Wednesday, May 18, 2011

It's Pesky Business!!

Summer comes early for us Floridians.  Matter of fact, the running joke is that we don't have four seasons like other regions.  We have two.  Summer, and January.   

I hate bugs.  I know everyone hates them, (except for those rare individuals who find them fascinating).  At any rate.  We seem to be having trouble with flies.   And here in Florida, we don't have normal houseflies.  We have these huge, pre-historic looking "blow flies" that are huge and have attitudes.  Vile, disgusting creatures.  Flying mutant germs.  Flying filth.  I HATE them. 

So I've been thinking what can I do to get rid of them without spraying poison.  I have children, and pets, and poison is just not a consideration.  At. All.   So after much googling and reading, I have come to the following ideas on how to combat this vermin.  

A spray bottle of half Pine Sol and half water.  Okay, okay yeah it's a chemical.  But here's the deal... I found a bottle in the back of my cupboard and I will not hesitate to use it if it works but no I don't plan to buy any more of it.  Stupid to waste what I already have on hand.  

Since we have piggies, (Guinea pigs), evidently from what I've read I can toss a few handfuls of their cedar bedding (cedar wood shavings) around my porch/flower bed area and that will make our home less attractive.  Flies don't like the cedar oil.  

Other essential oils that deter the disgusting things are eucalyptus, peppermint, (which I won't use since hubby is allergic to peppermint), and lavender.   Oh.. and citronella.   Put the oil in your oil burner and supposedly the flies will pack their little fly suitcases and leave.   Sounds good to me.  :)

Lets see it it really works. ;)   Anyone else have any good "natural" ideas that arent too gross?   The swatting is seriously gross and after killing ten in row, I tend to start spazzing.  Hoping to cut down on that.  LOL  Hmmm.  Think I'll go for the lavender.  No flies and calmness for me.  LOL  Sounds like just what the doctor ordered! :)   

Heading to "the hippie store" tomorrow for essential oils... we'll hit that right after the Farmers Market.  New "hippie store" for me. :)  Grassroots Natural Market.  I'm looking forward to checking it out!! :)

5 comments:

  1. Let me know if the oils work! The mosquitos are worse than the flies at my house....sometimes I feel like they are eating me alive!
    Oh and thanks for the link to the Grassroots Market! I plan to go check it out too!!

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  2. Nancy, when the "skeeters" have made a meal of you, get out your Witch Hazel and rub it liberally all over your bites and it will help with the itching. As far as deterrent against mosquitoes for both humans and pets, get some Skin So Soft Oil (by Avon) and put it in a spray bottle... half SSS oil and half water and shake it up and use it as bug spray ... spray it all over yourself so they won't eat you up!

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  3. Hi Susan. We had a great summer this year: hardly a fly all season. The weather was milder than usual so maybe that had something to do with it (and we no longer live next to a paddock of cows!) We have screens on all our windows and doors and we race through them to prevent the flies coming in with us. And we avoid eating outside because it is just too miserable having to share our food. I've always meant to try cironella candles. I wonder if they really make a difference. Any ideas for a natural repellant for sprayng on skin? God bless.

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  4. Buy some "Skin So Soft Oil" (by Avon) and put it in a spray bottle... half SSS oil and half water and shake it up and use it as bug spray ... spray it all over yourself so they won't eat you up! We have screens on our windows too but the heat and humidity here is abominable in the summer.. Florida is very sub-tropical here and the flies and bugs are huge and LOTS of them unfortunately! I always laugh and say the mosquito is our "State Bird". LOL

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  5. Florida must be a wonderful place if you're willing to endure all the bugs! We're very fortunate as we live on the Highlands which has a different climate to Sydney and other places which are relatively close. It does get extremely hot some days but overall, the weather is good.

    Thanks, Susan for the tip about the SSS oil spray. My mum is an Avon user and I will ask her to order me some for next summer. For us, winter is only a couple of weeks away so no flies or mossies for the next few months.

    Now I can imagine you there in Florida, sweltering away in the humidity, doing the Aussie salute continously, and being eaten alive by those monster mossies. Wonderful getting to know you!!

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