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There must be hundreds of people out there that want to follow the same route as me when it comes to pest control. Instead of paying a lot of rands for over the counter pesticides, which harms the environment, why not use nature's own remedies.?

The old folks used a mixture of khaki bos and boerseep to get rid of fleas. More recently, people use citronella oil to keep mozzies away. In Zambia, the villagers had a big problem with elephants who raided their crops until they decided to use a strong mixture of chillies , which was smeared on a rope that was spanned around the village. Cheap but very effective.

Now, what prompted me to throw this at you is a plague of termites that has started to invade my house. For the first time in 20 years, they appeared from nowhere and it looks like they have managed to chow through the concrete. Before I go and buy a gallon or two termite poison, I would like to try a traditional method first.

Any help out there?

I read in my latest Earth Garden magazine about a strategy used for termites....BUT....this applies to particular species of termites and ants found in Western Australia so not sure about your situation but may be worth a try. It was observed that the large ants in a garden are attracted by dried blood and bone (the stuff we can buy here to fertilise vegies etc). It was also observed that the ants love to make war on the termites and cart them back to their nest as a food source. So if you have large ants anywhere else in the garden, you sprinkle the blood and bone in a trail up to and around the area where the termites are and this lures the ants from their area to the termites. Bingo! Ants cart the termites back to their nest and devour them.

Another thing to try is Borax solution sprayed onto, in and around where the termites are inhabiting. Borax is non-toxic to people and pets but I am not sure about the effect it would have on other insects and invertebrates.

Thanks 3D, I will try it.

I don`t know it this works, but I have heard of people spraying orange oil on furniture to kill the termites. It is apparently made from the extract of orange peels and this will brake down the cells in the termites body (bit cruel maybe? ) But it will also help with fleas and mosquitoes.

I currently have a earwig problem

JeannieR, that is right, I had forgotten that, I read about the orange oil being effective on a web site somewhere and that would be certainly worth a try!

I have read about orange oil as well. I think I am going to surprise them with a mixture of the hottest chilly oil mixed with orange oil mixed with borax and mixed with dish washing liquid.

The creatures won`t know what hit them Rooies!

Ordinary talc dusted around the walls often keep ant sout of the house .. they dont like it .

Drive along the dirt roads between Kenhardt and Louisvale in the small hours of the morning and pick up an antbear (aardvark).

After 10 minutes at home your problem will have shifted to "What do I feed it next!"

A couple of homemade remedies that I use:

Borax and sugar mixed in equal parts to get rid of ants outside. Sprinkle (dump) some on their ant-hills.

To keep cats and other critters out of the garden: place a blob of Vicks Vap-o-Rub on a couple of stones where you are trying to keep the critters away. It works better than cayenne pepper or plain eucalyptus oil sprinkled around because it doesn't wash away in the rain. Once the critters are gone, turn the stones over and everything is back to the way it was Any petroleum based eucalyptus oil preparation works. I usually use No Name stuff because it's cheaper and the critters don't know the difference

Rooies,
If it was me, I would go and buy the termite poison.

Hats off to you to thinking of the environmentally friendly option first.

But you don't want the termites causing more damage while you play around with some other concoctions that may not work, or have a limited effect.

Don't want the roof coming down on you!

Lots of people eat termites...

I will ask Mr Antbear to dig up the entire garden and will feed him with take aways (plenty of termite mounds in the veld around Welkom)

The internet mentioned the product 'birds eye chillies' which is injected with soap water into the holes. So I went to our local spice merchant and asked him for the meanest, most potent, explosive stuff in his emporium. So he looked at me and thought for a while..."eish sir, I have got some stuff but it is so hot that it is almost unsuitable for human consumption"
"What have you got for me?" I asked
"Birds eye chillies"
"Bring to papa my friend" I smiled

So tonight I am going to, as they say in good Afrikaans, "die termiete opf...k" (uh opfloek)

Can't help laughing Rooies!
Al wat ek kan se is sterkte!
(All that I can say is strongs.)

Let us know how it worked.