KEEPING PESTS OUT OF THE KITCHEN... (27/08/09)

There is something of a fly infestation at my parents home in Guilden Sutton at the moment.  Just those annoying fruit flies, but they are really irritating and my poor mum and dad are trying all sorts of products to try to rid themselves of it.  On this note I thought I'd share with you some research I;ve done into safe ways to keep pests out of your kitchen...

1. To keep flies away, stand tomatoe or basil plants on the windowsill.  An alternative is to put a couple of splashes of pepermint oil in a jug of water on the windowsill instead.  This should do the trick, and will leave your kitchen smelling even more delicious.

2. To keep ants away you can keep pots of herbs which repel ants, such as mint, chervil or tansy - in the areas they are coming in or troubling you.  You can even usedried buches of these herbs instead if fresh are difficult to come by.

Good luck.  Richard