Keeping House bugs Out of Your House

Over the years, we at Chester’s Clean House have given you many different tips to keep your home free of bugs. Using these simple tricks, you can keep the house bugs, out of your house!

Homemade Garden Pest Control

To create an effective insecticide spray for your garden, finely chop 2 garlic cloves and combine with 2 teaspoons of mineral oil. Let the mixture soak for at least 24 hours. Add a quick squirt of liquid soap to 1 pint of water and combine with the garlic mixture. Stir thoroughly and strain with a coffee filter into a glass jar for storage. Combine 1 tablespoon of the solution mixture to a spray bottle full of water. Test the solution on a single leaf of any delicate plants.

Home Remedies To Get Rid of Ants For Good

Some Great tricks for getting rid of ants:

• Salted cucumber peelings are said to repel ants. Just place them where you see them. I would do this outside as not to attract other things into your house.
• White pepper, red pepper, or sage are said to repel ants also. Mothballs may also work. Apples will kill an ant colony.
• Cut up an apple or leave the peels or the leftover core near the entry to the colony. The ants will take it back killing the queen.
• Mixing borax with honey, maple syrup, butter, or lard will also kill an ant colony. You'll have to test each as some ants like sweets and others like greasy foods. You can leave the mixture in a bowl or on the ground.

Cockroaches May Live Through A Nuclear War, But Boric Acid Will Kill Them

After you have cleaned your home thoroughly, try sprinkling Borax inside all of your cupboards, except where you store food. Brush it all over the bottom of the cupboards and be sure to get the Borax into all of the cracks. Where you store your food you can leave an open container of Borax to keep the cockroaches out. Boric acid will take some time to kill the cockroaches, but it and cleaning well are your best defences. Also be sure not to step on cockroaches as you can get their eggs on your shoes, enabling them to spread.

Create a Barrier For Crawling Bugs

You can create a barrier to repel crawling bugs by painting your baseboards, walls and cracks with the following solution. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil then add 2 tablespoons of alum(aluminum sulfate). Once the alum has dissolved and the water has cooled, use a paint brush to paint your baseboards or anywhere you would like to create a barrier.

Get Rid Of Spiders, And Keep Them Away

Spiders hate American Pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides). This herb can be found in two major forms American Pennyroyal plants and Oil of Pennyroyal. You can buy the plant at most nurseries. To repel spiders with the plant dry some leaves and place crumbled up leaves where the spiders congregate. Oil of pennyroyal can be found at most heath food stores and can be placed on cotton balls where the spiders live. Once you place the pennyroyal to spiders will leave, in a hurry!

Give Your Potted Flowers a Boost

Every year we fill several planters around the outside of our house with petunias. The are pretty easy to care for, just water once a day and fertilize every other week. Over the years we were spending quite a bit on fertilizer until we found out about urea. Urea is a white organic crystal that contains about 45% nitrogen that can be bought cheaply at the drug store. Nitrogen is very important to the strong growth of lots of plants, and urea is the cheapest form we have found. Just mixing one teaspoon of urea to a gallon of water every other week keeps our petunias growing all summer long. By the end of the summer they are draped over the sides of our planters almost to the ground.

Start A Compost Pile

If you like to garden or have nice flower beds, a compost pile is a great source of free organic fertilizer. Fall is the best time to start a compost pile because the most important ingredients are readily available. A good compost pile needs nitrogen rich material and carbon rich material. In the fall your lawn clippings are a great source of nitrogen and leafs are a great source of carbon. By spring you will have a start to endless free fertilizer that will make your plants grow. I am still working on my green thumb so you should look to the experts to help you get things going correctly. I found a lot of my information about building a compost pile from the University of Illinois.

Fall Is The Time To Plant Bulbs

Today I spent a good part of the day helping my parents dig up and replant their flower gardens. My parents have just about every tool available for gardening and I have to admitt that the DR Mantis tiller does a really good job. I kept feeling like I want to add about 25 pounds of weight to it, but the user's manual clearing warns against this idea. (Others must have done it with really bad results!) One tool that did not work at all was the bulb auger bit that my Dad had bought. If you have any clay in your soil, this thing is a joke. No matter how tight I chucked the bit, it kept pulling out once it got clogged up with the clay. We did have great luck with the mini post-hole digger that was advertised as a bulb planter. It worked great, took no time, and cleaned up fairly easy. We got into a cycle of my mom putting the bulb were she wanted it, I followed and dug the holes, my Dad put the bulbs in and covered them with dirt, and my three-year-old nephew stomped the ground flat. We all had a good time, and it only took about 20 minutes to plant an entire garden!

Tips For Raking Leaves This Fall Without Hurting Your Back

The trees are starting to turn to browns, reds, and yellows and the rakes are waiting in the garage, but my back never looks forward to this task. Raking can be quite harsh on our bodies because we use many muscles that usually don't get used. You can do several things to help prevent injuries.

