Natural Household Remedies

We had such a wonderful response to Alternative Medicine remedies that I thought I would share some of the solutions I have found through the years for various household situations.

I have focused here mainly on varmints and pests, but in future columns I will focus on other household conditions, such as stains, cleaning and fitness. Please, be as generous with your ideas as you have been with your medicinal remedies. I look forward to hearing from you.

Getting Rid of Ants and Termite

Add 4 ounces of grape jelly to 3 TBS. Of cat food and 1 TBS. of boric acid. Place small amounts in various places that the ants or termites are known to frequent. The ant or termite finding the food will take it right to the queen and within a short time the entire colony will be eliminated.

Flies Around The Garbage

A garbage can can produce a thousand flies a week if it is not sealed properly. Flies detest oil of lavender. If you soak a cotton ball in the oil and put it in the garbage can at the beginning of your week, the flies should stay away. Oil of clove and mint sprigs are also good fly repellents.

More Ant Help

Strange but true - ants will not cross a chalk line. Actually, they will not walk in any kind of powder because it gets stuck to their feet. This is true of most crawling insects. Baby powder is a great solution!

Still More Ant Help

Bay leaves, clove and cucumber peelings all help repel ants.

Winged Creatures

All types of flying insects are repelled by the smell of basil. If you keep a healthy, well-watered basil plant in your house your problem maybe solved. If not a plant, how about a cheesecloth bag with fresh-dried basil?

Mice, Squirrels and Gophers

Peppermint is the answer here - they just hate the scent of peppermint. Place some oil of peppermint on a cotton ball and place it where the animals seem to go (or right into a gopher hole!) and they won't be around long.

NOTE: Cleveland is special in that one of the archaic laws it still has on the books is that you can't legally catch mice without a hunting license. Personally, although I would never advocate breaking the law, I think I may take my chances on this one!