Wow, the insects in Texas are maddening! We have recently been fighting mosquitos and flies, and now we have gnats in the office. Although I have a terrible reaction to mosquitos, and gnats are irritating, it is flies that disgust me!
The other day, I was scrolling through Facebook and saw a post from a friend, Kristen McAbee. She was trying to enjoy time outside with her family, but the flies would not leave them alone. She made a homemade concoction that looks pretty disgusting, but apparently it works.
She took an empty jar and poked holes in the lid, large enough for a fly to fit into it. Then she added:
Pancake Syrup
Ham (or Cut up Hot Dogs)
Water
In a very short time, she had several flies. The next picture is what it looked like within two hours!
Kristen just sent me a picture of the jar after 5 days! This is unbelievable!
Since we came into an office full of gnats this week, one of the ladies I work with shared a “Homemade Gnat Catcher” with us. We literally have them throughout the office! She got small shallow dishes and filled them with apple cider vinegar and sugar. She then coated the rim of the dish with dishwashing soap so when the gnats landed on it, they would slide into the mixture. It is fascinating to walk by these dishes and see how many gnats are in each of them.
I am currently reading in the book of Exodus and just finished reading about the plagues. One of the plagues Egypt experienced was swarms of gnats. After dealing with these pests at work on a much smaller scale, I cannot imagine how I would have handled swarms of these creatures. However, next came the flies!
” And the Lord did this. Thick swarms of flies went into Pharaoh’s palace and his officials’ houses. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined because of the swarms of flies.” Ex. 8:24
Think about how disgusting a fly is and its life cycle. Flies lay eggs which turn into maggots! Can you imagine how disgusting things would have been a few days after the Lord sent the flies away! I know some of those flies had to have laid a few eggs.
I am very happy to have learned about these two homemade pest controls. I am still using other methods as well. We got a Dyna Trap last year and never set it up until recently. It is quite amazing also. We couldn’t tell if it was working, but here is a picture of the basket after a few weeks. I’d say it is working!
If you haven’t tried a Dyna Trap and are interested, here is a link. They are not like the zappers. The light attracts them into the trap; there is no zapping.
Dyna Trap Outdoor Insect Trap https://amzn.to/3NWSK4F
Now, If anyone has a homemade trap for mosquitos, I would love to hear about it in the comments! The Dyna Trap and Citronella plants are working, but there is still room for improvement. I will take all the help I can get.
Have a Grace & Joy-filled day!
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“When I am filled with cares, Your comfort brings me joy.” Psalms 94:19
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