CasaSugar

How-To: Get Rid of Moths in Your Kitchen

CasaSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:30:27 -0700

I just discovered a moth infestation in our kitchen. While I can handle a lot of creepy crawly things, finding moth worms in my nut mix is not okay. It turns out that in warmer climates, infestations like this are very common. In fact, it's unusual that it's taken me this long to get overrun by moths! While researching ways to send them packing, I came across some very handy how-to advice, which I've compiled here.

To find out how to get rid of moths if they've invaded your kitchen, read more.

Here's how to get rid of those pesky winged invaders, courtesy of How To Get Rid of Stuff:

Identify all of the places where the moths are present.
Clean these areas exceptionally well.
Remove all items from the areas.
Vacuum every surface, walls, shelves, cabinets, carpet, etc.
Scrub hard surfaces with a mixture of hot water and detergent. Scrub every inch because moth larva can attach themselves in even the tiniest of spaces.
If the shelving is removable, pull it out and clean the edges and walls around it.
Clean every surface that comes into contact with food, including your spice rack.
Follow up the scrubbing with a vinegar rinse. Either put some white vinegar into a spray bottle, coat, and wipe, or apply it directly to a cloth and wipe everything down.
The moths are likely originating from one or more of the food items previously stored in this area. Throw away every grain-based food item - even if it appears to be sealed well. Also dispose of nuts, raisins, flour, and tea.
Any remaining food containers and items should be thoroughly cleaned with the same detergent/water solution and vinegar rinse before returning to the freshly scrubbed area. A single egg or caterpillar left hanging onto something can start this whole thing all over again, so be thorough.
Kill any moths left flying around in the air. You can do this with a fly swatter, or use moth traps.

I'll be attempting all of these cleaning changes this weekend, and I'll let you know how it goes! Do you have any other ideas for getting rid of kitchen-lingering moths?
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How-To: Get Rid of Fabric-Eating Moths

CasaSugar — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:00:34 -0700

If you've opened your closet and realized that your favorite cashmere sweater has holes all over it, you've probably got a moth problem. It's unlikely that the moths are attracted to just that one cardi, so there are a few steps you should take to ensure your whole wardrobe doesn't suffer the same fate. That is, unless we're talking about all those reindeer Christmas sweaters from grandma.

To learn how to kick those buggers to the curb, read more.

Clothes moths feed on wool, feathers, fur, hair, lint, paper, and even cotton, linen, silk, and some synthetic fibers. But in general, they especially crave fabrics that have been stained or soiled with food, beverages, perspiration, sweat, oil, and urine. In many cases, you can't even tell that your apparel has been stained, so you should always clean your garments before you store them.
If you've already discovered you have a moth problem, you should wash all of your clothes in the infested area in hot water and detergent or dry clean them.
When it comes time to store your out-of-season clothes, you should keep them in airtight containers such as plastic boxes and bags, metal containers, or wooden (cedar is ideal) chests.
Moths tend to develop under humidity. So, if your closet or storage space is near a bathroom or humidifier, you should ventilate the area by opening windows or using a fan.
Clothes moths also prefer darkness. So if you have an alternative place to store your apparel that is bright, consider moving your clothes. You might also leave on low-energy lightbulbs such as CFLs or LEDs to light your closet.
To capture the male clothes moths in order to stop the breeding process, use a pheromone trap in your closet.
You should also vacuum your closet thoroughly in all cracks and crevices, as well as carpeting. Use a flashlight to identify lint and hair at the baseboards, in air ducts, and corners of the room that you might not see otherwise. If you have upholstered furniture in your closet (lucky lady), make sure to vacuum it thoroughly as well.
As for moth repellants, mothballs are tried and true, but they can also be harmful to your health, and leave a strong odor on your clothes. So, you can make a sachet with these herbal mothball alternatives. Cedar chips tend to lose their effect after the wood has dried, but cedar chests, which are airtight, are often effective.

How-To: Getting Rid of Household Ants

CasaSugar — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:30:10 -0700

There's nothing stylish or healthy about having ants marching through your home. But, unfortunately, when the weather warms up, those cold blooded little bodies have a habit of coming to your kitchen to search for food and water to bring back to their queen and growing nest. They tell their fellows in the colony where they're headed by leaving a chemical trail behind, so you may have encountered a swarm infesting your home, rather than just a straggler. Not fun. There are several important tricks to telling the little guys to stay where they belong, outdoors. To hear them, read more.

Indoor Steps

Follow their trail to find the food they're after, and clean it up!
Then, follow their trail to the hole they used to enter your home, and plug it up!
Vacuum up the little dudes on the trail and any stragglers around the house.
Then, wash the sites of chemical trails with either soapy water or a solution of vinegar and water. Any new ants coming in will be lost, since they'll have no trail to follow.
If the ants return, and you feel the need to use an insecticide, try an organic, nontoxic one first. Bugs'R'Done is one option, which is made of pure orange peel oil, or you can make up your own slurry of orange peel and water. You can also place a bit of Cream of Wheat near the ant nest or on their trail, which when eaten will cause the ants to swell up and poof.
If a nontoxic insecticide doesn't work, try an enclosed bait trap with boric acid or abamectin on the label, and make sure the ants are taking the bait (i.e. bringing the "food" back to the queen). These enclosed traps are less toxic to humans and tamper proof (safe for children/pets).
In general, don't leave food out and make sure your doors, windows, and walls are properly sealed, so the ants have no reason or way to enter.

