This Kmart hack could be a game changer when it comes to pest prevention…
Professional organiser Anita Birges (Instagram/@mise_en_place_aus) has an amazing hack for keeping your wardrobe fresh. The best part? It’ll only cost you $3.25!
It turns out her simple trick will also deter pests, including:
- musty smells
- mould
- silverfish
- moths
- mice
And it all comes down to a single Kmart product: the jumbo chalk stick!
All you need for this hack are some jumbo chalk sticks, which can be found in many retail stores, but for $3.25 at Kmart, you can get a pack of 20.
In addition to the chalk, you will need some essential oils.
As Birges states on the text in her IG reel, “Put a few drops of an essential oil on a piece of jumbo chalk and place in your wardrobe cupboards or drawers.” This will not only keep your wardrobe smelling fresh and lovely, but it can also deter common pests from destroying your clothes and linens.
The only contingency is that the essential oil you choose will determine which pest you are deterring. Birges explains that,
“Clove oil – Prevents mould! The chalk absorbs moisture, while the clove oil is known to kill mould spores,” Birges said.
“Lavender oil – Gets rid of moths and sliver fish.
“Peppermint oil – Leaves your drawers smelling fresh and discourages spiders, mice and other creepy crawlies.”
After many followers questioned whether you could use more than one essential oil on a chalk stick, Anita Birges recommended to only use one oil per chalk. This is because chalk isn’t just a carrier for the oil itself. Because it is a natural moisture absorber, chalk can draw in any water or humidity within enclosed spaces to prevent mould production.
Chalk, while it doesn’t stain, is known to make quite a mess with the residue it can leave on clothing. Birges here suggests to leave your chalk stick on the top of the wardrobe or, if in a dresser, down the side of a drawer.
And for areas of the house apart from your wardrobe that need a little help, using baking soda also works wonders. Similar to chalk, it is a natural absorber, so putting a few drops of clove oil and placing in the kitchen cupboards will reduce mould production.
If musty smells are your main problem, a drop of vanilla essence on your baking soda or chalk will leave your closed up areas smelling fresh!
Other pest control tips to keep critters at bay
Keeping pests from damaging clothes, getting into the pantry or ruining your linens starts not with getting rid of them, but from preventing them from ever getting inside the house.
The following tips will help you create a pest-protected home, and hopefully you’ll never have to use our chalk and essential oils hack:
- Keeping clean is essential: This might seem like a no-brainer, but cleaning is often left until the last minute, especially when it comes to linens and items that live behind closed doors. Making sure that your kitchen, bathroom and any adjoining cupboards are thoroughly inspected regularly for pests will avoid any spread throughout the house.
- Avoid water stagnation: Stagnant water can only mean one thing, mozzies! Mosquitoes love to breed and lay eggs on still, undisturbed water, so make sure all your outdoor areas and items are free of puddles that don’t get any water flow.
- Throw out rubbish regularly: Rubbish is the number one way to attract flies, and maggots as well! Making sure you dispose of rubbish bins as soon as they’re full, and washing out your big red, yellow and blue bins with a hose will mean you reduce your risk of a maggot outbreak.
- Close up any and all gaps: This includes not only gaps to outside, like having mosquito covers and filling in holes where cockroaches can come in, but also gaps on food items. Having airtight, properly sealed containers for food, and even some linens, means that you reduce risk of weevils, moths and silverfish from getting to your precious items.
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Three of the best natural mould removers
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