Keeping away buffalo knats!

I know buffalo knats have been a problem in a lot of areas lately. We have experienced them in the past camping. My father-in-law put to use the idea of using vanilla exteract. He is a carpenter and was working outside with another buddy last week. He had also heard that vanilla extract would keep them away. He decided to try it. His buddy declined and said he didn't want to smell like cookies. Well my father in law left without getting bit once. His buddy however walked away with several welts after getting bit. So there you go......vanilla extract does work!

Listerine works!

We had our first campout this weekend and gave the listerine spray a try to keep the mosquitos away. It seemed to really work! We came home without one single mosquito bite! This is a record for us especially without using any of the chemical sprays. Although, we still had several nats and other irritating bugs around us, at least they weren't biting us. We will give it a try again in a couple of months when the mosquitos get worse and see how it is. I will keep you updated!

Harmless bug sprays!

With the camping season upon us now, I'm trying to find a few ways to keep the bugs astray chemical free. So here is some of my lastest findings.

Pepper Spray
This works great for ants and other small pests.
Boil 2 or 3 cups of water.
Add about ½ to 2/3 cup of chopped hot pepper. Let marinate for a few minutes.
Run the mixture thru a sieve to remove the peppers.
Put the liquid in a squirt bottle and use when necessary.
Be careful not to spray directly on foliage.

Minty Soap Spray
This is great for ants.
Mix 2 tbsp of Dr. Bonners mint soap with a gallon of water.
Spray directly on ants.
This will also work to ward off other pests on foliage however be care when you spray it directly on your plants. It has been known to burn some plants if too much is applied.

Pure Vanilla Extract
Dab a little on you wrists, neck and behind the ears. Many insects don’t like the smell.

Chem-Free Bug Off Mist
Mix witch hazel with a few drops of tea tree oil, lavender oil, or peppermint oil in a squirt bottle. Lightly mist your body.

Lavender Works Mosquito Miracles
Stop the bites!
Rub a lavender flower behind your ears, wrists and neck.
Not only will you smell great but mosquitoes will leave you alone.

Quite a few people said colored listerine in a spray bottle works great. Also, pure vanilla in a spray bottle.

I am definitely going to be giving these a try and will let you know how it works. Let me know what works for you!

Homemade pesticides!

Since are garden is now starting to grow I figured now would be a good time to start learning about homemade pesticides. Obviously with trying to keep my kids safe from all the chemicals in the world, I would much rather find a safe way with normal household products. So this is what I have found so far. This is a mixture from all kinds of websites. I will let you know what has worked best from our garden.

Mix homemade garden sprays using water and plants (or dried powders) from the garden such as hot peppers, onions and garlic. Add a drop of dish detergent to help the solution stick and store in a spray bottle to apply to infested vegetables or flowers.

Place a yellow pan with soapy water out in the garden to attract aphids and beetles. They are attracted to their favorite color and the soapy water suffocates them.

Make a trap for slugs by placing an almost empty can of beer on its side in the garden. Slugs and snails will go into the can to drink the fermented liquid and not come out.

To say good-bye to garden insects and slugs try mixing aluminum foil strips with your garden mulch. Aluminum foil not only deters garden pests but due to its reflective property it also gives your plants a solar boost.

Onion concoction is an effective home remedy to get rid off garden pests especially from your vegetables and flowers. With the help of a blender make a smooth paste of 4onions, 2 tbsp of cayenne pepper, 2 garlic cloves and 1 quart of water. Before using this homemade pesticide dilute this puree with 2 tbsp of soap flakes and 2 gallons of water. Now spray this diluted homemade pesticide on your pest infected plants.

To protect your plants, vegetables and flowers from pests simply mix flour and black pepper powder. Now sprinkle this mixture around the plants.

You can prepare an insecticidal soap at home by dissolving 1 tsp of any liquid dish soap in 1 liter of water. This solution is effective in getting rid off whiteflies, thrips, spider mites and aphids.

General pest repellent
This is quite a recipe...but its worked for me as a general spray that has helped prevent a lot of infestations before they became a problem.
- 1/4 cup of hot red peppers (red pepper sauce works well as a substitute)
- 1/4 cup of fresh spearmint (look in your produce for fresh herbs or grow your own !)
- 1/4 cup horseradish, both root and leaves (prepared horseradish doesnt work as well)
- 1/4 cup green onion tops
- 1 tablespoon of liquid detergent

So here is a good list of things to try. I have not had a chance to try any of these yet, but can't wait to. I will let you know what has worked for us and if you get a chance to try any of these, please let me know what has worked for you. If you have any other recipes I would love to hear them. Happy gardening!

Homemade insect repellent!

So looking into other summer must have's, insect repellent came to mind. So looking into it a little further I found that many are loaded with harmful chemicals as most of you can guess. So instead of posting all the chemical names this time I just decided to post about making some homemade bug spray. I have not tried any of these yet but definitely plan too. If you get a chance to try any, please let me know what you think and if it worked for you.

Instructions for Making Homemade Insect Spray
A variety of household products can be used to create non-toxic insect sprays. Experiment using any of the following sprays to determine your personal potion:

1.Apple cider vinegar: fill a spray bottle with one cup of water and ½ cup of apple cider vinegar and spray the solution on skin before going outdoors.

2.Garlic repellent: although garlic should not be directly applied to the skin, a garlic spray created with warm water and a few cloves or crushed garlic is excellent mosquito repellent. Place the mixture in a plastic spray bottle. Before an outdoor picnic, spray the surrounding area (plants, chairs, etc.), including clothing, with garlic spray to clear away pests.

3.Lemon eucalyptus oil: add 5-6 drops of lemon eucalyptus oil to 1 cup of water and fill a spray bottle. Spray clothing, plants, and surrounding area.

