With the approach of spring and summer, many people begin to worry about insect-proofing their house. Nobody likes to see bugs in their home and many of us use some pretty harsh methods to keep them out. Those bugs that do manage to make it in are generally quickly put to death instead of being led out of the house or left alone.



One thing that most of us do each year is have our house sprayed with some sort of chemicals that keep the insects outside. This is generally pretty effective, but is also not the healthiest or most eco-friendly way to combat the insect problem. Just like you can still bring home groceries with reusable shopping bags without having the negative environmental problems that plastic bags create, so too can you control you insect problems with "green" methods.

The first step we can all take is to keep our house tidy. Most bugs come in to our homes in search of food, not because they want to hang out with us. Keeping your cupboards, counter tops, and floors free from crumbs and other food debris will go a long way in attracting fewer bugs. And, when possible, store opened packages in airtight, reusable containers.

However, no matter how clean you keep your house, chances are that some bugs will still make their way inside, especially in certain geographic regions of the country. This does not mean that you have to resort to chemicals, though, to keep them out. There are a number of eco-friendly ways to keep the bugs out. For example, baby powder and cinnamon work well in keeping ant populations at bay. Simply lining the area that you notice the ants coming from with cinnamon will keep them away. If you want to kill them, use baby powder. They will carry it back to their colony where it will kill them all.

The above strategies will work well indoors, but what about outside? If you want to keep pesky bugs out of your backyard so you can enjoy it, there are some eco-friendly alternatives. First, try to take advantage of natural order and get some predators to roam your yard for you. Lady bugs, preying mantis, lizards, geckos, birds, and bats are all your allies in your fight against insects. If you don't have any of these predators naturally attracted to your yard, check your local garden shops. Sometimes they stock predatory creatures that you can add to your garden to protect it for you. Of course, don't forget to shop with your reusable bags!

Installing a bird house or bird bath in your yard will do well to keep enough birds in the area. And, even though bats have a bad reputation, they are one of the best animals you will ever find at controlling mosquito populations. You can buy a bat house and hang in a tree in your yard and look forward to noticing a nice decline in the mosquito population in your area.