Malaysian homes big or small, landed or otherwise, have pests. Your first instinct might be to call a professional if you’ve seen cockroaches, ants, mites or other creepy-crawlies around your home, but exterminators often use professional-grade pest control that could contain harsh chemicals and might be dangerous to pets.

Luckily, there are many home remedies that are effective against pests without involving any toxic substances. Give the following a try, but always be careful not to spray high concentrations of ingredients such as essential oils or undiluted dish soap around pets.

1. Ants

• Lemon juice spray bottle

Simply cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a spray bottle. Spray it on areas where ants tend to roam. The acid will deter them by messing with their tracking abilities and encourage them to leave.

• Vinegar solution

Pour equal parts of water and white vinegar into a spray bottle and shake well. Spray the mixture on the ants and wipe the area down with a cloth.

This mixture is great for overwhelming an ant’s sense of smell, causing them not to return.

• Dish soap spray

Fill a spray bottle 3/4 of the way with water, and then add 10-20 drops of dish soap. Shake well, then spray onto areas where you find ants.

• Other solutions

Disrupt an ant’s sense of smell by simply sprinkling either cayenne pepper, cornmeal or coffee grounds in affected areas. These ingredients will help stop ants from smelling the food in your home, and the texture will make them avoid the area entirely.

2. Flies

• Jar fly trap

Fill a jar with up to 10cm of apple cider vinegar. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water plus a splash of dish soap.

Stir the mixture, then place some cling wrap over the opening of the jar and secure it with a rubber band. Poke pencil-sized holes for the flies to enter through.

• Fruit fly trap

Cut a piece of fruit 2.5cm thick and place it into a bowl with the exposed surface of the fruit facing up. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and secure it in place with a rubber band or tape.

Poke holes in the cling wrap using a toothpick, as fruit flies are much smaller than the common fly.

3. Cockroaches

• Wine bottle trap

Line the inside of an old wine bottle with cooking oil and the opening with either syrup or peanut butter. The sweet and sticky scent will attract roaches, while the oil will keep them from escaping.

• Catnip

Fill small satchels with catnip and place them in areas where you’ve noticed cockroaches crawling around.

4. Bed bugs

• Steam clean

To get rid of bed bugs, simply use either a steam cleaner or hair dryer that goes above 60°C over the entire mattress. Focus one area at a time for 30 seconds, then use sticky tape to pick up the dead bugs.

• Baking soda

Sprinkle one to three cups of baking soda all over your mattress liberally. Leave it on for 30 minutes to 24 hours – the longer, the better.

Then use a vacuum to clean up the baking soda, which essentially absorbs moisture in the bed bugs, killing them.

5. Dust mites

• Essential oil spray

Mix two teaspoons of white vinegar with equal parts water in a spray bottle, then add two teaspoons of tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil and peppermint oil.

Spray the mixture on furnishings every few weeks to prevent dust mites from infesting your home.

• Freeze fabric

If you have dust mites crawling around in fabrics such as pillowcases and cushion covers, you can freeze them to kill them. Place fabrics that have dust mites into a freezer set to -12°C for 12 hours.

6. Fleas

• Herbal flea spray

Mix four cups of vinegar, two cups of water, 120ml lemon juice, and 60ml witch hazel into a spray bottle. Spray the mixture on everything from carpets to furniture, and don’t forget the pet beds.

• Salt

Sprinkle fine salt on carpets and leave it for a few hours before vacuuming it up.

• Rosemary lemon spray

Boil four cups of water and add six thin slices of lemons, chopped rosemary, and three to four drops of geranium essential oil. Cover the mixture and leave overnight.

Strain the water first before filling a spray bottle. Then spray the mixture on everything in your home to repel fleas.

7. Termites

• Wet cardboard

Pour water on a piece of cardboard, then place it on areas where termites are. They should be attracted to the cardboard, which you can then throw away or, for added safety, burn.

• Sunlight

Place your wooden furniture in the sun. Heat is not an ideal environment for termites to survive in, thus prolonged exposure will kill them.

8. Mosquitoes

• Lemon eucalyptus oil

Mix 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 cup of witch hazel, and then add 30-40 drops of lemon eucalyptus oil into a spray bottle. Spray in areas where there are mosquitoes.

Note, however, that this mixture should not be used around children under the age of three.

9. Spiders

• DIY spider spray

Fill a spray bottle with water and add two to three drops of eucalyptus, lavender and peppermint essential oil. Mix well and spray around windows, doorways, and other entrances into your home to target their entry points.

10. Silverfish

• Cedar shavings

Silverfish dislike the smell of cedar, so spread out cedar chips in areas where you’ve seen these pests. The smell will deter them, and if the cedar starts to get damp or stale, simply vacuum them up and add new chips.

This article originally appeared on Recommend.my – Malaysia’s #1 Home Improvement Services Platform. Recommend.my offers a safer and more convenient way to hire the best home improvement and home maintenance professionals. From flooring to interior design to air-conditioner servicing, get access to thousands of the best local contractors and professionals at your fingertips.