Thrifty Thursday: 4 Nontoxic Bug Blasters for the Kitchen

You can make your kitchen a no-fly zone for insect pests with nontoxic repellents and traps that you can make from everyday kitchen staples.

To get rid of fruit flies hovering in the kitchen, get out a fine-misting spray bottle and fill it with rubbing alcohol. Spraying the little flies knocks them out makes them fall to the floor, where you can sweep them up.

Make your own pest strips by covering empty paper-towel or toilet-paper rolls with transparent tape, sticky side out. Hang them in the kitchen or wherever else you need them.

Keep your kitchen free of flies with a homemade flytrap that uses no toxic chemicals. In a small saucepan, simmer 2 cups of milk, 1/4 pound of raw sugar, and 2 ounces of ground pepper for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour into shallow dishes or bowls and set them around the kitchen, patio, or anywhere the flies are a problem. The pestiferous bugs will flock to the bowls and drown!

To ant-proof your kitchen, give it the lemon treatment. First squirt some lemon juice on door thresholds and windowsills. Then squeeze lemon juice into any holds or cracks where the ants are getting in. Finally, scatter small slices of lemon peel around the outdoor entrance. The ants will get the message they aren't welcome.