Pest Control

Try "1001 All-Natural Secrects to a Pest-Free Property" by Dr. Myles H. Bader. It is a 340 page book. I am sure there are lots of other books also.

• Ants: Use boric acid powder and honey. Mix about 1/2 teaspoon of boric acid powder with about 1 tablespoon of honey in a low jar lid. May need to put a new batch out after a couple of days. That should do it.
• Ants: Locate place of ants entry into your home. Best remedy is to put cucumber peels at place of entry or at base of foundation of house or on top of ant hills. Chemists say that ants do not like cucumbers because terpernoids found in citrus skins, which make cucumbers bitter. So if cukes are especially mild, try bitter ones. Or try squeezing lemon onto place of entry and leaving the lemon peels. Other things ants don't like are talcum powder, chalk, damp coffee grounds, bone meal, charcoal dust, cayenne pepper, liquid pepper or borax. (These can be drawn into lines that the ants must cross.) Boiling water poured on ant hills also works well. Another method to try is mixing baking soda with table sugar or powdered sugar and placing the mixture in small caps where the ants can easily get to it. When the ants eat the mixture, the baking soda will expand their stoomachs. (Ants can't belch so they burst!) (HEAL of CNY).
• Ants Personally, I have surrounded the house with Diatomaceous Earth (use eye protection and a gas mask since this stuff is extremely sharp, being made up of shell dust and can damage your lungs and eyes). I make a trail about 3 inches wide all around the house (or infested trees) and ants simply won't cross it. It is not poison and has no odor. It is very cheap. A reader strongly recommended against the Pool Supply version of Diatomaceous Earth due to higher concentration of the crystal particles that damage lungs. It is white.
• Arborist: Alternatives to Pesticides: Cayuga Tree Service, Chris Sandstrom, 5660 Valley Drive, Box 381, Elbridge, New York, 13060. (315)689-3288.
  
• Bees or Wasps:
  • First call a local beekeeper if appropriate (honey bees).
  • Bees can be exterminated by spraying them with a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher. The extinguisher must contain nothing else, just plain carbon dioxide. Stand upwind if possible.
    
  • Personally, my shop vac with a long handle does a great job on small wasp nests in the eves of the house!
    
  • I spray little paper wasp nests with diluted degreaser soaps (like dishsoap). Select 'stream' not 'spray' on the sprayer. Then leave. Come back later, sometimes it takes a couple of applications and then the wasps abandon the nests and you can take them down.
    
  • I had a large basket ball sized hornet nest high up in a tree. I was advised to place egg shells on the ground under it. Within three days of doing that the Ravens and Blue Jays came and tore the nest apart (for food). I understand that it works for in the ground wasp nests also, just put the egg shells next to the nest opening.
    
• Biological Control of Weeds, 1140 Cherry Drive, Bozeman, MT 59715. (406)586-5111.
• Bio-Integral Resource Center, P.O. Box 7414, Berkeley, CA 94707. (415)524-2567. An important source of least toxic pest control. Anyone seriously interested in this field should subscribe to one or both of their journals: The IPM Practitioner (higher technicallevel for scientists) and Common Sense Pest Control Quarterly (for the layperson). BIRC is also available for consulting on specific problems.
• Fleas: To get rid of fleas, scatter Diatomaceous Earth (see Pristine Products below) in the yard. It will get rid of fleas until the next rain, then must be reapplied. Diatomacious Earth is made from diatoms (small shells) in the ocean. Diatomaceous Earth will kill fleas but should not be inhaled. Wear eye protection and a respirator.
  
• Fleas: We received email from someone who has suggested getting a nematode-based product (for outdoor use) because nematodes are considered predators of the fleas (and a few other insects). They are usually available from mail order catalogs such as Gardens Alive.
• Fleas: There is a new medication for dogs and cats, called Program, which is a once a month pill (dogs) or liquid (cats) which gets mixed with food. It works quite well (we have five animals) - check with your vet. It has no effect on adult fleas, but improves an indoor 'flea problem' over time.
  
