. Your child might be bit or stung once by an insect or spider without much ado, but a subsequent encounter could turn dangerous. Again, prevention is your best method.

To reduce the chance of spider bites, peruse your ceiling for spider webs, especially over your child’s bed, and vacuum regularly. Home improvement stores typically sell cotton work gloves in child sizes. If your child is helping you in the garden, be sure they are wearing protective gloves.

Bee stings can also generate an allergic reaction. Experts tell people, “do not look or smell like a flower”, meaning avoid cologne when working outside and stay away from wearing bright-colored clothing. First aid for a bee sting involves removing a stinger in the skin if there is one and then mixing a baking soda paste and applying it generously to the area that has been stung.

There are all sorts of deadly viruses that are the result of a seemingly innocent mosquito bite. Don’t allow standing to accumulate near your house or yard, especially after a rainfall. Keep your child’s body as well-covered as possible that the weather allows. Keep an over-the-counter product around such as Caladryl to apply to avoid itching. Benadryl is also helpful for internal use for those with a mild allergic reaction to a bite or sting.

This article by Debra Karplus first appeared on Culver City Moms and was distributed by the Personal Finance Syndication Network.

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