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Integrated
Pest Management
What is it?
Integrated Pest Management uses the least toxic approach to
pest control. That means using any and all other means besides
chemicals to reduce or eliminate pests. It includes monitoring
the problem, discovering the habits and homes of the pests and
applying the least toxic approach to getting rid of the pest.
Ant Control
•watch where ants are coming from and block their entry
by using caulk or duct tape
use soapy water to kill ants and wipe out ant trails
•mix 3 cups of water and 1 cup sugar and 4 tsp borax
•place in small dishes and refresh dishes every couple
of days
•keep away from children and pets
Beetle and moth control
•most beetle and moth infestations are brought in through
contaminated food like flour and grains
•store food in a dry container with a good seal like pressure-sealed
jars with rubber gaskets
•clean up food spills promptly
•throw-out contaminated food whenever possible
•caulk and repair any cracks/crevices that may harbor
food pests
•freeze grains to kill any pests prior to storing in cupboards
•use rosemary, lavender or cedar to repel moths in clothing
Cockroaches and silverfish
•try roach "motels" or make your own-rub grease(crisco)
on the inside the neck of a mason jar. set the jar upright and
put a banana inside for bait. place a tongue depressor or popsicle
stick against the side of the jar and the cockroaches will "walk
the plank" to their deaths.
•OR soak a rag in beer and place in a shallow dish overnight
in an infested area. In the morning, you can dispose of the
drunken roaches or silverfish. Place traps along walls.
•Sprinkle bay leaves or cucumber rinds around walls. repeat
weekly for several weeks to kill new roaches or silverfish.
•sprinkle a mixture of 2 T flour, 1T cocoa powder, and
4T borax in an infested area. Keep updated for several weeks.
BE CAREFUL-children and pets may find this tasty too!
•if all else fails, use technical strength boric acid.
THis is very harmful to roaches and can be harmful to children.
Use sparingly.
Rat and Mouse Control
•first check where the mice are entering. Seal up their
entry route. These include holes and cracks around the foundations
and windows. If you seal those areas you may see a decrease
in numbers.
•use bait traps. Peanut Butter as well as cheese works
great as bait. Use more traps over a shorter period of time.
Continually refresh the bait-use new bait daily. Put the trap
inside a paper bag. The rodent will go inside the bag for the
bait and it will make disposal easier.
•you can sprinkle an attractive poison around an area.
Instead of a chemical make a mixture of one part plaster of
paris, one part flour,1/4c sugar, and /14 c. cocoa. The rodents
eat this and they die.
•Be Careful: Children and Pets may also find this attractive.
NOTE: Mice may go back inside wall to die and that may pose
a problem.
High tech suggestion: use a specific machine that lets out a
sound that mice (and some humans) find awful.
Flea and Tick Control
•feed pets small amounts of Brewer's yeast in moist food
•dust pet bedding with yeast powder
*clean pet bedding frequently
•vacuum pet area frequently and throw out vacuum bag after
every use. Put vacuum bag in plastic bag and allow to "cook"
in sun to kill the fleas and larva.
•use a flea comb on animals whenever possible
•chemicals that work and are the safest:
"Flea stop" Pet spray and Shampoo (active ingredient
D-limonene)
"Safer" shampoo
Pyrethrum and Pyrethrins made from crushed chrysanthemum
Developed by the Women's Health and Environmental Network (WHEN)
Sources: Home Safe Home by D.L. Dadd; Common-Sense Pest Control
by W. Olkowski, S. Daar, H. Olkowski. |
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