Photo by Gowanus

At the Brownstoner forum, readers are comparing notes about bug issues in their homes — and they’ve been some ugly reports of “swarms of ants trying to get into the house via the back door,” “a plethora of blood sucking mosquitoes,” and “arms and legs covered in mystery welts.” (Gross!) One poster, who grew up in the Australian bush, recommends sucking up bugs with a hand-held vacuum cleaner…

Another poster is having some success will the usual bug-fighting weapons — such as sticky fly-catcher strips, flying insect Raid, and citronella candles. But who needs Raid when you can just use Rave? Our favorite anti-insect home remedy comes from Stacy, who writes, “I dont know of any spray that is good to use around pets and children so I have been spraying them with hairspray and it seems to be working.”
Flies [Brownstoner]