Anything Bugging You?
As much as I love the springtime with the revival of nature, pests are also awakening and coming to life. Three main pests really bother me: mosquitos, june bugs, and ants.
When Hurricane Ike blazed through our area late last summer, we were inundated with mosquitos. Electric service was out in most areas for days if not much longer. Residents in the area were forced to retreat outdoors where an occasional breeze might cool down their sweat-soaked bodies. It was not the best of times, especially with small children. Adding to the discomfort of one’s situation was the threat of West Nile virus and other diseases. Mosquitos are definitely uninvited guests at outdoor functions.
At this time, some of our neighbors were enjoying sitting outside in the relatively cool evening. They were not slapping their necks or scratching their legs. They were simply enjoying the outdoors. My husband, Lane, approached their house constantly slapping at the buzzing sound surrounding his body. He asked, ‘”What is your secret? Why are mosquitoes not bothering ya’ll?”
You will not believe the answer. Listerine. Mosquitos apparently do not like the smell of listerine. Put it in a spray bottle and spritz the area in which you want to be. I don’t know if it matters, but we use the original kind. It actually works!
Lane takes the bottle out with him when he milks goats in the evening. He comes in unmolested by those blood-sucking insects. At Clayton’s 13th birthday party, I sprayed the entire area down with Listerine right before our guests arrived. I even included the yard around the cabin. I did not reveal what I had to done to anyone. All evening I watched to see if anyone complained about mosquitos. Evening fell bringing no bites to anyone even though most of the guests were sitting outdoors.
The next day my dad remarked how unusual it was that mosquitos did not bother anyone at the party. It was then that I revealed the Listerine trick. He is now a believer. It is also great that nobody smells really bad from the sprays you can buy at the stores.
Since I was a little girl, I have always hated June bugs. First of all, they aren’t just around in June. They also bomb your body like it was a kamikaze pilot. Then they cling to you with their six legs. You cannot shake the bugs off of you. Unfortunately I have no secret recipe for getting rid of them, but I learned a neat trick from a friend.
He has an outdoor light away from his house that helps to draw the insects. A few feet under the light he has a nail in the post where he hangs a bucket full of water. The June bugs fly to the light usually hitting it and fall into the bucket where they cannot escape. In the morning my friend removes the bucket and feeds his ducks and chickens June bugs. I think he is a genius!
I have some relatives from Oklahoma who come a stay at our place from time to time. The one thing they cannot get over are the fire ants in Texas. I did not realize that these particular pests had not made it to Tulsa yet. Anyway in Texas we have ants. Different kinds of ants build mounds and hills and underground tunnels all over the ground. They are a huge problem. Fire ants have even been known to kill a sick calf.
The other day I went out to my worm composting bin and was alarmed when I saw that ants had moved in and claimed the bin as their own. I was worried about my worms as ants will kill them. I could not fight the ants with poisons. I had no orange oil or anything like that. I once remembered another one of my friends telling me about grits killing ants. I had a box of grits so I sprinkled them all over the top of the compost pile. The ants immediately began swarming because I had disturbed their slumber. They began carrying away the tiny white pieces of hominy.
I waited two days before I checked on the worm bin again. I lifted the lid and peered inside. I shook the bin. Nothing moved. I bravely put my hand in the compost pile and stirred up the mixture of paper, castings, and food. The only thing I saw besides the composting material was worms. The grits worked! I was relieved.
So this summer when you are sick and tired of beating off the mosquitos, getting bombarded by June bugs, and/or scratching your puss-filled ant bites, try one if not all of these methods of pest control. Potentially, you could enjoy your entire summer without anything bugging you. How great would that be?
I wonder if Listerine would work for the no-see-ums….those little yellowish biting bugs!! They eat me up!! I had found a wonderful product called CedarSafe two years ago that worked like a dream. You just spread it on your lawn and it kills fleas, ticks and no-see-ums. Well, the next year the bag looked different. The company sold out to a large named company and now the stuff doesn’t work!!! I am writing them soon! Does the Listerine have to be name brand or will a generic brand work?
I don’t know about the no-see-ums, but I would definitely try it. I did use the generic original brand of Listerine at the birthday party.
[...] DeHaven at Texas Homesteader asks the question, Anything Bugging You? She said the “Three main pests really bother me: mosquitos, june bugs, and ants.” She [...]
Can you spray the listerine on your clothing if you are going out for a hike or something?
I think it will work; however, I do not know if it will stain the clothes though. My husband works out in his shop in the evening and gets bothered by no-see-ums and mosquitoes. He sprays listerine all around him and on his legs. It works well until he walks out of his listerine “cloud.” We have not sprayed it directly on our clothes, but I would not be afraid to try it on some old clothes first.
[...] Since the drought during the spring and summer, it feels like it has not stopped raining this fall. We have enjoyed weeks of rain. The grass is all green, the ponds are filling up finally, and the mosquitoes are alive and unfortunately well. Following my own advice for the latter, we are spraying Listerine like crazy. If you don’t know what I am talking about, read “Anything Bugging You?” [...]
i’M TRYING TO MOVE TO MY LAND IN pECOS AND VAN HORN FOR THE WINTERS.
tHERE IS NO STATE INCOME TAXES IN TEXAS.
WHAT OTHER KINDS OF TAXES DO THEY HAVE OTHER AN REAL ESTATE?
We have to pay property, school, and sales tax.
Love your web page Laura!!!!! I am going to try the Listerine in my garage. I always have trouble with mosquitoes when I am out there working. Have you heard of a deterrant for spiders? My garage is full of them also. I am sure they come for the mosquitoes. I really don’t want to use a pesticide since I spend so much time there and this is also where I fire my kiln.
Oh my goodness. I just recently found your blog. I tried the grits on the ant hills and it really does work. I added it and checked 2 days later to see if they were there and they were gone. And they didnt just move a further down and build a new hill. They are DEAD!!! Thank you so much!!! That will be a tremendous help. I do have a request. I was interested in your big worm bin outside. If you have time could you post about it or if you already have could you give me the link.
Thank you so very much
Carrie in southern Arkansas
Carrie,
I am so glad to hear that the grits worked for you. I have recently heard about club soda, which I am willing to try too. My interview with Gary Turner is in two parts and very informative. Go to Worm Composting Interview to read it.