Pest Aside!!

Insects.
A wonderful family of creatures on earth.
Each type of insects has their own distinct characteristics.
But what happens when you have too many of them dwelling together with you?


They became pests!
Ants, flies and mosquitoes!
All these are commonly found pests in our country.

How do we get rid of them?

Heres a few tips I've picked up from my mother and grandmother:

Ants

http://www.bugawayexterminating.com/ants.jpg

Ants are helpful when it comes to cleaning up those dead insects in your garden.
Nonetheless, when it comes to sweet things, they are such a pest!!!
One of the foolproof way to repel them is by using cinnamon.
They hate the smell of cinnamon.
Just sprinkle some cinnamon where you see ants and they will hurry away.

Apart from that,
Ants despise oily surfaces. Oil makes them slip.
Therefore, apply some oil at the feet of your kitchen table and chair to prevent them from climbing onto your table.

Flies

http://skeeter-deleter.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/fly1.jpg

Flies are a nuisance when it comes to lunch; especially when you are just about to enjoy that tasty ulam with some belacan and sambal.


There seems to be no smell that could repel flies, however, there are a lot that attracts them...
Simply poke holes just big enough for flies to enter on a plastic drinking bottle.
Make sure that the holes face inwards not outwards.
Then, simply drop a bit of belacan, prawn shells or fish bones inside and leave it outside your kitchen.

The inward shape of the holes will allow the flies to fly IN but not OUT. I got this idea from the workings of the pitcher plant found in our country.

Mosquitoes

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/08_02/mosquito_468x343.jpg

Mosquitoes brings diseases such as dengue fever and chikungunya .
Therefore, repelling them is a must!

From what I have learned from the internet, taking Vitamin B-1 supplement cause our body to release an odour which is undetectable to human. Mosquitoes, however, despise that smell an will not go near anyone with that particular smell.

Of course, the most common way of preventing mosquitoes is by removing any stagnant waters such as waters collected in pots, old tires and containers near your house. Without any place to lay their eggs, mosquitoes will not stay long.

Clever Ideas

Ever wondered what those everyday things could do apart from their primary uses?
Its your lucky day!
In MosaicLand, ideas are a plenty!


Flour

http://www.esquire.com/cm/esquire/images/flour-lg.jpg

Flour. Simple flour used for cooking. What other uses could it possibly has?
Firstly, it could be used as a poker card cleaner.
Just throw your deck into a plastic bag, add some flour in the bag, give it a vigorous shaking.
The flour will absorb the oils and dirts from your cards, leaving you cards clean and crisp after you dust of the excess flour.

Apart from that, flour could also be used to polish brass and copper surface...
I saw this useful tip from a Reader Digest's book:
Simply combine equal amount of flour, salt and vinegar to form a paste.
Then, use it to polish your brass and copper surface...
It should look nice in no time.

Coca-cola

http://blog.cleartrip.com/storage/coke_redesign.png

One of Malaysia's favorite soft drink, or should I say one of the world's best loved drinks.
What can it do?
Surprisingly, It can clean you toilet.
Simply pour in a can of Cola into the toilet bowl, leave it for an hour, then flush.
Your toilet should be clean then.

A two-liter bottle poured into the drain-hole will also unclog any clogs in the pipe.


Salt

http://homeshuling.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/salt-shaker.jpg

Any science students will know this:
Salt is a dehydrating agent...
It will remove water from everyday object by osmosis

Apart from flavouring food, salt could be used to preserve flowers.

It could also be used to deodorize that stinky school shoes...
Sprinkle a bit of salt in your shoes after use, but before you keep it.
Knock out the salt next time you want to wear the shoes....
The shoes should be fresh and not smelled of sweat that way....