getting rid of insects in the home the green witch way
while insect visitors like ants, wasps and spiders aren’t always welcome, killing these little creatures is never ideal, and can interfere with the energy of your home. whenever possible, here are some natural + humane alternatives to pest removal.
✳ ants: leaving lemon rind near their points of entry to your house is an effective deterrent; they will avoid the smell. you can also use baby powder, which they don’t like to walk on.
✳ wasps: if there is a wasp nest around your home, placing several cotton balls coated in peppermint essential oil around the affected area, like the corners of the front porch, will bother the wasps enough to stay away from the area. the closer you can place the peppermint to the nest, the better.
✳ spiders: chestnuts have a chemical compound on their surface that acts as a spider repellent; additionally, chestnuts don’t go bad for quite some time, so they can provide long-term spider deterring. place a handful of chestnuts in the corners of your home.
✳ bees: honeybees are precious and should be kept alive at all costs. if there is a beehive near or on your home that is causing bees to enter your home, or you or someone you live with have a bee allergy, the most effective humane way to prompt the bees to build a hive elsewhere is to smoke them out. do this at dawn, as it gives the bees time to relocate before sundown. using rotten wood, paper or cardboard, create a burning pile underneath or nearby the hive, set it alight, and immediately vacate the area, as the bees will start exiting the hive. make sure all your windows are sealed. you may need to do this over the course of a few days to ensure they leave, and often times bees won’t return to an area where they’ve been smoked.
the majority of insects will be deterred by peppermint essential oil or vinegar, as a general rule.
