Breanna C, WOW!!! Thanks for that info.

I've learned so much Thanks all.

Cinnamon is great for keeping snakes away also. I put in in and around my garage and sprinkle all over kids play area. Go to Dollar store or Big Lots and get it cheap.

Sheila B, GREAT INFO. Thanks!!!

I use mothball crystals for snakes....I've never heard that cinnamon would keep them away, are you sure? that would sure be a load off my mind...I try to be Diligent regarding placement of mothballs, for the safety of the birds and dogs, kids etc...but I still worry about a squirrel finding one and changing it's location....I also try to press a hole and put it in so the smell is snake level and not where an errent kid could pick it up...but still that would be great if I could replace it....

Sharron, I read somewhere that mothball are not good for the environment. They are cancerous. You might want to google it for more information.

Sharron, I was told about cinnamon keeping snakes and ants away by my pest control company. I have used it going on 2 years and have never seen a snake. Before that, I found one in the garage and several in the yard. Seems to be working for me. And it won't hurt pets.

@Susan Wow that is just awesome.... @Donna, I know they are not good for the environment which is why I tried to use as few as possible and be responsible where I put them, but I have pets and small children in the yard quite a lot and a Huge copperhead got my Rotweiller last year...she's as large as an adult and if the snake had fully gotten both fangs it would have killed her. As it is she has permanent partial parilysis of her throat...and went white on the side of her face. The snake ...»

Sharron, so sorry about your dog! What a terrible thing to happen.

My mother used to use chalk on her patio to keep the ants out and about 10 years ago I heard that diatemacious (bad spelling) earth was really good to work into the earth surrounding your house to keep ants away. But I am glad to hear about the cinnamon as that is much easier to find, a bit cheaper, and it smells good!

Yeah I love this as an alternative no kidding! I don't have to worry about the Dog, the birds or the grandkids...it doesn't get much better than that.... The snake is still lucking out there somewhere too cause my husband saw him again twice in the last month...so even though he left the area that I had "cordined off" with mothballs, he didn't leave the yard...so I'm keeping my eyes peeled....

lol I found this out one day when I had an ant problem and accidently spilled some cinnamon on the counter..he ran like the dickens...so I had a little fun and made a circle of cinnamon around him and he couldn't get out. cruel I know :S but I did learn something :)

Another one that I read a couple days ago has to do with mixing approx. 1 cup of water with 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon boric acid in a bottle. Saturate a cotton ball with this mixture and place it in a bottle cap and the ants will be attracted to the sugar and destroyed by the boric acid. The mixture can be kept in a sealed bottle for a couple weeks and used as necessary.

Personally, I like the cinnamon idea better.

Yeah not too many problems with ants now, but the snakes...and I'm wondering if this would deter termites....

@ Brightnest, I had heard that, but I have Lemonbalm, rosemary, peppermint, spearmint and sage all growing in pots...and the ants have been invasive in all of them except the rosemary and sage...i wonder if different types of ants are deterred by different essentail oils...Maybe?

i tried it still waiting to see what happens

THE OILS ARE MUCH MORE CONCENTRATED THAN PLANTS OR HERBS! PUT ON SOME LEMONGRASS & GIGGLE AS THE BUGS FLEE!!

I have mad respect for cockroaches, as they will do far better than humans during the apocalypse. Having said that, they are nasty little pests that must die. Thanks for the tips.

I just read that cornmeal does a great job of getting rid of ants as well. They eat the cornmeal, drink water, and then the cornmeal swells in their stomachs killing them...who knew?

BrightNest, thanks for the NEW SERIES INSTALLMENT link. Great Info.

Very interesting about the cockroaches. Thank you.