Maintaining a home while keeping out unwanted pests is no easy feat. And the challenge is even tougher when you’re living near the water. Food crumbs, trash cans, and warm temperatures can attract a variety of rodents and creepy crawlies to your home.
So what are you to do? It often seems that spraying harsh chemicals and setting cruel traps are your only options, but that’s not the case.
You can repel pesky critters with essential oils derived from totally natural botanical sources.
Try out these natural solutions the next time you need to give the boot to unwelcome pests. You can pick them up at any health or natural food store, or even order them online.
The best way to use these oils for pest control is to dilute them in some water and spray them through a spray bottle. They’re simple, non-toxic, and safe for kids and pets too!
Keep Mice at Bay With Peppermint
They’re sneaky, and they’re fast. Mice can hide out in any number of nooks and crannies in your home, and they’re a real challenge to exterminate. What’s more, the main methods of eradication – sticky paper, traps, and poison – aren’t exactly humane.
Thankfully, peppermint oil can keep mice away with no trouble at all. Just spray a solution of peppermint oil and water around the baseboards of your home and around any areas where you believe they might be coming in. Before you know it, they’ll be abandoning your home to find more hospitable lodgings.
Banish Ants and Other Creepy Crawlies With Pennyroyal and Orange Oil
Ants: once you have them, they’re almost impossible to get rid of. The same is true for spiders, centipedes, and other insects. Unfortunately, making a habit of spraying insecticide in and around your home is both costly and hazardous.
That’s where pennyroyal and orange oil come in. Apply these oils in the same fashion as above – using a diluted solution through a spray bottle – for a cheap, safe, and effective bug killer. This natural solution doesn’t just kill bugs; it repels them too!
Combine Lavender, Lemongrass, and Citronella to Repel Mosquitoes and Ticks
Of all the bugs out there, the ones that feast on our bodies have to be the worst. And they aren’t just a nuisance. Mosquitoes and ticks can carry a variety of serious illnesses that are passed on to their host.
To rid yourself of multi-legged, bloodsucking hitchhikers, mix up a homemade bug repellant using lavender, lemongrass, and citronella (tea tree, peppermint, and pennyroyal are good additions too, although they can cause a slight burning sensation if not properly diluted). These oils can be mixed into a salve with beeswax and coconut oil too.
Deter Raccoons and Other Rodents From Rummaging Through Trash With Tea Tree and Peppermint
No matter how cute their little furry masks may seem, raccoons are a huge nuisance. Unattended trash is their prime target, and they can leave behind a huge mess.
To keep them from digging through your garbage and rummaging around your home, simply spray your cans and bags with a solution of tea tree and peppermint oil. The tea tree oil imparts a bitter, off-putting taste to your trash, while the peppermint causes burning and irritation (both oils have an odor that raccoons find very unpleasant too). Don’t worry about causing the raccoons harm. They’ll likely take a couple of whiffs and move on before they have the chance to dig in.
Photo credits:
1. Photo via Kate Ware
2. Photo via Flickr
3. Photo via Flickr
Comments 18
Very informative reading.
I miss your side bar with SML weather and lake level information.. has this been deleted?
Thanks
Donnie, thanks for the comment. We are in the process of some website revisions and hopefully will get all of that back on track eventually!
We have raccoons going on our boat leaving feces and urine all over the cover. There is no food onboard. What would be the mixture ratio to deter them?
Hang a string of blinking Christmas lights around the ramp and leave them on all night to act as a raccoon deterrent.
To keep persistent and clever raccoons away, sprinkle a little ammonia across the entryway.
Leave a radio playing on the boat.
What essential oils can I mix to detere armadillos??????? Theve started tearing my flower beds already.
We don’t have any personal experience with armadillos on the East Coast where we are….but did find several things that say Castor Oil will repel them.
I also found this website which has a lot of very good looking info. on it regarding getting rid of the critters. http://www.havahart.com/how-to-get-rid-of-armadillos
I hope that helps.
Sunday, April 1, 2018
How much of the tea tree and peppermint do you use for the raccoon and is it mixed with water?
Hi CJ,
Thanks for reading our SMH post and for your question. From what we have read the formula to try would be something like this…..
Add 2 ounces peppermint essential oil and 2 ounces of tea tree oil and 2 oz. of rubbing alcohol to a spray bottle, then fill the rest of the bottle with water, and spray around the area you are trying to repel the raccoons from.
Good luck,
Doug at Smith Mountain Homes
So how big of an amber spray bottle do you use? Becsuse that would make a difference of how much water is added to the mixture
Hi Barbara, here are some specific directions that might help…..http://www.stepin2mygreenworld.com/healthyliving/around-the-home/mice-repellent/.
Hello,
I keep having raccoons breaking in my chick coop. Is there an oil that will keep them away?
Sorry I don’t know of anything except a stronger chicken coop that would prevent raccoons from coming in. They are very strong and persistent critters.
What would you use to deter a weasel?
Hello Elyse, Thanks for visiting Smith Mountain Homes and for leaving us a note. I am not sure if any essential oils alone would repel a weasel, but here is a site that might give you some other ideas for keeping them away.
http://www.havahart.com/how-to-repel-weasels
Hope that helps
Any thing that would keep skunks away from the trash can at night
Hi Natasha and thanks for visiting our blog. Here is what I found about skunks for you….hope it helps: Pepper sprays, also sold to repel wild creatures, are effective skunk repellents. Spray them on trees and other areas where you’ve seen skunks. Ammonia also deters skunks. Soak old rags in ammonia and place them under your deck or porch to keep skunks from coming in.
How often do u spray around inside of ur home to keep bugs out
Hi Barbara, I guess that is up to you and the type of pest you are dealing with and the number of pests involved. Unfortunately every situation and pest would be different. 🙂