Herbs and other plants are great natural remedies for getting rid of common bug and pest problems. Here are a few really easy solutions using mixtures of herbs and other plants to remove infestations of pesky insects from your home, indoor plants and garden.

Ants Repellents:

Bay Leaves: Lay fresh whole bay leaves in kitchen drawers, on cupboard shelves, in your cookie jars or bread drawers.

Cayenne Pepper: Sprinkle some cayenne pepper on their path.

Cinnamon: Use powdered cinnamon to block their path.

Cloves: Sprinkle cloves in any area where you find ants.

Garlic: Set out a few pieces of garlic where you see invading ants.

Mint Leaves: Crush fresh mint leaves and set them in ant infested areas of your home. Plant peppermint plants in the area of your garbage cans to repel ants.

Orange and Lemon Peels: Put orange and lemon peels in very hot water and leave it for several hours, even overnight. Then strain the liquid and pour it around any plants that ants are attracted to.

Pine Oil: Use One drop of pure pine oil in one quart of water as a repellent for fire ants.

Sweet Fern: Scatter sweet fern in an area where red ants gather.

Tansy: Distribute fresh tansy leaves on windowsills, counter tops, in cupboards and in corners of your home. A good deterrent to keep ants away from your garbage can area outside is to plant tansy plants in the area.

Turmeric Powder: Sprinkle some turmeric powder where you have ants.

Termites:

Aloe: Make a solution used a crushed aloe plant to five parts water. Let it stand for an hour, strain, and spray in termite areas.

Castor Oil: Use a mixture of castor oil green seeds, leaves and roots in two quarts of water that has been soaked for about 24 hours. After the soaking time, strain the solution and spray it on the affected area.

Mexican Poppy: Mix Mexican poppy oil with water and spray or sprinkle Mexican poppy powder around the termite infested area. Read the rest of this entry »