Hairspray and Spiders

A while back I wrote how I used hairspray to remove permanent marker pen marks from something - which is scary when you think that those chemicals go on your head. So, today I made some natural hairspray to try out.

Ingredients for hairspray

Lemon Hairspray
2 lemons, sliced 
2 cups of water  

Boil these together for 18 minutes, but watch it for the last 3-4 minutes.
Strain and pour into a spray bottle add 2 tablespoons of vodka, which acts as a preservative.
It doesn't make the hair sticky, and does seem to work.
If all else fails, I thought I could add lemonade and drink it. 

The first batch I made was a disaster, because although I put the timer on, I then turned the music up and went outside to sweep spiders (more on this later).
Fortunately, I know that to clean a blackened pot you just add baking soda and water and heat it and the black stuff just flakes off.
The second batch was also nearly a disaster, as the recipe said to boil it hard for 20 mins, but at 18 minutes the pot was dry and I just saved it by adding more water and reheating it.
I kept the lemon pulp, not wanting to waste my precious lemons, and added white vinegar to it. After straining it I now have a powerful lemon/vinegar spray cleaner.

And on to Disposing of Spiders
They have made homes around the eaves and in our covered patio roof, with an abundance of baby spiders appearing.

In the past I have used the extendable brush, with a cloth or old pantyhose wrapped around the head, then doused it with flyspray and brushed them all off. Now that I am not buying the likes of flyspray, I put drops of peppermint, neem and basil essential oils on the brush head as the spiders apparently don't like them. I must say, our place smells nice and hopefully it will keep them from coming back.

spider killing arsenal

It is advisable to wear a cap and footwear when doing this job as the spiders tend to drop rapidly, and you need to keep them out of your hair, and quickly get them with your foot. Not for the faint-hearted.
Peppermint oil is known to be invigorating - so when you've finished this job you will just want to keep going.

Another use for essential oils

Possum bait - cloves, cinnamon, eucalyptus oil on apple.

We have been having good success lately with our possum trap, which we have been baiting with apple with eucalyptus oil, or clove oil, sometimes with cinnamon. We vary the bait to confuse the possums as I think they become wary. So far they are keeping away from our fruit trees and have left the garden alone. I think it could be because we are using stinky horse poo and seaweed fertilizer too.