Cucumber remedies

Save big money and do it yourself!

Famous last words of many housewives. Last week, some kind of expert lady on AOL was giving tips for pest control 'do it yourself' remedies. One, I had heard of already. Boric acid and powdered sugar sprinkled in the problem areas will kill the ants (supposedly). But, if you have pets in the house, as we do, it will also poison your pets if they get in it.

Okay, my dogs have never gotten up to the sink where the ants are but there is always a first time. No Borax.

Option two was to place fresh cucumber peelings around where you see the ants. This will naturally deter the ants.

Alright! I have cucumber peelings. My dogs aren't likely to eat them, though I promise nothing, so let's try this. With salad made for supper, I took the peelings and scattered them around the sink where the little buggers play and frolic. Of course, this would be the same evening that a friend comes in from Canada for a short visit. I didn't even think to explain the peels.

The next morning I bound into the kitchen. The ants are busy having coffee and donuts. My peels are neatly stacked up beside the sink in a tidy pile. Julie, my friend, has been here. She didn't want to be rude and throw them away, but she couldn't stand veggie peels laying all over the place, geez! So, I explain to Julie what the peels are for and get another cucumber.

The next morning, my peels are still scattered around the sink. The ants are still having coffee and donuts...and cucumber peels, along the rim. Apparently they didn't get the memo that this stuff is toxic to them.

Now, did I really expect this home remedy to work just because some 'expert money saver' said so? Well...yes. Not just because she is an expert, but because I have tried several home rems that do work. Dawn dish washing liquid will effectively kill fleas off your dog. (I wouldn't recommend trying to wash your cat.) Frank's hot sauce will get rid of some worms in dogs. It will also keep them out of your trash cans if you sprinkle it around the top of the can. Tea bags will cure a tooth ache. Corn starch will keep heavy thighs from chaffing in the summer.

All of these work. But there are millions of suggestions out there that don't. And with that said, I'm off to the store to by Borax and hope my dogs don't decide to climb the sink.



Sharon Raines has two books available: 'Through Mom's Eyes'at http://www.publishamerica.net/product27236.html and 'I'm still the cuckoo of this clock' http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/sharonraines You can also check me out on Twitter. http://twitter.com/ Franks1wife