Even though the summer is currently still well heated, believe it or not, it will soon be coming to its close. While that is wonderful news for us fall weather and pumpkin-everything lovers, it presents some rather unfavorable changes as well. As the weather gets cold, nasty little bugs and pesky rodents are doing their best to find a warm place to stay for winter. This means that ugly spiders and rats might just decide to invade your home as the months turn colder (1)

Gross.

Thankfully for us, however, there is a simple method that has been well tested over time that keeps this nasty little critters away. Whether you believe it or not, you only need one item to prevent your home from invasion: Tea bags. While many people spend thousands of dollars on expensive chemicals, rodent repellents, exterminators, and other means of termination, you actually don’t need to do the same (2)!

How Can I Get Rid Of Rats And Spiders?

All you have to do to keep your home pure of rats, other rodents, and unwanted bugs this year is follow these easy steps (2):

1. Take a single peppermint tea bag, boil some hot water, and brew a cup of peppermint tea
2. One the bag is properly soaking into the tea, remove it and place it in a corner of your home that you fully expect these nasty little pests to inhabit. Brew as many tea bags as you have inhabitable crooks, crannies, and corners
3. Be sure to remember that if there are any hidden (or viewable!) holes or openings in your house, such that a rat or spider might easily enter, it would be best for you to place a tea bag there in order to prevent their entrance
4. It’s important to remember that if there are a lot of areas in your home that are in need of a peppermint bag of tea, you might need to make more than one cup of tea to properly brew the bags
5. Leave the bags in place for several days and your home will soon be free of pests!

Now, it might be slightly confusing as to why a simple tea bag could help you keep all of the ugly pestilence out of your house for the winter, so here is the magnificent secret: peppermint oil is a natural repellent (2, 3, 4). The strong smell of peppermint is disgusting to pests, so if you cover your home with the fragrance, then rats, mice, and spiders will head off somewhere else to make their homes for the cold months (2). Using such a natural ingredient will be beneficial to your own health as well, since you will not have to deal with any poisoning pesticides, toxic rat poisons, or deal with cleaning up dead creatures along your carpeted floors (2)!

Keep Spiders & Rats Outside All Year Long

This technique is not only useful in winter, but also summertime when spiders and rats might invade your home for different reasons, such as excessive rainfall (2). It can honestly be used throughout any season of the year, acting as an extra layer of protection against unwanted home invaders. You can also use peppermint oil and drop bits around your home to prevent infestation, and an extra bonus to this technique is that it will make your house smell fresh and good!

What are some ways you battle rats and spiders in your home?