The first thing you should do is stretch before you begin your work. Next think about working smarter and not harder. There are several tools you can use to make the job much easier. The easiest method I have found is a mulching lawn mower. While your grass is still growing and the leaves aren't too thick, a mulching mower will chop up the leaves into small pieces that will decay over the winter and provide a good source of nourishment for your lawn. If you have a bagging mower you can use it to remove the leaves once they are too thick to mulch. I usually don't like to run the mower over the lawn once it has stopped growing as the mower tends to damage the grass, making my beautiful spring lawn take longer to show.

Once the leaves are thick enough to rake, I like to work with an electric leaf blower first. I thought about getting a gas powered one years ago, but I dislike how un-environmentally friendly they are and the noise they make. Leave blowers work best in wide open areas on dry leaves. Blow the leaves onto a large sheet which you can easily drag to the street, if you town has leave pickup, or put them into your compost pile. Don't overload the sheet, or you will risk a bigger cleanup when you move it. If you have to travel a long way, two people can pick up the sheet and place it into a wheel barrel.

For the leafs in areas where a leaf blower is inefficient there is the old fashion rake. There are many new styles you can use that don't clog and are more ergonomic. The $20 investment may be worth it. Once you start using your rake, be sure not to bend too much as you rake. Move more with you feet using small short stokes toward your body. Be sure to change your grip on the rack often to prevent using the same muscles too much. This will also help with blisters, or you could just wear gloves. Again rake the leaves onto a sheet for easy transport.

Using the right tool for the job goes a long way. Between my lawn mower, electric leaf blower, and my hand rake the leafs don't stand a chance. If you have a bad back like I do, just remember to stretch and go at it with the best tool for the job. If all else fails, check what the neighborhood kids are doing.

Kill Weeds Now To Start A Great Spring Lawn

If you have any weeds growing in your lawn, flower beds, or garden, now is the best time to take care of them. The weeds are on their last leg and getting rid of them now will lead to a great spring yard. There are plenty of fall fertilizers that also contain weed killer or you could just spray on straight weed killer. You can also kill the weeds organically using vinegar or pull the weeds using an antique bottle opener to make the job easier. A few minutes this fall will give you more time to enjoy your yard next spring.

Fertilize Your Trees

Fall is the perfect time to fertilize your trees. I use Miracle Grow Tree and Shrub spikes. All you have to do is hammer them into the ground using the included plastic cap at the edge of the tree limbs. The back of the package will tell you how many you have to use based on the diameter of the trunk and foliage. I have used the ones for trees and evergreens with great success. When our house was built, the builder planted a red sunset maple tree in the front yard of every house. Our tree towers over the others in the neighborhood. Our evergreen tree in the front yard is growing so fast I usually have to add 1 to 2 more strings of Christmas lights each year. Not only are the trees growing taller, but they are much fuller. Placing the fertilizer spikes now will allow the nutrients to work their way down to the roots before spring, giving your trees a nice boost in growth next spring.

Fall Lawn And Garden Tip Week

This week we will be looking at ways to get your lawn and garden ready for spring. There are several things you can do this fall to cut down on your work in the spring and make sure everything is ready for a beautiful spring. One of the things I do every fall is plant new trees and scrubs. Several local nurseries have auctions where you can buy plants for a tenth of their cost in the spring. This year I will be looking for a ornamental cherry tree.

Stop Whiteflies from Destroying your Garden

Whiteflies are annoying little insects that love to destroy plants. Not only do they feed and reproduce non-stop, they also carry plant viruses. Constant spraying of insecticide will kill them off eventually, but I prefer a much safer method. First, remove all weeds and dying plants from your garden. Whiteflies are attracted to dying plants. Second, sprinkle diatomaceous earth around your garden. Diatomaceous earth kills just about anything with an exoskeleton and, best of all, it will not harm you, your pets or your plants. It can be found in most garden centers. Third, combine a few drops of soap and a teaspoon of garlic juice in a sprayer filled with warm water. Spray directly on the infested plants. Finally, yellow sticky paper traps are a good way to reduce the number of pests. Make sure that you replace the traps often until the population is in check.

Keep Your Fresh Cut Flowers Longer

My wife loves to get fresh cut flowers. Buying them can be fairly expensive so we use a few tricks to make sure they last as long as they can. Adding a teaspoon of bleach to the vase water has made our flowers last well over a week. We have also tried aspirin with great success. Someone told me that 7-Up or Sprite also work instead of water, but I have never tried it so I can't vouch for it effectiveness.

Weekly Web Roundup 11

Cut Your Household Costs! - Who doesn't want to save more money. With the negative American savings rate everyone can use these common sense tips.
Eco Cleaning - A great article on the powers of homemade cleaners. Making you own cleaners can save you hundreds a year while saving the environment.
Ten Steps to a Greener Home - I do all of these except buy organic food. I don't trust our supermarket, so I grow my own.

Chester's Clean House Retro: Growing your own organic food at home is easy. You can use rubbing alcohol to remove garden pests and vinegar is a great organic weed killer to control pests and weeds. We also have many more gardening tips.

