Summer Pests

Liz
Aug 1
4 min read

This Year’s Award for the Biggest Pest in our neck of the woods goes to The Relentless Deer Fly. These little blood sucking insects are the most annoying of bug species the way they zig zag around you looking for a landing to then munch on you.

This homemade "bug-off" spray for mosquito, tick and deer fly was found many years ago, and is still used today. We recently tested it out in Peter's Woods - a nature reserve close to home with walking trails deep in the forest. Much to our surprise, we escaped without a single bite despite the vehicle being swarmed the moment we arrived in the parking area. I don't know where this recipe came from but thank you to the original Maker:

Mix in a 16oz spray bottle:

- 14oz witch hazel

- 12 drops lavender oil

- 15 drops lemongrass oil

- 15 drops citronella oil

- 15 drops tea tree oil

This is a large amount, but you must apply generously, and regularly especially if sweating in the sun.

My 2 other intolerable nuisance pests inside the home is The Ant and The Fruit Fly, both of which can become extreme problems if not addressed immediately. Fortunately, I have the magic formulas that are amazing in getting rid of both, 100% tried, tested and true. Again, thank you to the original posters who wanted these to be shared:

ANT FOOD: I am still using the same borax from 15+ years ago so this stuff lasts forever. Save and wash your jar lids from salsa, tomato sauce, etc. (you don't want thick lids). In a small pot, add 1/2 cup of sugar along with 1.5 tablespoons of borax and mix until well combined. Add 1.5 cups of warm water and stir until all is dissolved. Using cotton balls, spread them onto the lids and add your liquid making sure the cotton is soaked. Place the lids where the ants are coming in and let it do its thing, but make sure it is out of reach from kids and pets. Not only will the ants engorge themselves, they will also take cotton pieces back to the nest, killing the colony. We had a serious carpenter ant problem when I tried this the first time. I remember that experience all too well. We set the traps and spent the weekend at my sister's lake cottage. We returned 2 days later to witness what I considered a living nightmare. Ants marching up and down the corner of our log wall was unbelievable. I immediately regretted trying this recipe thinking I had made a bad situation a thousand times worse, despite the recipe indicating "beware of activity for 24 hours once found; within 2-3 days, ants should be all gone". And sure enough, the following day, not 1 ant was seen. I was shocked and relieved, and this Recipe is secured for life.

THE FRUIT FLY TRAP: In a small bowl, cut or smash a piece of tomato or strawberry or anything else they are attracted to. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, nice and tight and using a toothpick, poke some holes. They will find their way in and once they do, they're trapped. It gets gross when there's a bunch in there bouncing off the plastic desperately trying to escape but a quick bake in the sun will finish the job, but of course, you can also just release them.

And then there are some Critters where you just have to throw in the towel:

Crows... We were so excited seeing cherries for the very first time forming on our 2 trees that were planted a few years ago. All I want to know is how do cherry farms keep these birds away? Nothing worse than lying in bed at 5am listening to them feast on YOUR cherries. We got zip, nada. All were eaten before they were even ready...

A recent local post on social media caught my attention and it had to do with someone building a crow “altar” in hopes of befriending these birds. And sure enough, there are tons of videos out there explaining how this is done. Basically, crows are very smart and will remember people who are kind to them and those who are not. So, if you feed them, give them water, leave games for them to play, they and their future generations will come back year after year. In return, they will bring you gifts that are totally useless but quite adorable. It was fascinating to learn about this.