It’s a well-known (and somewhat accepted) fact that the trade-off for glorious summer is pests: Mosquitoes and moths come in through the screen door, fruit flies swarm over berries in the kitchen, and your rustic cottage rental may come with a few mice. Luckily, there are a few well-designed tools to help keep unwanted creatures at bay. Stock these five things in your arsenal for a (mostly) pest-free summer and beyond.
Above: The Handblown Glass Flycatcher is an artful solution for catching summertime flies; it’s 550 SEK from Artilleriet. For more, see Unlikely Object of Desire: A Glass Flycatcher from Sweden. Above: A staple for the summerhouse: a trusty fly swatter. The Leather Fly Swatter is both good-looking and durable; it’s $18 from Schoolhouse. Hay offers a similar design. Above: An alternative to the unsightly (and cruel) snap mousetrap: The Humane Mousetrap, available for £12.90 from Farmer Brothers in the UK, is made of beechwood and a copper basket. After being captured, varmints can be released outside via a sprung gate. (“Release mice at least one kilometer away, so they don’t return,” they advise.) Above: The Anti-Fly Sphere by De La O ($85) is as artful as it is effective: Made in Mexico City of borosilicate glass, it’s an upgrade on the water-filled bags that hang from Mexican food stands to reflect light (thereby scaring away flies). Above: The Hanging Citronella Coil from Fredericks & Mae is a well-designed deterrent for pesky mosquitoes. It’s available in small/tan, $18, and large/black, $40. Bonus: We also like these Flyaway Sticks by NYC-based Madison James, available via Terrain. Dipped in essential oils that “repel unwanted guests,” they’re stored in a bag sewn by the Kentucky Amish.
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