“Natural methods work! Obviously I am a big fan of my natural orange spray (and Florida!) but there are many other awesome options for getting rid of indoor pests . . .” – M Kmiec
Okay, I admit it! Country girl I am not! Oh, but I do love to try!
Moving from Colorado to Vermont has been an adventure for me to say the least. I learned first-hand that ants travel far and wide from their custom made hills for food, including inside your home. I also learned, the hard way, that hard-dried honey on the side of the honey bottle inside the kitchen cabinet is free food for every ant including their friend’s family, and believe me… that’s A LOT of ants!
Even deep cleaning the kitchen, and everywhere else in my house, was not quite the ant deterrent I had hoped. They already knew food was somewhere in this house and they were determined to find it. It was war! Me against the army of every size ant ever seen on National Geographic!
As the founder of Online Holistic Health I have strong beliefs in all things natural, holistic, and pure. Furthermore I have cats that have to be everywhere all the time — especially exactly where you don’t want them to be. I have to keep them safe! So what is a newly anointed country girl to do?
Frustrated I grabbed the only thing in my reach that I could use to spray them down. My natural orange air freshener – for when I am tired of long Vermont winters and want “to pretend that I really live in Florida feel!”
And guess what?! It worked! Not only that, I sprayed the border where I thought may be the ants’ port-of-entry, and they didn’t cross the orange aroma. Victory!
As it turns out, ants are repelled by citrus.
So that was last spring and summer. What about this year so far?
This year I began my defense early. Armed with the scent of freshly squeezed oranges, those ants didn’t stand a chance! Occasionally I see the silhouette of an ant scout peering through the window, but I think they have gotten the message.
Moral of this story…
Natural methods work! Obviously I am a big fan of my natural orange spray (and Florida!) but there are many other awesome options for getting rid of indoor pests including vinegar, cinnamon, coffee grinds, paprika, cloves, and garlic! You country people probably know this stuff as second nature but for some of us “less informed” city folks, learning about these easy natural options is such a relief.
Oh… and most importantly, don’t leave dried honey on the honey bottle in the cabinet!!
We would love to hear what has worked for you. Only natural options please! I heard something about pennies?
[For Dr. Michelle’s country-girl tips for getting rid of weeds naturally, check out her article How to Get Rid of Weeds Naturally]
About the author:Dr. Michelle Kmiec is a licensed chiropractor who also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Biology. She is life-long athlete who after curing herself 100% naturally from autoimmune neurological symptoms and anxiety, became an avid nutrition health researcher/promoter, Founder of the natural health website Online Holistic Health and author of Healthcare Freedom Revolution: Exposing the Lies, Deceit and Greed of the Medical Profession. You can follow Dr. Michelle’s work with Online Holistic Health through her website, on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.