Save Yourself from Poison Ivy!

Whenever weeding your garden, even when wearing gloves, you can easily get poison ivy. My wife and I recently cleared out our small garden and I got a few poison ivy blisters. Poison ivy affects the skin because of the oil that it leaves on your body and your clothing. Always thoroughly wash your hands and any exposed skin after weeding or doing any gardening. A good laundry soap works best. Also, wash all clothing to remove the oil. I forgot to wash my gloves and that's what got me!

Killing Vines on your Home

Climbing vines can do some real damage to your home if left unchecked. They hurt the exterior of your home and provide a safe harbor for pests of all kinds. They are so sturdy that they are capable of drawing nutrients and water from their smaller outshouts, so even cutting their roots will do nothing to them. The best method that I have found for killing them is to spray their leaves with Round-Up at the start of spring. Reapply the Round-Up after one week. Repeat for a third week if required. Cutting their roots only seems to make them spread faster. Spray with Round-Up one time only seems to brown a few leaves for a few weeks, but repeat applications kills it dead!

Save Your Small Garden from Critters

We recently post an article, The Bunnies Keep Eating My Plants, about using Shake-Away to protect your gardens. However, if you have a very small garden, such as my wife's herb garden, there is a very simple technique to protect your plants from small animals. My father was getting very upset with the local rabbits eating his plants. Instead of buying commercial products like Shake-Away or putting up those little wire fences, he bought two large fake ceramic planters. They were under $20 each and he bought them at his local mega-grocery store. Place large rocks or brinks in the bottom to reduce the amount of topsoil required and fill to about 1/2 inch from the top with a good topsoil. Plant you small garden as usual. The planters should be at least 18-24 inches tall. This is a great way to protect your plants, not terrify your local wildlife, and with a good eye for color and style, the planters can add beauty and a sense of whimsy to your garden!

The Bunnies Keep Eating My Plants!

Bunnies and other small woodland creatures are cute and are an absolute delight to watch. But, after planting a small vegetable garden, they become less and less cute as they quickly eat all of your hard work. These animals pretty much eat constantly and can destroy an average size garden in just a few hours. To chase off these criters, follow the same principle that we used in How to Rid Yourself of Raccoons. Sprinkle Shake-Away for Small Animals around your garden, repeating every few days. This puts the scent of one of their preditors in your garden. After a few applications, you should see less and less of them even near your garden.

Using Rubbing Alcohol to Remove Garden Pests

To kill many types of bugs such as mites, aphids, mealybugs, scales, and white flies that attack houseplants, soak a cotton ball with isopropyl or rubbing alcohol and wipe the plant's leaves. To treat larger plants, or multiple plants, combine one cup of alcohol to one quart of water in a garden sprayer and coat the plant's leaves. Routine cleaning of your plants will keep your garden free of these annoying pests!

Vinegar Is A Great Organic Weed Killer

Weeds, weeds, weeds, how I hate thee. Seems no matter what I do, I can't keep weeds out of my flower beds or garden. I put down weed barrier, yet they still grow. I put down Preen, yet they still grow. I pull them, yet they still grow. I have used Roundup or Weed-B-Gone before and they work quite well, but I don't like having those chemicals around the house. I have found that Vinegar is a great weed killer. Put some in a spray bottle and spray away. Sometimes you have to spray a few times to kill the weeds, but not having to use herbicides in my garden is well worth it as I like organic produce.

Regular household white vinegar is about 5% concentrated and works well on most weeds. If you find you have some stubborn weeds, you can make a stronger concentration by boiling vinegar. Household vinegar is watered down acetic acid. Since acetic acid has a boiling point of 118.1 °C (391.2 K)(244.6 °F) and water has a boiling point of 100 °C (373 K)(212 °F), boiling vinegar will evaporate the water leaving a higher concentration of acetic acid. 5 Minutes should be adequate for stronger weed killer. As always, use caution when mixing or boiling chemicals. If in doubt consult an expert.

Homemade Garden Pest Control

To create an effective insecticide spray for your garden, finely chop 2 garlic cloves and combine with 2 teaspoons of mineral oil. Let the mixture soak for at least 24 hours. Add a quick squirt of liquid soap to 1 pint of water and combine with the garlic mixture. Stir thoroughly and strain with a coffee filter into a glass jar for storage. Combine 1 tablespoon of the solution mixture to a spray bottle full of water. Test the solution on a single leaf of any delicate plants. If no damages occurs, thoroughly spray garden plants. Repeat every few days. Garlic is also an antifungal and may provide additional benefits to your garden.

Easy weed removal

Once a week I try and weed all of my flowerbeds to make sure I am not overrun with weeds. I have found that using an antique wire bottle opener works great at getting all of the root so the weed doesn't grow back. Just take the bottle opener and place it over the stalk of the weed and push it into the ground with a twisting motion then pull the weed, root and all out of the ground. This works best when the ground is moist. You can pick up an antique wire bottle opener at a garage sale or flea market for under a dollar.