Coming Home For the Remedies

Homemade Ant Traps

  • 1 part boric acid or 20 Mule Team borax
  • 9 parts Karo syrup

Heat gently to mix and melt. Put a tablespoon of the mixture in a round whipped butter or margarine carton with holes punched at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions. Cover the carton and place it in a shady spot. Ants will come to feast off the sweet but poisonous mixture and carry it back to the nest where it will wipe out the rest of the ants.

Skunk Odor Remedy for Pets

If your dog has ever been "skunked" you know how ineffective the old tomato Juice remedy is. It has been found that combining 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide and 1/4 cup of baking soda mixed with enough dishwashing liquid to create "the consistency of gravy" to be an effective skunk odor killer. Pour the mixture on the dog, massage into affected areas, add some water and shampoo, then rinse with clear water.

Avoid getting in the animal’s eyes; do not seal in a jar because the mixture will explode; dispose of any remaining mixture.

All-Purpose Garlic Insect Repellent Spray for Plants

  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dishwashing liquid
  • 1 quart water

Put first four ingredients in a blender, add some of the water and blend until smooth. Pour mixture and the rest of the water into a jar and let steep for 24 hours. Strain, then pour liquid into a spray bottle. Treat plants. Keep extra spray in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Eradicate Earwigs a Safe Way

Are earwigs the cause of your young plants dying or vanishing overnight? Dampen newspaper, roll it into a tight cylinder, then place it near the scene of the crime. It should be full of earwigs the next morning. Burn it up or bag it well. Continue doing this until the morning the newspaper is empty.

From the Winter 2001 issue of the Environmental News.