Insects & Rodents

Fleas and Ticks:

• Wash pets with castile soap and water, dry thoroughly, apply an herbal rinse made by adding 1/2 cup fresh or dried rosemary to a quart of boiling water, steep for 20 minutes, strain and cool. Spray or sponge onto pets hair, massage into skin. Let air dry, do NOT towel dry as this removes the residue of the rosemary.
• Diatomaceous earth (pure silica): this substance dehydrates insects, sprinkle around flours, cracks and crevices
• Diatomaceous earth (pure silica): this substance dehydrates insects, sprinkle on pets hair and comb through, safe for pets

Roaches:

• Mix equal parts boric acid with flour, sprinkle around cracks and crevices
• Mix equal parts boric acid with sugar, sprinkle around cracks and crevices
• Mix equal parts boric acid with corn meal, sprinkle around cracks and crevices
• Diatomaceous earth (pure silica): sprinkle around flours, cracks and crevices
• Cucumber peels: set out on counter tops overnight to repel roaches
• Mix Borax with a little brown sugar and flour and sprinkle behind appliances, under sink, and in corners. Cockroaches carry the mixture back to their nests
• Heloise's Famous Roach Recipe
  1/4 cup shortening
  1/8 cup sugar
  8 oz. boric acid
  1/2 cup flour
  Ample water to form a dough
  Mix all, form small balls of dough and set out in open plastic sandwich bags (to retain moisture longer), when hardened, replace with new dough
  

CAUTION: Boric Acid and borax can be toxic to small children and pets, keep well out of their reach and inform other household members of the whereabouts and purpose of the borax and boric acid dough and/or powders. Always refer to safety precautions on the package.

Flies:
Shoo-Fly Potpourri
2 cups lavender flowers
1 cup rosemary
1 cup southernwood
1/2 cup spearmint
1/2 cup santolina
1/4 cup pennyroyal
1/4 cup tansy
1/4 cup mugwort
1/4 cup cedarwood chips
10 yellow tulips
3 Tbsp orris root

Moths:
Use cedar chips, shredded newspapers, lavender flowers in clostes and drawers, moths don't like the smell.

Mice:

• Buy a "Have-a-Heart" mouse trap, catch the little guys alive and unharmed and set them free far from your or anyones else's home
• Keep a cat/cats to deter mice from even thinking about taking up residence
• Keep things clean! No food left out for the little guys to eat. Food, after all, is why they entered your home to begin with. They are not there to disgust you or make your life miserable, they just want something to eat! Don't oblige them.