NationStates Jolt Archive

So, this is a thread for any and every home remedy you can think of, whether its health related, or related to the up keeping of your home.

One that I know of is:

Rub toothpaste on CDs that are scratched, and rinse them off. Evidently it helps with the scratches.


So what are some things you guys can tell the rest of NS about?

Anyone have a good cure for shin splints? I have one and its bugging the piss out of me.

Two methods for killing of roaches:

Mix baking soda and powdered sugar and leave it in little dishes around the areas you think the roaches enter. It's not quite as effective as some bug-killing chemicals, but it's non-toxic so it's nice if you have pets or kids.

You can also make your own roach trap with an empty 2-liter soda bottle. Cut the top off the bottle by cutting a line right where the neck starts to curve, spread some vaseline around the inside edge, then invert it so there's a sort of funnel pointing down into the body of the soda bottle. Put a strip or two of tape on the outside to make it easy for a bug to climb up the side, then fill the bottle with bait of some kind (you can use dog kibble, for instance). Roaches climb in, but then can't get out.

I also strongly recommend you get a hedgehog for a pet. They love eating roaches. I used to make the bottle roach traps and stick them in the basement laundry room of my apartment building, and then feed the hedgehog on whatever I caught. It was a very happy hedgepig.

I haven't had a problem with bugs so far in my apartment, but if I do, I'll remember this! Good tip! :)

The only ones that come to my mind immediately are hydrogen peroxide for bloodstains and hairspray for pen marks. But I'm not very domestic.

Two methods for killing of roaches:

Mix baking soda and powdered sugar and leave it in little dishes around the areas you think the roaches enter. It's not quite as effective as some bug-killing chemicals, but it's non-toxic so it's nice if you have pets or kids.

You can also make your own roach trap with an empty 2-liter soda bottle. Cut the top off the bottle by cutting a line right where the neck starts to curve, spread some vaseline around the inside edge, then invert it so there's a sort of funnel pointing down into the body of the soda bottle. Put a strip or two of tape on the outside to make it easy for a bug to climb up the side, then fill the bottle with bait of some kind (you can use dog kibble, for instance). Roaches climb in, but then can't get out.

I also strongly recommend you get a hedgehog for a pet. They love eating roaches. I used to make the bottle roach traps and stick them in the basement laundry room of my apartment building, and then feed the hedgehog on whatever I caught. It was a very happy hedgepig.

Rub toothpaste on CDs that are scratched, and rinse them off. Evidently it helps with the scratches.
I've found that all that does is make the scratches even worse...

Two methods for killing of roaches:

Mix baking soda and powdered sugar and leave it in little dishes around the areas you think the roaches enter. It's not quite as effective as some bug-killing chemicals, but it's non-toxic so it's nice if you have pets or kids.

You can also make your own roach trap with an empty 2-liter soda bottle. Cut the top off the bottle by cutting a line right where the neck starts to curve, spread some vaseline around the inside edge, then invert it so there's a sort of funnel pointing down into the body of the soda bottle. Put a strip or two of tape on the outside to make it easy for a bug to climb up the side, then fill the bottle with bait of some kind (you can use dog kibble, for instance). Roaches climb in, but then can't get out.

I also strongly recommend you get a hedgehog for a pet. They love eating roaches. I used to make the bottle roach traps and stick them in the basement laundry room of my apartment building, and then feed the hedgehog on whatever I caught. It was a very happy hedgepig.

is there a similar remedy for spiders? I have a spider problem

is there a similar remedy for spiders? I have a spider problem

Arachnophobia (http://imdb.com/title/tt0099052/) style spider problem?

If so, I'd suggest flame thrower.

I've found that all that does is make the scratches even worse...


Really? I have tried it like twice, and it seemed to work fine with me.

So, this is a thread for any and every home remedy you can think of, whether its health related, or related to the up keeping of your home.

One that I know of is:

Rub toothpaste on CDs that are scratched, and rinse them off. Evidently it helps with the scratches.


So what are some things you guys can tell the rest of NS about?

Anyone have a good cure for shin splints? I have one and its bugging the piss out of me.

No help on the shin splints I'm afraid. Only thing that has worked for me in the past is resting a LONG time until they go away on their own.

Another good use for toothpaste - jewelry cleaner. Works wonders on silver, and it will remove tarnish from coins...

The roach trap reminds me of the 'greasy pole' mouse trap they used in the military. They'd get a bucket of water, place a thin greased up pole over the top of it, and a bit o chese in the middle of the pole directly above the bucket. The mice would fall down into the bucket and drown. How needlessly complex.

is there a similar remedy for spiders? I have a spider problem

Not really a home remedy, but I use one of those ultrasonic devices that are designed to drive away pests. Area where I live is covered in spiders, people in the apartments around me have spiders in theirs, but I have never seen one in my place...