4.Vanilla spray: a sweeter choice than garlic, vanilla extract is a total turn-off to many types of bugs. Fill a spray bottle with one cup of water and one tablespoon of vanilla extract and spray directly onto the skin. Use a cloth or tissue to blend well into the skin.


Read more at Suite101: Keep Insects Away Using Non-Toxic Ingredients: Prevent Mosquitoes Naturally During Spring Rainy Season http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com/article.cfm/keep_insects_away_using_nontoxic_ingredients#ixzz0lnsG4cAY

A list of healthy suntan lotions!

Choose from among top rated sunscreens for broad spectrum protection with fewer hazardous ingredients. And follow our sun safety tips to protect your skin for a lifetime.

1. Loving Naturals Sunscreen, SPF 30+) 0
2. Badger Sunscreen Face Stick, SPF 30, Unscented 0
3. Heiko Kids 40 SPF 0
4. thinkbaby Sunscreen, SPF 30+ 0
5. Trukid Sunny Days Face & Body Stick, SPF 30+ 1
6. Beyond Coastal Lip and Face Screen, SPF 30 1
7. Purple Prairie Botanicals Sun Stick, SPF 30 1
8. Soleo/Wyland Organics All Natural Sunscreen, SPF 30+ 1
9. Lavera Sunscreen Neutral, SPF 40
10. All Terrain TerraSport Performance Sunscreen, SPF 30 1

see all sunscreens

Does your sunscreen work? EWG's investigation of 535 beach and sport sunscreens finds that 2 out of 5 contain chemicals that may pose health hazards or don't adequately protect skin from the sun's damaging rays. Some of the worst offenders are leading brands like Coppertone, Banana Boat, and Neutrogena.

More Americans than ever are using sunscreen to protect from sunburn and guard against skin cancer. Top choices include products with high SPF ratings, and that are waterproof or that advertise "broad spectrum" protection.

Most people trust that the claims on the bottle will ensure that the product truly protects their health and their families'. Nothing could be less certain. Until FDA strengthens and finalizes sunscreen safety standards first drafted 31 years ago, consumers can't be confident that products on store shelves are safe and effective.

We found 21 sunscreens claiming SPFs from 55-100+ that might tempt you to stay out longer in the sun, but they block just 1 to 2% more sunburn rays than an SPF 30 sunscreen. These products violate FDA's sunscreen safety standards.

Four percent of high SPF sunscreens (SPF of at least 30) protect only from sunburn (UVB radiation), and provide poor protection from UVA, the sun rays linked to skin damage and aging, immune system problems, and potentially skin cancer. FDA does not require that sunscreens guard against UVA radiation.

Harmful chemicals found in suntan lotion!

I just found out from a friend today about a severe reaction her son (16 months old) just had to suntan lotion. She was using a very common suntan lotion called Banana Boat baby. After putting some suntan lotion on one of her twins he began to break out with a rash. The rash soon turned into blisters. Her and her husband are both paramedics so they were both treating the little boy but it was so bad they were to the point of taking him to the hospital. They immediately called their doctor who told them to give the baby some benedryl. They were finally able to get rid of the blisters without hurting him anymore but not without forever changing their opinion on suntan lotion. They were told he had an allergic reaction to the suntan lotion both externally as well as internally since the chemicals used in the lotion was absorbed through the skin. They were then told how harmful the chemicals were in suntan lotion.
So this brought on an interest to me. So I began reading about the harmful ingredients in suntan lotion since I also use popular products. WOW!!!! That is the best word I can say about what they put into suntan lotion! I have been putting this on my babies for 6 years and it is horrible!!!!!!
Here is a few things I have found.
This was too long to post and it was all good information so I figured I would just post the website: http://www.skinbiology.com/toxicsunscreens.html

Some other information I have found:


For 29 years, the FDA has refused to publish safety standards for sunscreen products. That's nearly three decades of keeping the public in the dark about the extremely harmful, cancer-causing chemicals found in sunscreen products. Any idea why the Food and Drug Administration has taken so long to set safety standards for a product used by over 100 million Americans? If you guessed, "Because the greedy corporations selling the toxic sunscreen products don't want the FDA to study the safety of their products," give yourself golden star sticker. You got it! The FDA has no interest in protecting the public from cancer-causing personal care products, and that simple fact is made abundantly clear by the FDA's 29-year delay to establish basic safety guidelines.

As is increasingly the case, non-profit groups are now doing the job the FDA should be doing but refuses to do. In this case, the Environmental Working Group (www.EWG.org), one of my top recommended non-profit organizations, has compiled a list of 700 name-brand sunscreens along with the toxic chemicals they contain. You'll find the list at http://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/

As the EWG reports, many sunscreen products contain cancer-causing chemicals that get absorbed right through the skin:

Some sunscreens absorb into the blood and raise safety concerns. Our review of the technical literature shows that some sunscreen ingredients absorb into the blood, and some are linked to toxic effects. Some release skin-damaging free radicals in sunlight, some act like estrogen and could disrupt hormone systems, several are strongly linked to allergic reactions, and still others may build up in the body or the environment. FDA has not established rigorous safety standards for sunscreen ingredients.

After 29 years of debate, the government has failed to set mandatory sunscreen safety standards. Companies are free to make their own decisions on everything from advertising claims to product quality. In lieu of setting final standards, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises people to stay out of the sun from 10 am to 4 pm. FDA now stands in direct violation a Congressional mandate requiring the agency to finalize sunscreen safety standards by May 2006, flouting not only Congress but also consumers, who are reliant on sunscreen to protect their health.


84% of sunscreen products harm consumers