Category: Summer

DIY Repellent Spray for Flies

How would you like a DIY repellent spray for your outdoor space?

J and I are determined to use our backyard to the fullest this summer.  We love that it is fenced in, the patio is covered, and we especially love our new patio set.  That’s the icing on the cake!

Last week I talked about repelling flies in our backyard here. J and I have worked on another home DIY treatment to rid our backyard of flies.  A repellent spray for our patio furniture was what we were looking for.

Ingredients:

1) Pine-sol
2) Water
3) White Vinegar

In a spray bottle you want to mix 1 part Vinegar with 2 parts Pine-sol and 2 parts Water.  Spray this mixture onto the patio furniture.  I could instantly see how this spray was working.  And I liked it!

DIY Repellent Spray for Flies
DIY Repellent Spray for Flies

Then I got a little carried away … I started spraying the siding of our house.  It worked!  One downfall of using this spray is the smell.  It can be a bit overwhelming.  Mainly smells like pine-sol, but that’s not a smell that I want lingering around for a long time.

But overall I love, love, love this repellent spray!  I’m thinking that I will keep a bottle mixed and ready to go.

What products do you use around your home to repel flies?

Cheers!

[hupso]

Planting Lavender and Mint

repel flies

Nothing better than adding a little bit of greenery around the back patio.  J and I took a trip to the local nursery and found some plants to add to our yard.

First, lavender, which is probably some of my favorite.  Then we added some mint.  After some research we found that mint was great to repel insects because of the odor it puts off.

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Of course these plants didn’t seem to be too time consuming for me.  Both needs to be watered every other day and the plants crave sunshine, which we have ample amounts of.

Here’s what you need:

1) planters – I used one for each plant, a 12″ for lavender and 8″ for the mint.  You want the mint to have more of a shallow pot because of their roots.
2) gravel
3) potting soil
4) gloves

The project took about 30 minutes to finish.

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First, fill the bottom portion of each pot with gravel. This addition will help with drainage.

plants

That’s it. Pretty simple and makes a great addition to any backyard. I can’t wait to keep adding plants and flowers to make our yard a little more homier.

Cheers!

How to Naturally Repel Flies

Flies. I hate them.  Hate. Hate. Hate them.  With summer here and a nice patio that we are wanting to use, J and I have made it our mission to rid our backyard of flies.  We have a new grill and lovely patio set that are calling our names.

So, after some research we have come up with a few ways to repel flies and will document these how-tos.

The first, which is probably the simplest one to do is the Water Bag with Pennies.

You only need three things:

1) Baggie with zipped closure
2) Water
3) Pennies

pennybag pennybag2Fill the bag half-way with water, add the pennies and then seal.  We hung ours in an area where the sunlight would reach.  It is said that the light reflection from the water and pennies bother flies and they avoid the area.

We’ll keep you updated on whether this tactic makes a difference.  We are going to add a few more tactics under our belts too, so be on the look out for those.

Cheers!

Summer To-Do List

crispin
It’s official. Summer is here. The humidity is up and my allergies are finally starting to subside, a little. I put together a little list of fun things that I’d love to do in these next few months. What do you have on your to-do list?

1) Attend a Cardinals Baseball game
2) Go to the lake as much as possible
3) Grill majority of our meals
4) Learn to make a new summer cocktail, preferably with raspberries.
5) Work more on our wedding plans (getting those invites addressed without pulling out my hair)
6) Commit to Crossfit at least 3x a week (fingers crossed)
7) Spend time with J’s family and my family
8) Teach Tiny a few new tricks
9) Start saving for my Bachelorette party(!!!) in NOLA.
10) Go to Founder’s Park to watch a movie

Cheers to a great Summer!