How can you get rid of ants, cockroaches, lizards, mosquitos and spiders?

In the UK at home we have had ants, silverfish and spiders. On holiday in Greece at a hotel I encountered little lizards running up the bedroom wall. In America I saw cockroaches for the first time. In Singapore we get ants, and cockroaches, and lizards - and mosquitos!

Ants
We have bought three brands of ant traps in Singapore. The ant traps you buy in Singapore are designed so that the ants eat the poison and take it back to the nest and poison the queen ant. The instructions tell you not to kill any ants you see but let them go back to the nest. It will take up to a week for the last ant to disappear.

Cockroaches
One system I have heard of is to spray them with hair spray.

In Singapore we just spray them with anti insect spray. It is horrible to inhale. You have to shut the door and get out of the room. We keep the spray on the work surface near the sink so it can be found and grabbed in a hurry.

Lizards


Mosquitos
When I first went to Singapore I was bitten a lot and I read that mosquitos and other insects are attracted to flowery perfumes, so I stopped wearing perfume. Instead I stocked up with lavender and citrus products, lavender hand creams and bath gels and lemon soaps.

Everywhere in Singapore you see signs on banners, posters and leaflets about the Mossie Wipeout. This is prevention rahter than cure. You are asked not to put saucers under plant pots nor to have any kinds of bowl in a public place which could catch rain water where mossies can breed. The main concern is not malaria but dengue fever.

Mosquito Fogging
Buildings have regular mosquito fogging in Singapore. But you still get mosquitos and biting insects.

Fogging in India.

Spiders
So many systems are available. You can try the simplest which is to put a see-though drinking glass on top. Slide a piece of thick paper underneath. Carry the spider outside, or to the nearest window. You have to be sure that the paper is not thin and flexible or it bends and the spider wriggles out.

Another method is to vaccuum clean, if it is on the ceiling or some corner where you cannot reach it and capture it.

I once had a spider-catcher with a pyrmid of transparent  plastic on the end of a stick and a flat sliding piece which could be moved by hand or would fall if you rotated the end of the stick.

It worked very well. But you got up rather close to the insect. I preferred the vacuum cleaner which allowed me to stay at a distance.

Mosquito proof clothing
It is also advisable to wear long sleeves and long trousers and socks. the fabric should be insect proof.  Check the weave. I think woven horizontally and vertically is usually tighter than knit which is loops. (Or is it the other way around?)

Craghoppers make protective clothing.

You

Useful Websites
https://www.99.co/blog/singapore/7-effective-ways-to-get-rid-of-lizards/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_control

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.