Not really a home remedy, but I use one of those ultrasonic devices that are designed to drive away pests. Area where I live is covered in spiders, people in the apartments around me have spiders in theirs, but I have never seen one in my place...

I had one but when I got the kittens I had to unplug it, because it seems to annoy them.......

Two methods for killing of roaches:

Mix baking soda and powdered sugar and leave it in little dishes around the areas you think the roaches enter. It's not quite as effective as some bug-killing chemicals, but it's non-toxic so it's nice if you have pets or kids.

You can also make your own roach trap with an empty 2-liter soda bottle. Cut the top off the bottle by cutting a line right where the neck starts to curve, spread some vaseline around the inside edge, then invert it so there's a sort of funnel pointing down into the body of the soda bottle. Put a strip or two of tape on the outside to make it easy for a bug to climb up the side, then fill the bottle with bait of some kind (you can use dog kibble, for instance). Roaches climb in, but then can't get out.

I also strongly recommend you get a hedgehog for a pet. They love eating roaches. I used to make the bottle roach traps and stick them in the basement laundry room of my apartment building, and then feed the hedgehog on whatever I caught. It was a very happy hedgepig.

... I use soap water. Toss the roach into the toilet and add dishwashing soap. or toss the roach into a container with soap water. that washes away the oil on their bodies and causes them to sink and drown.


The roach trap reminds me of the 'greasy pole' mouse trap they used in the military. They'd get a bucket of water, place a thin greased up pole over the top of it, and a bit o chese in the middle of the pole directly above the bucket. The mice would fall down into the bucket and drown. How needlessly complex. my mouse trap involves two waste baskets. a small one is perched on the edge of a counter with bait inside. a larger one is positioned underneith. the mouse goes into the top basket and it tips down into the larger basket, trapping the mouse.

I caught 8 while house sitting my friends house.

I had one but when I got the kittens I had to unplug it, because it seems to annoy them....... Train the kittens to eat spiders...

Rub toothpaste on CDs that are scratched, and rinse them off. Evidently it helps with the scratches.

I've found that all that does is make the scratches even worse...

Well, at least the CDs will have nice, fresh breath.

My home remedy for roaches is to smash them until they are in a sufficiently large enough number of pieces to have no chance of being alive anymore, and to leave their corpses there as a warning to others.

Toothpaste is actually good for water rings left by glasses on wood tables... it needs to be white toothpaste, not the clear blue kind. Rub it on gently with a soft cloth until the ring disappears, then wash off with water and dry with another soft cloth. A little bit of furniture polish and your table is good as new.

I would think that the same thing that works for this (the slight abrasiveness of the toothpaste) is what would NOT work on a CD. Maybe using the clear kind of toothpaste (which doesn't have the abrasives in it) might do the trick by filling in the scratch without creating more? I dunno.

Also, since I am just getting over a cold, another home remedy... gargle with warm salt water to ease a sore throat.

Oh, and peanut butter gets chewing gum out of the cat's fur. And then entertains endlessly as the cat licks the peanut butter off.

Please don't ask how the cat got chewing gum IN his fur.

Quick athlete's foot cure, since I see no end of ads for products to cure it in a week or two. Pour bleach on your foot in the effected area. Cures it immediately.

Gargling toothpaste is very good for sore throats apparently.

Rub toothpaste on CDs that are scratched, and rinse them off. Evidently it helps with the scratches.

I tried that a few years back on a Windows 98 install cd. It basically destroyed the cd and rendered it completely unusable. :(

However, i have noticed that sucking on a teabag (wet, as from a cup of tea, not dry out of the box) helps heal canker sores extremely quickly.

is there a similar remedy for spiders? I have a spider problem

Chestnuts. Spiders see them and think it's a larger spider and go away... or so I've heard.

Also, cup and paper works.

Please don't kill your spiders; evict them instead.

If you aren't feeling well, no matter what the symptoms, you should shut up and quit your kvetching, you think you're the first person to get the flu, get over yourself. This remedy was a favorite of my mother's, passed down over the ages.

Keep a box of wooden matches next to the toilet.

Gargling salt water makes my mouth or throat feel better when it hurts. :)

Drinking shots of hot sauce will cure the common cold. Buffalo wings will provide temporary relief.

Drinking shots of hot sauce will cure the common cold. Buffalo wings will provide temporary relief.

As a rule of thumb, if your nose isn't running and your eyes aren't watering to their full extent, then it means your wings weren't hot enough and you're a total wuss.