Natural Ant and Spider deterent

[Miasmamma]

Does anyone have any ideas to get rid of ants and spiders without dousing my house in nasty chemicals? I had read somewhere that bay leaves worked for spiders, but does anyone know in what concentration? And the ants.... I"m about to either tear my hair out or burn the house down. I think they are in the walls. They are in every room of the house. I think my only option now is to call and exterminator, but I really don't want to do that. I have dogs and cats that would have to be moved not to mention us and DD. Any helpful ideas are greatly appreciated!

[Mosaic]

I have used vinegar and lemon juice with success for ants in the kitchen, but I literally doused the floor, walls, appliances, etc. with straight vinegar, wiped everything down, and repeated ad nauseum for several hours. Then I left the light on overnight (it's supposed to confuse them about day/night), and I think that helped. I've done this 3 times or more, and it worked each time.

I also read that you can mix some sugar in with borax and they'll take it back to their nest, but I have a very nosy cat so I never tried it. As for spiders, I just go after the nests when I see them, and anybody else who's hanging around, I figure they must be taking care of other bugs for me, so I'd rather have a little house spider or two. What do these spiders look like? If they're "inside spiders", I'd just focus on reducing the population and their food source until they go away naturally. If they're "outside spiders" I'd focus on figuring out where they come from and not let them in!

Oh, and tell your pets to start earning their keep!

[kriket]

my grampa swears that a hedge apple cut in half will keep spiders away. I don't mind spiders (unless they are furry or lay eggs) Ants I keep away by lining the floor with salt. it's like a salty barrier that freaks them out. works tho. HTH

I do get my dogs to eat bugs when they get in the house. and the cat takes care of the occational rogue moth

[starsrmndmeofyou]

i line the doors iwht baking soda/chalk


ants wont cross a chalk line at all

as far as spiders ,i have no idea. spiders freak me out though!

[Missa]

You could also put some drops of lavender essential oil on a cotton ball and put in corners you find pests coming in, not sure if it works for ants but I believe it does for spiders, I haven't done it myself I read it somewhere and can't remember where.
Missa

[Miasmamma]

Originally Posted by starsrmndmeofyou

as far as spiders ,i have no idea. spiders freak me out though!

This would be the why on the spiders. I am very phobic! To the point of calling family members to have them come over to my house and kill them for me. Most seem to be of the outdoor variety. Our house is cedar sided and we have a lot of trees. That seems to attract more than I am comfortable with. I will try the LEO on a cotton ball. I never thought of salt, or vinegar for that matter. I will try them and see what works best. Thanks a bunch ladies!

And as for the pets, my cats do a great job on the mice in our garage, but most of the spiders are too high for them to reach. And I won't let my dogs near them. Too creepy for me!!!

[William's Mom]

I treated my ant infestation by mixing white vinegar with a few drops of peppermint essential oil. I had to use it several times a day for awhile, but it worked! Now I "pre-treat" by spraying the solution every few days on the areas that I think they're trying to come in.

[maciascl]

Originally Posted by William's Mom

I treated my ant infestation by mixing white vinegar with a few drops of peppermint essential oil. I had to use it several times a day for awhile, but it worked! Now I "pre-treat" by spraying the solution every few days on the areas that I think they're trying to come in.

Where do you spray it if you can't tell where they are coming from? Everytime I go into the kitchen I have 10-20 random ants on the walls. I have no idea where they are going to or coming from. It is maddening...chaseing ants all day is making me exausted!

[MrsMike]

I'ver heard that tea bags help to keep a lot of bugs away. Only problem: I'm not sure of the kind of tea and I don't know which bugs stay away. I've also heard that soaking TTO on cotton and leaving them in the corners works. We've got ants in our bedroom and I have no clue where they're coming from. I did spray the walls with my vinegar/lemon juice mix an they decreased for a few days but they're back. I'm going to try a few drops of TTO, Lavender and Peppermint EOs on cotton balls next as per some previous suggestions. Spiders are okay here, as are those freaky centipedes that move 1000 miles an hour. Most bugs are escorted outdoors by my husband. My 70 lb rotti/shepard mix is terrified of bugs. My four cats take about an hour to pounce on anything. They usually sit in a group, watch the bug, get into position to pounce on the bug and wait....and wait....and wait, and then they fight each other while the bug gets away.

[mamaroling]

Seashells

Hi
There is a product at hardware stores that is crushed seashells. It works fantastic and is child and pet friendly.You put the powder where the ants are coming in.
We also use the stuff at my daycare. It works fast, and you only need to reapply if the ants/spiders start up again...very easy

[Redifer]

Cloves. Insects (and critters who may like to get into garbage) hate the stuff.

We just moved to FL and were totally surprised by the amount of bugs. I whipped up a spray bottle of water and poured 20 or so cloves into it and let it sit in the sun for a day. Now, I just shake it up, spray our patio and porch, and we have next to NO ants or spiders like we did before.

Also keeps the stray dogs and cats out of our garbage cans.

[blueeyes]

I'm also very interested in ideas on how to keep spiders at bay. Although I don't mind them as much as I would roaches (I can't stand to even look at one of those dirty buggers, thankfully they're not a problem!), but the spiders we get are wolf spiders (& sometimes these other black ones with blue marks - also hunters) & I'm terrified that one of us will get bit. They are "hunters" & they pounce. We get some around this time of the year until Fall. The only thing we do is trap them in baggies & let them go into nature. When you approach them with the baggy, they pounce into it, so they're not too hard to catch! But they are big!

As far as ants go, I use vinegar & reapply as needed until they're gone.

[hipmummy]

Originally Posted by Redifer

Cloves. Insects (and critters who may like to get into garbage) hate the stuff.

We just moved to FL and were totally surprised by the amount of bugs. I whipped up a spray bottle of water and poured 20 or so cloves into it and let it sit in the sun for a day. Now, I just shake it up, spray our patio and porch, and we have next to NO ants or spiders like we did before.

Also keeps the stray dogs and cats out of our garbage cans.

\
I use cloves as well the clove powder works great I just make aline line all around the foundation and I put little ups of it in all of my cabinets. I also wipe down eveything with vinegar a couple time a year.

[William's Mom]

Originally Posted by maciascl

Where do you spray it if you can't tell where they are coming from? Everytime I go into the kitchen I have 10-20 random ants on the walls. I have no idea where they are going to or coming from. It is maddening...chaseing ants all day is making me exausted!

Well, finding the source was a bit of a problem! What I primarily did was spray my vinegar/peppermint essential oil mixture around all the windows and doors and all around where the floor meets the wall. I basically did the interior perimeter of all the rooms infested. And it worked. Now I keep doing it every few days, and I've had no more problems.

[mamafirst]

to kriket...are hedge apples those green spiky things, bc i was going to write... that a woman at a yard sale was picking those up and asked the homeowner if she could bag them bc they are the best at keeping spiders away....!