All the DIY recipes you need to get rid of weeds, flies, mosquitos, bugs and snails!

Are you getting out and about in the garden these Christmas holidays? It can be a big mess without having to deal with all the creepy crawlies.

So you can get rid of the pests and get down to the fun parts, here’s some DIY recipes that are simple to make, and cost you a fraction of the store-bought chemicals.

Do you have any others to add?

Weed killer

The weeds are out in force this summer but commercial weed killer can be expensive, and sometimes doesn’t even work. You spray and spray, then wait and nothing happens. In fact, it can get worse!

If you’re over trying to pull the weeds out by hand or kill them with the expensive stuff, we have a quick and cheap solution.

All you need is a bucket/something to a litre of liquid, vinegar, salt and dishwashing liquid.

Put one litre of vinegar in your bucket, followed by 1/2 cup salt and a few squirts of dishwashing liquid.

Mix it all around then pour over the offending weeds.

They should die within days!

Lemon eucalyptus mosquito repellent

Mosquito repellent can be costly and smell very strong indeed. Here’s a cheap and cheerful alternative!

Simply mix 1 part lemon eucalyptus oil for every 10 parts of sunflower oil/witch hazel. Rub or spray on skin.

Homemade mozzie trap

Items needed:

• 1 cup of water
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1 gram of yeast
• 1 bottle (2L)

How to:

1. Cut the plastic bottle in half.
2. Mix brown sugar with hot water and let it cool. When cold, pour in the bottom half of the bottle.
3. Add the yeast – no need to mix. It creates carbon dioxide, which attracts mosquitoes.
4. Place the funnel part, upside down, into the other half of the bottle, taping them together if desired.
5. Wrap the bottle with something black, leaving the top uncovered, and place it outside in an area away from your normal gathering area (mosquitoes are also drawn to the colour black).

Change the solution every 2 weeks.

Snail and slug killer

Coax snails and slugs out of the flowerbeds into what they think is a safe haven, but is actually a lure.

You can lay either inverted cabbage leaves or inverted orange, grapefruit or citrus rinds on the ground near where they usually are.

They will crawl under these items to get away from the light, and heat of the sun, and in the morning all you need to do is dump them into the trash.

Homemade fly trap

Sick of the flies buzzing around? Here’s an easy, cheap fly trap you can make at home to keep them at bay.

How to:

First, cut off the top of the bottle about 4cm down from the top. Be sure to cut the narrow section of the bottle, so the upper lid will have something to rest on without falling in.

Fill the bottom half of the bottle with a few ml of your ACV. Invert the top half of the bottle and rest it on the bottom half. Tape around the outer edge to hold it in place.

Do you have any other creepy crawly tips?