Tag: repel

10 Genius Ways to Get Rid of Flies Forever

This dish soap solution is a pretty common one that works for most flies. Add about one inch of liquid dish soap to a jar and one inch of water. If you can, use fruit flavored dish soap, as that is more effective. The flies will be attracted to the soap and get caught in the water.

Apple cider vinegar also works well as a fly trap. Place the vinegar in a jar and then place a paper funnel over the top of the jar. The scent attracts flies who go down the funnel but can’t get back out. They’ll eventually get tired and drown in the cider.

Cayenne pepper can also deter flies. Mix a bit with some water in a spray bottle. Spray areas around your house like windows, doors, and other entryways. The strong smell from the cayenne pepper helps prevent flies from entering your home.

Make a type of fly-repellent potpourri that can be placed indoors or outdoors. Combine eucalyptus, bay leaves, cloves and clover blossoms. Place the contents in a bag and hang it up wherever flies tend to congregate. The smell will get rid of them pretty quickly.

If you want to take a fun and kind of extreme approach, plant some carnivorous plants around your yard! Plants like the Venus flytrap or sundew are actually really pretty while also killing and eating flies that may be around your home. You can also get potted ones for the inside of your home.

If you want to repel but not kill flies, here’s an idea. Cover strips of ribbon or cloth in several drops of eucalyptus oil. Flies don’t like the smell of this oil. Hang up the strips near doors or windows, and flies won’t go near there.

I just recently heard of this idea, and I think it’s worth try. Especially since it doesn’t take much work or material. Hang a plastic bag half-filled with water or some old CDs and DVDs up around your home and yard. The light reflects off of them and makes flies think they’re spider webs. This causes them to avoid those areas because they don’t want to get eaten!

There are a lot of plants you can keep around your home in order to repel flies. For example, grow some lavender, mint, or basil on your patio. Flies don’t like these herbs, so they’ll stay away. Keep them on the windowsill, for example, to deter flies.To repel flies in outside areas, burn citronella candles. This has a two-fold effect. Flies hate smoke, so candles and torches are great for that. They also don’t like citronella, so the smell and the smoke from your citronella candles will deter flies and other pests.

Someone once told me that flies are really attracted to wine. Who knew? But if you place bowls of wine around the yard, flies will come to them and eventually drown. Just make sure your guests don’t go drinking that wine!

7 Ways to Rid Your Yard of Moles

Here’s a humane way, but one that takes a bit longer. Flatten down the mole hills and wait downwind from it. The mole will eventually come and repair the hole. When it is, run to the hole and stick your shovel into the sides of the hole to isolate the mole from its tunnel. Now use your shovel to remove the mole from the ground, place it in a cardboard box, and take it to a field.

If you want to quickly solve the problem, get a mole trap that will kill the mole. But make sure this is really how you want to deal with the problem. There are both above- and below-ground traps. Some are even biodegradable so you don’t have to deal with the mole’s carcass. Always follow the instructions when using these kind of traps.

Live traps are another option if you don’t want to kill the mole but want something pretty effective. You will need to relocate the mole though, or have someone do it for you. The trap keeps the mole alive, but if you just live it in there, it will die.

Another humane way to get rid of moles is by using a repellent. You can make your own or buy some high-quality repellent from the store. These mixtures usually contain soap, castor oil, and/or cayenne pepper. All irritate the mole’s skin. Follow the instructions for the repellent for best effects.

A longer solution, but one that doesn’t have to kill the mole, is creating a barrier for your yard or garden. What you do is dig up the ground around your area and then place some sort of wire or mesh barrier in it. Refill the hole, and the moles shouldn’t be able to get through.

Try using poisoned bait in your yard to kill moles. There are a few downsides to this, however. One, you won’t be able to tell the mole is dead because it will most likely die underground where you can’t see it. Second, don’t do this if you have pets; they can sometimes eat the poison on accident.

Try some natural repellents that should keep the moles at bay. Plants like garlic and chocolate lilies are a great example. Moles don’t like their presence, so they tend to avoid gardens and areas where they grow.