Natural bug sprays and Uses for Baking Soda

This year is extremely bad for bugs.  We have been battling them for a few months now.  It started with spiders, then went to fleas.  Luckily we got a barrier up against the ants before they took over too.  And out by the pool we have wasps that won't go away.  I thought I would share my natural bug remedies.

Ants:
We have ants every year around here but this year we were determined to prevent from the beginning.  We spread diatomaceous earth around outside of the house and window sills.  We've had many ants outside but none have made it inside or even on the patio or deck.  This is natural and won't hurt kids and pets.  If ants do make it inside, dilute some tea tree oil in water.  Spray around the areas where ants are or could be and even spray ants themselves.

Spiders:
Magic potion:  Orange oil.  I was surprised that this worked so well but it did.  We were infested with wolf spiders.  I was killing 2-6 a day.  Good thing I'm not afraid of spiders.  I bought a big spray bottle from Target and put a tablespoon of orange oil in about a quart of water.  I cleaned everywhere!  They were mostly in the kitchen and living room so I even cleaned out the cabinets and sprayed inside with the orange oil and moved the refrigerator to spray underneath and behind.  The pantry got cleaned out and all along the baseboards, window sills and doors inside and out.  I have not had any more spiders!  However, apparently the spiders served some purpose because as soon as I got rid of them, they were replaced with another pesky bug.

Fleas:
I despise fleas and ticks.  Luckily here in town, we don't struggle too much with ticks.  But the fleas are a completely different story.  I have three dogs and a toddler so I don't like to use those nasty, chemical filled bombs.  I did end up using a flea shampoo on the dogs because no other methods were working but I was able to use essential oils on the rest of the house.  I will give a warning right up front though:  Do NOT use wintergreen oil if you have cats.  It can be dangerous.  What I was told is that it is safe for animals after it dries, but not while you use it, especially for cats.  So if you have cats and decide to use this, make sure you have a place to keep them for a couple of hours while it dries.  With those warnings out there, I bathed my dogs in their flea shampoo, then left them in the bathroom for a few hours while I cleaned and sprayed.  I also did this while the toddler was staying with her Nana for a few hours.
So, now to the cleaning.  On the furniture and stuff that cannot be put in the washing machine, you use Eucalyptus oil.  About a teaspoon of Eucalyptus to about 4 ounces of water.  I actually found 2 ounce spray bottles at Walmart and used those.  They have 4 ounce bottles too but I needed multiple bottles and the 2 ounce bottles came in a pack of four.  I don't even measure, I just drop it in until it smells about right.  I also sprayed the dogs' collars with the Eucalyptus oil mixture.  I was told that Eucalyptus is safe for dogs.  If you are concerned, I recommend you discuss it with your vet.  My dogs did not have any issues.  Eddie, our oldest chihuahua had sores from the fleas.  He has sensitive skin and allergies anyway so he struggles more with the bugs.  I used tea tree oil to doctor his sores and they healed right up.
On the floors and curtains I sprayed a Wintergreen oil mixture.  It is diluted about the same as the Eucalyptus.  One teaspoon to four ounces.  If this is too strong for you, it is okay to dilute it more.  Using this much wintergreen definitely assaults the senses.  Make sure you open windows and turn on ceiling fans.  I actually didn't open windows because it was VERY hot but the ceiling fans helped so much.  So I sprayed the wintergreen on all of the carpets and curtains.  I let the oil mixture set for a bit.  Then I sprinkled baking soda over all of the floors.  I have a new love for baking soda.  It helps pull stains out of the carpet and soak up any leftover wetness.  NOTE:  Keep this in mind if you are house training a dog or potty training a toddler.  Let the baking soda do it's thing for about 5 minutes and vacuum it all up.

The proof is in the vacuum!  Look!  I bet you see a surprising amount of dead fleas in there.

Update:  One of my close friends called me after she read this and said you can also put dried eucalyptus leaves in your furniture cushions.  It was a trick her mom used when we were growing up.  So try that too!

Another hint:  I reuse a large parmesan cheese canister to fill with baking soda.  This makes it easier to sprinkle evenly across the carpets.

 See?  It works great and this is much cheaper than buying so many of those store bought carpet cleaning powders.