10 Natural Ways to Keep Your Home Pest-Free

No need to use chemicals—instead, use these herbal, fruity, or soap-laden solutions to problems with pests like ants, mice and mosquitoes.

Flies hate the smell of basil. To discourage them, place pots of basil at doorways and windowsills and on the kitchen counter. Don't have enough sun for potted basil? Put dried basil in a small muslin pouch, rubbing it occasionally to keep the scent strong.

Spiders are not fond of citrus. In a spray bottle, mix water and unsweetened lemon or lime juice. Wipe your countertops with the mixture or spray down doorways and windowsills. You can deter spiders in your garden by spreading around lemon, orange, or lime peels.

Cats love catnip. Mosquitoes? Not so much. According to Science Daily, catnip repels mosquitoes more effectively than DEET. Grow it in your garden or apply undiluted catnip oil to the skin for up to two hours of protection.

Cinnamon bark oil has been shown to control dust mites. Mix several drops into a 50/50 solution of water and denatured alcohol. Spray bedding, carpets, and any other places dust collects. Added benefit? Your house will smell like cookies!

Use a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water to wipe down countertops and other surfaces—anywhere you've spotted ants. For best results, repeat this several times a day. Doing so destroys the scent trails that ants use to navigate.

Alternately salting and vacuuming your ﬂoors will kill ﬂea eggs. But since fleas have a three-day reproduction cycle, you have to be diligent: Salt every day for nine days and vacuum every third day. Don’t forget to empty the vacuum every time, or the live ones will crawl right back out again!

A pair of barn owls and their brood can eat over 3,000 mice in a nesting season. Attract them to your property with an owl box, if a quiet rafter or tree crook is not available. Should the food supply be dependable, the same owls may return season after season.

Many kinds of wasp are incredibly territorial and will not build a nest within 200 yards of another one. So build or buy your own fake nest! It’s like a scarecrow for wasps. Hang one in the front yard and one in back, and you’re done.

Trap fruit ﬂies with this simple approach: Fill a glass three-quarters full with vinegar or cider vinegar, then add six to eight drops of dishwashing liquid, and fill to the top with warm water. Gruesomely effective.