Outdoor Steps

Plant and tree branches and leaves that touch the house are "ant highways," so trim them!
Mulch, wood piles and other debris often house ant nests, so keep them away from the house.
If you have no luck locating the colony indoors, pouring hot soapy water on the colony outside will serve as a deterrent.
Don't spray a mound or colony; it'll only kill the ones on the top and could cause them to break up and start more colonies. Just use the hot water.
Don't sprinkle or spray pesticides around the outside of your home; it may kill other insects or animals, and it's not a good choice for environmental or health reasons.

Most of these tips were compiled from an article by Penn State's College of Agricultural Science, which you can read here.
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How-To: Homemade Aphid Spray

CasaSugar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:15:10 -0700

Even if you're not a gardener, you may have encountered plant-killing aphids, or plant lice, on plants near your home — I know I have. It turns out that you needn't be creeped out by these crawlers for long; you can make a simple, organic homemade spray to kick them to the curb. A tomato leaf spray works because the alkaloids in the leaves of the tomato plant, when mixed with water, are toxic to the little buggies, but still safe for you and your plants. You can also make a garlic oil spray, which contains sulfur, which is also toxic to aphids. But, since it kills all types of insects, even good ones (such as natural predators of aphids, like ladybugs), I don't recommend it.

To learn how to make tomato leaf spray, read more.

Supplies:

One to two cups of tomato leaves
Four cups of water
A strainer or cheesecloth
Spray bottle

Here's how, from About.com:

Chop the tomato leaves
Then, steep them in two cups of water overnight.
Strain out the leaves with your strainer or cheescloth.
Add another two cups of water to the liquid you were left with.
Put it in your spray bottle.
Spray the stems and the foliage of your infested plant, particularly the underside.

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Plants That Purify: Bamboo Palm

CasaSugar — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 11:14:29 -0800

We all could benefit from a cheap and beautiful way to improve a home's indoor air quality. That's why I'm bringing you an ongoing series on house plants that are particularly good at purifying the air.

Next up in our series is the bamboo palm.

To find out more about this hardy house plant, just read more.

Bamboo palm, which is also known as reed palm, is a low-maintenance houseplant that prefers rainwater or distilled water to tap water. This plant is susceptible to spider mites and mealy bugs, so be careful to avoid insect infestations. Place your bamboo palm in indirect sunlight and allow the plant to stay moist, but not wet. If any water accumulates in the bottom of the planter, dump it out, as bamboo plants hate to sit in water.

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Casa Quiz: Beware the Whitefly!

CasaSugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:00:34 -0800

I recently gave you a little heads up about whiteflies, a critter infamous for infesting your houseplants. Do you remember the details about it? Take this quiz to find out!

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Plant Therapy: Beware the Whitefly!

CasaSugar — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:15:03 -0800

If you have houseplants, you may have had to deal with an infestation of whiteflies. This houseplant enemy is particularly prevalent in Winter, when they shack up in your home waiting out the cold weather. Not an actual fly, these insects are related to scales, aphids, and mealybugs and are on a mission to hurt your houseplants.
When whiteflies hatch, they leave discarded white shells on your houseplant's leaves. If you see these, you likely have a whitefly problem. Investigate further by carefully turning over your houseplants' leaves and seeing if there are yellowish dots on the underside, especially near the veins. These yellow dots are the nymphs. As the nymph feeds, it will turn your plants' leaves yellow. Nymphs also leave droppings that turn into black mold on the underside of the leaves.

So, what should you do? To find out , read more.

First, move the infected plant or plants to a room by itself, where it can't infect other plants. A room that doesn't get much foot traffic is best, as whiteflies can hitch rides on your clothing and reinfect other healthy plants in your house. After you've isolated the infected plants, use a spray to treat the problem. You can use an organic soap, such as Gh Organics Insecticidal Soap, or Safer Insecticidal Soap. Make sure to cover both the tops and bottoms of all of the leaves, and spray directly on the insect for best results.

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Open House Recap: Keeping Critters Out of the House

CasaSugar — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:15:50 -0800

Last week's Open House dealt with unwelcome critters in your home. You responded with stories about squirrels, raccoons, bats, snakes, ladybugs - and even a deer that walked into a house on its own!
I've rounded up some advice on how to guard your house against future creature infestations. For my list of tips, just read more.

Seal your home properly by closing chimneys, attics, and crawl spaces.
Repair holes or weak spots around your home where an animal could enter.
Trim tree limbs six to eight feet from your house.
Remove any fallen tree fruit.
Animal feeders often attract more trouble than they're worth, so consider discontinuing their use around the house.
Use 2 inch by 4-inch mesh wire over and around bird feeders to keep squirrels and rats out.
Install one-way doors to allow animals to leave, but not to enter.
Secure compost bins and trash containers with a tight-fitting lid.
Bring pet food containers indoors.

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Nice and New: More Threadless Designs for Blik

CasaSugar — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 05:30:31 -0700

I introduced you to Blik in my post about decal-icious wall decor, and now the brand has partnered with another cool company you should know: Threadless. Threadless is an online t-shirt shop where artists submit designs, users vote on their favorites, and the winning art gets turned into t-shirts. Now, Blik has starting mining Threadless designs to turn into wall decals!

Each month, Blik chooses some of its favorite t-shirt designs and posts them on the Blik web site. As with Threadless, users can then vote on which art should be turned into wall decals. Nine of the winning designs have just gone up for sale, including Pirate Infested Waters ($60) and Summer Wind ($50) above.

In addition, Blik has also posted a batch of other Threadless designs that you can now vote on! To "blik" or "nix" the candidates, just visit the voting booth before the end of August, and your favorite just might get transformed into a decal design.