Household Tips

Ant Control:

• Spread some ground cinnamon where you think the ants are coming in to the house.
  
  
• Basil repels flies and mosquitoes. To deter ants, use catnip. Sprinkle it in their paths.
  
  
• Make a mixture of 2/3 cup water, 1/3 cup white vinegar, and 2-3 Tablespoons dish soap. Spray where the ants are marching.

Natural Mosquito Repellents:

• Splashing plain rubbing alcohol on yourself and allowing it to dry will deter mosquitoes from biting you.
  
  
• Rub Vick's Vaporub® on your pants and legs to ward off ticks.
  
  
• Use half vanilla (has to be pure vanilla) and half water and for a mosquito and tick repellent.
  
  
• Dab lavender oil on your pulse points; it smells great on you but repels insects.

For Mouse Control:

• Place USED kitty litter from a litter box in small tubs in several places around the garage. Mice think... "it smells like a cat--must be a cat - I'm outta here!".
  
  
• Buy a mesh/net laundry bag that you would use for washing nylons and 5 boxes of moth balls. Put the moth balls in the bag and hang it in your garage near the door to get rid of mice, birds, and bugs.
  
  
• To prevent mice from gaining entry to your garage, stop up any openings with steel wood pads. Mice will not chew through these!
  
  
• Sprinkle ground cayenne pepper around the garage (inside & out), and especially near entry holes. Pests don't care for the smell of it.
  
  
• Mice hate the scent of peppermint extract. Simply sprinkle *pure* peppermint extract on the items in your garage you don't want the mice in or on.

(Source : www.thefunplace.com)