I’m a pro cleaner – the two ingredient spray ants hate and will keep them out of your home for good
THE sun is finally out and unfortunately, tons of creepy crawlies are too.
If you are struggling with ants in your home, one cleaning expert has revealed the best ways to get rid of them.
If you want to banish these bugs from your home before the bank holiday, cleaning expert Nancy Emery shared her top tips.
Working with kitchen and bathroom specialist Tap Warehouse, she told the press that you don’t need to spend a fortune to get these pests under control.
In fact, you can use a range of non-toxic kitchen items to stop ants in their tracks.
As temperatures rise, most pests are on the search for a tasty snack – with countertop food, waste and even spillages making for a tasty treat.
Ants are no different and alarmingly, they can lay up to 800 eggs a day once they are in your home.
With this in mind, Nancy urges homeowners to make sure any fresh food is covered up as they are often drawn to this.
The domestic goddess also says to wipe down surfaces and countertops, as food debris can also attract ants.
Though having a clean home will help, you can also make use of natural repellents to stop ants from appearing.
Her first tip is to use fresh lemon peel at each entry point, as the sour smell will help deter ants from even entering your home.
With a four-pack of lemons costing as little as 95p in Asda, this is an easy way to prevent pests without using harsh chemicals.
However, the cleaning whizz also has a DIY insecticide that you can make at home and it uses just two ingredients.
Start by diluting 10-15 drops of peppermint oil in clean, warm water and make sure they are well combined.
Once this is done, you can then fill a spray bottle with the mix and use it to treat any affected areas.
While it sounds too good to be true, this cheap and cheerful solution works by masking the pheromones that ants use to communicate.
It is also a powerful irritant which means most ant species will flee from it.
For anyone who wasn’t already sold on this two-ingredient insecticide, you can pick up peppermint oil for as little as £2.97 on Amazon.
This wasn’t the only advice Nancy had for homeowners, with her sharing her top tips on how to deal with other household pests too.
Maggots
While your home is squeaky clean, you can still find these creepy crawlies lurking in your bins.
As maggots can feed on your bins for five days, it is best to give your bins a good scrub with hot soap water and leave them to air dry after every collection.
You can also add coffee grounds to the bottom of your bin, which absorbs any nasty smells and prevents maggots from appearing.
Silverfish
With rising temperatures and lots of moisture, bathrooms can be the perfect place for silverfish.
Though they are mostly harmless, you can use natural deterrents like cinnamon and citrus peel to stop them from taking over your bathroom.
Hoovering and tackling any dampness in your home will also help.
Wasps
You can also use peppermint oil to stop wasps too.
Unlike the previous recipe though, you’ll need to add two tablespoons of dish soap to create a DIY wasp spray.
Mosquitos
If you don’t want to walk around with mosquito bites all summer, simply cut a lemon in half and insert cloves to create an extra citrusy smell that these pests hate.
How to prevent flies in your home
With their constant buzzing, the unhygienic pests are probably some of the most annoying.
If you want to keep your windows open and flies out, it’s worth adding a few drops of essentials like basil and lemongrass to your surface cleaner.
Alternatively, you can make a DIY fly trap by filling a bowl with apple cider vinegar and adding a small amount of dish soap.
While it sounds too good to be true, these creepy crawlies will become trapped after being drawn to the smell.