• Flea Traps: To Make a flea trap, place a shallow pan of soapy water on the floor with a lamp near it (a high intensity lamp is good). At night fleas will jump toward the light and fall into the water and drown. Do it every night until there are no more fleas in the water in the morning. It's slow but it really works. Also a commercial trap or a sticky card can be placed near the light instead of the water.
• Flea comb: Save Our ecoSystem, 541 Willamette Street, Eugene, OR 97401.
• Garden's Alive (catalog), 5100 Schenley Place, Lawrenceburg, IN 47025. Orders: (812)537-8650. Customer service: (812)537-8651. They also carry organic fertilizers, etc.
• Head Lice: To prevent head lice, wash hair with shampoo containing fatty acids, such as J.R. Liggett's Old Fashioned Bar Shampoo (contains olive oil, coconut and castor oils). To order through mail, write J.R. Liggett Ltd., Route 12-A, RR2 Box 911, Cornish, NH 03745. Tel:(603)675-2055. $6.50 including postage and handling. (From Today's Alternatives Towards Health newsssletter, Richmond, VA)
• Head Lice comb: JTLK, Inc., P.O. Box 427, Boonton, NJ 07005.
• Least Toxic Home Pest Control, by Dan Stein, M.S. Published by Hulogosi Communications, Inc. P.O. Box 1188, Eugene, Oregon 97440. 1991. 87 pages. Individual copies of the book, send $10 to Northwest IPM, P.O. Box 11445, Eugene, OR 97440. Covers 15 most common household pests, others, sources for products, etc.
• Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, P.O. Box 1393, Eugene, OR 97440. (503)344-5044. A good source for information on pesticides. Their efforts concentrate on public education and on political issues associated with pesticides. NCAP is a membership organization and publishes the quarterly, Journal of Pesticide Reform.
• Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, (916)272-4769.
• Pests: Some pest control companies are exterminating pests by tenting a house and pumping in air heated to 140-150 degrees F. Fans force the hot air to lower levels. Exterminators in California have been using this methjod with some success. You might call a local exterminator to see if it is available (From New York Times, 1/90)
• Pristine Products, 2311 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016. (800)266-4YOU, (602)955-7031. They carry Diatomaceous Earth, pet care products, etc.
• Roaches: Take away their food. Keep food in glass jars or metal containers. Clean up pet food. Take away water, don't over water plants, insulate pipes, prevent moisture build up. Caulk all cracks and holes. (AFM makes a caulk - see N.E.E.D.S. calalog).
• Roaches - Cockroaches: U.S. Department of Agriculture Insect Research Laboratory in Florida has found a chemical free way to prevent cockroach infestations. Use fans and air vents to blow a constant breeze between walls and in attics. This will drive the roaches out of the building because they must stay moist to survive and drafts dry them out. (From Today's Alternatives Towards Health newsletter, HEAL of Richmond, VA)
• Rose Disease: Cornell University plant pathologists have reported that a dilute solution of baking soda can control some fungal diseases of roses such as powdery mildew and blackspot. (From Cornell News, March 1990)
• Silverfish: Do not like Epsom Salts (contains magnesium sulfate) or Borax. Treat for silverfish around water pipes (like in the bathroom) and in bookcases. Silverfish like book binding glues.
• Termites: Non-toxic alternative, chemically free "Blizzard System". Uses liquid nitrogen to freeze termites in inaccessible areas. Tallon Termite and Pest Control, 1949 East Market Street, Long Beach, CA 90805. (213)422-1131 or (714)992-4044.
• Termites: A new alternative is HEAT WAVE for accessible areas such as garages and attics. They use electrically charged heat strips and apply to infected wood. Heats temperatures to 135 degrees F for 1/2 hour. Registered with EPA, CA Department of Food and Agriculture. (Source of information: The Reactor, Winter 1989-90).
• Unique Insect Control, 5504 Sperry Drive, Dept GA, Citrus Heights, CA 95621. (916)961-7945. Fax:(916)967-7082.

These listings have been gathered from various sources and are presented here with the intent to provide hard won information to anyone whom it may help. If you find that the names, phone numbers, addresses or such are out of date in any way, or you feel there is a significant change or addition which should be made to these resources, please be so kind as to email us .

Disclaimer: We do not endorse people, products or services. We do not give medical advice. What works for one person does not necessarily work for another. Please check with health-care professionals of your own choice. I am not a doctor and I do not give medical advice. The author is a chemically injured person who is extremely chemically sensitive (reactive) and who has just had a lot of personal experience in trying to survive chemical insults and toxic exposures.