I think it’s important to get one thing clear from the start: I am not a person who thinks that spiders fall into the category of pest. Quite the opposite, I think that spiders are a great anti-pest; the number of house flies living with me was reduced dramatically by the influx of spiders in my house this year, a fact for which I am grateful.

Still, there are many people who are averse to the idea of sharing a home with an eight legged friend (or enemy, as the case may be) and even I will agree that there are some cases in which a spider should be eliminated or dealt with appropriately.

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There are dozens of species of moth, many of them quite beneficial to humans and the ecology of the earth as a whole. However there are also many species of moth that are pests both in and out of the home. In this article, we are going to consider two of the most common inside moth pests, the Indian meal moth and the clothes moth (actually three species, but you can deal with them all in the same way).

We have gone through the trouble that these moths can cause in a home in a separate article, so you do know what’s in store if you wait too long. Let’s see which least toxic measures we can take in dealing with moths.

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The worst mouse infestation I have ever experienced occurred when I was ten years old during the winter. It was so bad the retelling is hard to believe; at night we could see the mice climbing up the backside of the drapes, and there was a constant scratching in the walls of the house.

Mice and rats are probably the most common vertebrate pests humans have to deal with. They are found all over North America. There are two species of rat and one species of most, and an infestation can mean damage to a house, to goods within the house, the potential of disease, a disappearance of food, and general unpleasantness.

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There’s one word that anyone with school age kids has dealt with at some point, that can send waves of panic through households, and it isn’t guns: it’s lice. Head lice are a common pest to people both school age and out of school alike, and often humans think that the only way to deal with these pests is through the use of insecticides (that includes insecticidal shampoo). Companies that manufacture the product laugh their way to the bank, because in fact lice can be dealt with through strictly organic, non-toxic means, it just takes some time and attention.

The number one thing to realize about lice is that they cannot live for any amount of time outside of their chosen environment, and they do not stray from that environment. There are three different types of lice, and we talk about them in a separate article. For this article, it is only important to note that none of the three species can live outside of the specific hair environment that they are named after. There is no need at all to spray or otherwise treat a house where someone who has had lice resides; the lice will all be dead within a few days of leaving (in the case of head lice) a noggin.

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When it comes to household pests, there are few that are less harmful than the fruit fly. Really the only thing that makes these tiny, short lived, and furiously prolific creatures fall into the pest category is that they can be very annoying. Even that is strictly visual though; do you know anyone who has every heard a fruit fly?

That being said, it can indeed be incredible annoying when you go into the kitchen to get a piece of fruit and are literally swarmed with hundreds of the little beggars. It can also be embarrassing if you have guests over. Fortunately, fruit flies are pretty easy to deal with. Here are some of the best ways.

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Fleas are another common pest, and one that we will never be totally free of no matter what measures we use. They are just too adaptable, and their life cycles too varied, to get rid of them altogether. They are therefore an ideal candidate for the integrated pest control method, which does not seek total annihilation at all costs but instead reduces the problem so that it is barely noticeable.

A flea infestation is pretty easy to notice; everyone is breaking out in little red, itchy welts, the pets are constantly harassed, and it’s just general misery. As we said above, you will never be able to get rid of every flea so that means there are going to be fleas around, but you can greatly reduce the impact that they have on your life (in other words, they will still probably harass your pets, but not to too great an extent, and for the most part you and your human family members will be left alone).

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You have probably had the frustration of reaching into your closet or your drawer for a favorite piece of clothing - a sweater, a housecoat, a pair of comfy pants - and found to your dismay that it has been reduced to a piece of clothing that seeks to emulate Swiss cheese. There could be two culprits here, either the carpet beetle or the clothes moth, and your positive identification will likely be visual.

Lt’s face it, even if they didn’t do too much damage to your clothes, it can mean the difference that gets a nice sweater downgraded from party apparel to wear around the house casual. It’s a pain, but there are a few ways to get rid of the damage these pests create in your home.

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People with hobby gardens are often concerned about the pests they see or may encounter that have the potential to wreak havoc on the harvest they are counting on. Beginning gardeners, especially, tend to hold to the belief that the presence of pests means that their hard work is ultimately doomed to failure.

There really is no such thing as a pest free garden; any outside area is going to have a certain amount of creepy crawlers or scurries which gain nutrition off the gardener’s hard work. The key is to define in your mind what a pest really is, and to focus not on eradication but on control. We will discuss some options for maintaining a garden where the pest population is controlled, but it is important to keep in mind that with some exceptions that we will note, sighting a few pests does not mean your garden is going to be reduced to a few sad looking green stumps.

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Rabbits are yet another rodent pest that have the potential to explode in terms of population numbers. Fortunately for many people, rabbits have never been able to adapt to cities in the way that some mammal pests such as mice, rats, raccoons, and possums have. You might find them in city parks and other large green space, but for the most part the concrete we rely on prevents them from making themselves truly comfortable homes.

Not so in more rural areas! In some parts of the country rabbits are a major pest, particularly for those who love to garden. Here are some ideas for the least toxic approach for dealing with rabbits.

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By far the largest pest when it comes to your lawn and garden are deer. Deer have been found to be remarkably adaptable animals, flourishing just outside of major metropolitan areas and in some cases found right within the limits of large cities. How they get there is anyone’s guess, but one thing we know for sure is that if you live in an area where there are a lot of deer, you are going to have a lot of problems with your garden. These animals are large and can cause a lot of damage to your landscaping in a very short amount of time. Here are some ideas for controlling deer problems.

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