Bug Update

Well I'm still not sure it's fleas (although there's no doubt about us having roaches), but I discovered a product online today that we're going to try.
It's called Wondercide. It's cedar oil and saline solution. That's it. No scary chemicals at all! And the best part is the cedar oil they use is food-grade so there's no worry about Ruby getting sick. Not only can you use it in and around your home you can use it as a bug repellent in place of OFF and others! AWESOME!
What's even more awesome is that's it's a company started by a family from DFW that was sick of all the chemicals in insect treatments and I spoke with Stephanie on the phone today. She was very helpful in telling me about the products and answering all my questions. It's not often that you speak with one of the founders of a company when you call customer service.
We're going to order some today and will rip the rest of our carpet up tonight (I ripped up the hallway and spare bedroom on Sunday - my back is killing me but it was worth it, I hate carpet).


I also found a few recipes for roach killer that use borax so we're going to make some of those and put them under the cabinet tonight. Here they are in case anyone else is interested.

Use a cup of Borax, half a cup of flour, a quarter-cup of powdered sugar, and one-half cup of ground oats - place in dish and cover with folded cardboard to make it more attractive or dust along walls/inside walls/inside cabinets

Mix equal amounts of borax and flour. Then add just enough confectioners sugar to attract the roaches. Add just enough water to make a soft dough. Roll the dough into little balls and place in the little candy paper cups (like the cups muffins come in). Place the balls in corners of cupboards and behind furniture where other animal life cannot reach. The roaches eat this and it causes them to dry out. It takes about two to three weeks before they will be completely gone. Replace the balls every month to ensure that there is no re-infestation.

(I'm going to wear gloves when I do these because borax is a skin irritant - also, be careful not to inhale the dust when you're dusting walls and cabinets as it is a lung irritant - children and pets should not be allowed to inhale it or ingest it as it's especially harmful to them)

I'll keep you posted.

5 comments:

Cliff and Jessica October 02, 2008  

hey ginger. Cliff and i are planning on coming through Denton on our way through to see you guys. it'll have to be rather short because cliff doesn't want to be in super late to amarillo since we have church day sunday. but we are going to stop and see you if ya'll are home. i'll give you a call tomorrow or saturday when we know more about when we'll be leaving. don't plan your sat. evening around us cause we'll see you at thanksgiving if we miss you. love you!

Dianne Fowler October 06, 2008  

Hey. We had a lot of fun on Sunday hanging out with you guys. I would love to get together and show you how to make a meal plan. It is really simple and saves you so much money! Let me know when is a good time for us to get together.

Michelle @ Sew-Krafty October 11, 2008  

So glad you stopped by the Land of Pink!!
Thank you for your sweet comment, and for the prayers ;)

Anonymous January 24, 2009  

Have you tried Diatomaceous Earth? You can get it at Calloway's for cheap and it's non-toxic too. I put it on ant hills outside and use it to kill ants in the house.

The Dunton's January 26, 2009  

I haven't tried that but the Wondercide worked, well, wonders! I haven't had any bugs for months (it only took a few weeks to fully work). We plan to spray the yard again when the weather warms up and that should keep away the critters that come out in the spring. I'll update my blog again to let you know how it goes! Thanks for the tip!