It froze hard last night – and I’m glad. I knew it was coming because for the last week I’ve been dealing with all kinds of creepy-crawlies trying to find a way into my house when I’d much prefer, they stay outside and die a seasonal death. The flock of cranes flying over Saturday afternoon only reinforced that winter is on its way and it’s as if all those creepy-crawlies heard their haunting sounds and doubled up on their home invasion efforts.

I had some rare cleaning time Sunday afternoon and after sweeping up two wolf spider skeletons and dead wireworms, along with all sorts of ladybugs, box elder bugs and flies, I was so ready for a killing frost. I went into a frenzied stomping spree when another spider crawled out from under my cleaning rag when I had my back turned.

The last straw was when Hubby spotted a mouse running to the utility room Sunday morning. A trap line has been strung there and, in the garage, and today I’m putting one in the basement for good measure. Yes, it’s all-out war on the fall pests.

I’m not alone in my welcome of this year’s frost. Any number of Facebook friends are tired of the flies and bugs and have all kinds of tips on how to handle our creepy-crawlies. Hedge apples are often touted as a way to repel spiders and mice. The fruit of the Osage-Orange tree, their oils are supposed to be a deterrent to those pests seeking home entry. The recommended use is to place them around the foundation of your house.

Bringing them inside is dubious as they leak those oils after about a week, so you have to be sure to place them in a dish or bowl to keep the sticky residue off floors and/or furniture. We tried them for a couple of years with limited success and have abandoned the practice because the rotting counteracts any perceived solution. Others swear by placing bars of Irish Spring soap in problem areas, especially to deter mice. We tried that for a couple of winters in our grain trucks to keep the mice from invading. I personally think they laughed at us and were taking their own version of showers as by spring the bars had often disappeared and while the trucks smelled somewhat better, there still were mice trails all over.

Regular readers have heard about my mouse wars over the years and one series of columns went on to win a national award in our National Federation of Press Women’s Communications Contest. I sincerely hope this year’s mouse war isn’t as protracted, but with other nature signs pointing to a long cold and snowy winter I’m not holding my breath.

I will concede to those who have tried peppermint or peppermint packs to battle pests there is some merit. When we bought our Lincoln house three years ago, we had a spring invasion of ants in the kitchen. I soaked cotton balls in peppermint oil and strategically placed them around the counters and by the floorboards. That seemed to help, and my kitchen smelled great. However, sheer numbers got the best of us, and we eventually had to resort to more conventional methods to handle that invasion.

With the freeze comes the end to the garden and because of the dismal performance my garden had with the heat and drought this year, I’m also glad. As one friend put it, last night’s temperatures dropping into the 20s meant the end of garden guilt as her plants were put out of their misery.

As we move from fall into winter in the coming weeks, stay tuned. There may be more battles with the creepy-crawlies, but at least their numbers have been greatly diminished!