3 homemade repellants to keep pests at bay

It goes without saying, pests are annoying! Keep these unwanted visitors away by making your own repellents.

Cockroaches are attracted to damp areas, but they'll stay away if you use this inexpensive solution. Remember to store pest treatments, such as this, in capped and labelled bottles in a childproof cabinet.

• 1 metal coffee can with plastic lid
• 1 old-style beer-can opener (that cuts a V notch)
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) borax
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) flour
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) sugar

1. Punch holes around the base of an empty coffee can, using a beer-can opener. Label the can with a sign that reads "cockroach killer."

2. In a small bowl, mix the ingredients together. Put in the coffee can, snap on the lid and place it under the sink or wherever you've seen roaches. Lock the undersink cabinet if you have children or pets.

3. Refill the can or create additional cans as necessary.

You can have the benefits of a moth-repellent cedar closet or cedar-lined drawers at a fraction of the cost of the real thing with these fragrant cedar sachets.

• 2 pairs colourful adult or baby socks
• 1 bag cedar shavings (sold at pet shops as hamster bedding)
• Satin or grosgrain ribbon
• Clothes hanger

1. Fill socks with cedar shavings — adult-size for closets and baby-size for drawers.

2. Tie the tops of the socks closed with coordinating ribbon.

3. Tie large sachets to clothes hangers and hang in closets to freshen air and repel moths. Tuck the little ones into lingerie and sweater drawers.

Why buy flypaper when you can make your own? All you need is a brown paper bag, a little sugar and some corn syrup.

• 100 ml (3 1/2 oz) corn syrup
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) brown sugar
• 15 (1 tbsp) white sugar
• 6 strips brown paper (cut from a paper bag)

1. Combine the syrup and sugars in a shallow bowl.

2. Poke a hole at the top of each strip of brown paper. Soak paper in the syrup mixture overnight.

3. Scrape paper strips across the edge of the saucer to remove excess syrup and hang the finished flypaper strips near windows and doors.

4. Replace when strips are covered with insects.