We all have a responsibility to care for the Earth, and the environment which sustains us. While we need to take many “big” steps, we can also take small ones to both care for our planet and improve our own immediate environment. Here are three small changes you can make for a more eco-friendly lifestyle at home.

Shelter A House Plant.

Besides their aesthetic value, houseplants can be good for your overall health. They naturally purify the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen into their immediate environment. Studies by NASA have found that houseplants can remove about 87 percent of harmful air toxins within a 24-hour cycle. Cleaner indoor air can improve your mood, and their beauty can help reduce stress, turning your home into your own personal oasis.

With such a large variety of houseplant species to choose from, it can be difficult to pick the right one. The key to choosing the perfect houseplant is to take into consideration the conditions and level of care it needs. The ing Ming Aralia plant is a great start for beginners. These plans can thrive in both indirect light and bright light and require minimal maintenance as they can go for days without water. Indigenous to the Pacific Islands, their beauty lies in the green upper sides, and purple undersides of their leaves.

Despite being a great air purifier, the Ming Aralia was traditionally hailed for its medicinal components, as early research showed it helped reduce inflammatory, fungal, and bacteria-related illness.

Consider Using CBD Products.

Cannabidiol is fast becoming a natural remedy to help in the treatment of common illnesses. Popularly referred to as CBD, it is one of the active ingredients (cannabinoids) found in the industrial hemp plant. Whilst THC is another well-known cannabinoid and has a psychoactive effect (meaning it gives the user a “high,”) CBD has no psychoactive effect, making it the preferred option for individuals seeking relief from their discomfort.

Some common CBD products include CBD oil, CBD supplements, CBD edibles, and CBD tinctures and topicals. Of these, CBD oil is the most commonly used. It is made from CBD that has been extracted from the cannabis plant, then diluted with hemp seed or coconut oil. The wellness industry is fast embracing it and has found CBD oil is commonly used to help those with insomnia, as well as reduce anxiety and depression in people with an over-active mind, and alleviate discomfort NOTE: I have rubbed CBD oil on my hands to help reduce joint pain related to arthritis).

NOTE: Never ingest anything intended for health or wellness reasons without speaking to a medical professional or doctor first!

Opt for Natural Insect Repellent.

Most people use insect repellent to prevent bug bites and the infections that they transmit. However, most consumers are not aware of the chemicals used to make insect repellents. DEET, for instance, is an active ingredient found in a majority of synthetic insect repellents. But some studies show that DEET has a toxic effect on the body’s central nervous system, with the added side effect of causing a skin rash.

Stop The Bites insect repellent is a natural repellent for ticks with none of these downsides. Hailed as having the same efficacy as synthetic tick repellents, when properly applied, it can repel ticks and mosquitos for a period of up to one week. It can be applied as a spray on shrub and vegetation, as well as on swing sets and the patio.

Instead of DEET, it consists of active ingredients like lemongrass oil, geraniol, castor oil, cedarwood oil, corn oil, and sodium lauryl sulfate, plus water, soap, oleic acid and 1-monolaurin, a byproduct of coconut fat.

NOTE: Take special care not to apply it on or near food and vegetables, or food-bearing plants. Apply late in the day or early evening and not directly on bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects. Keep children and pets off lawns that have been treated until the product dries.

About Sponsored Posts: Occasionally, we run posts sponsored by companies that offer some interesting options. The post doesn’t imply endorsement of a particular product.  

The post 3 Natural Products to Add to Your Eco-Friendly Lifestyle appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Want to kill mosquitoes before they bite you to death and make the kids miserable? So did Brandi Stupica.

The Michigan mom of two hated worrying about her kids getting mosquito bites that could lead to something more serious, like dengue fever or even the Zika virus.

But she also hated using toxic chemical-based mosquito repellent because, well, hey, she’s a mom. And what mom doesn’t identify with Mother Earth?

One day, Brandi’s husband came across a bacteria that could be sprinkled on standing water to kill mosquito larva, plus black flies and gnats.

FREE NATURAL MOSQUITO KILLER GIVEAWAY!!
DETAILS BELOW

Brandi had a brainstorm.

Why not create a way to lure mosquitoes around the house into a trap where they’d be exposed to the bacteria – and DIE?

Brown Bread Mozzie, the natural mosquito killer, was born.

Here’s How Brown Bread Mozzie Natural Mosquito Killer Works

It’s Non-Toxic (to People) Bacteria

It’s a Trap, Not a Repellent

The Bacteria

The secret to this natural mosquito killer is in the bacteria that the company uses to lure and then kill mosquitoes. The bacteria is called Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis – Bti for short.

BTI contains spores that produce toxins that specifically target the larvae of the mosquito, plus pesky black flies and fungus gnats.

Bti has no toxicity to people and is approved for use for pest control in organic farming operations, reports EPA.

It’s a Trap, Not a Repellent

Brown Bread Mozzie, which is British and Australian slang for dead mosquito – comes in a kit of four containers, a scoop, and enough granules of Mozzie to keep your yard of an acre or less mosquito-free for a year.

You use the Bti in the four buckets, not on your skin. You don’t spray it on your clothes, or fog your yard, the way other mosquito control chemicals are applied.

To get started, first, get rid of all the places in your yard where mosquitoes like to breed, like stagnant ponds, kiddie pools that aren’t covered, drainage ditches, bird baths that aren’t cleaned frequently, kids’ toys like pails, and even old tires.

Then, set out the Brown Bread Mozzie buckets to lure mosquitoes to lay their eggs in the water you’ve put in each one.

Use fresh water from your hose, but what’s better is stagnant water you might empty out of a pond or birdbath. (Brandi says, “The nastier and more stagnant the water, the more mosquitoes love it!”)

Sprinkle a scoop of granules into the bucket, then fill the bucket half way with water.

Place the buckets on the edges of the property no more than 300 feet from the next closest bucket. You can also put them on top of a wall, hang them on a tree, or set them on a stump.

Use all four buckets.

If there’s any standing water you can’t or don’t want to eliminate, you can add a scoop of Bti granules there, as well.

That’s All There Is To It!

Your Brown Bread Mozzie kit includes enough granules so you can repeat monthly for 12 months.

When your supply of Mozzie granules or “bits” is gone, just order a new bag. You can reuse the buckets over and over again

Inexpensive, and Worth It!

A Brown Bread Mozzie kit costs $99; a replacement bag of Bti bits costs only $20. You could easily spend $20 on a summer’s worth of mosquito repellent, and spraying your entire yard with a mosquito insecticide would cost more than $99, so this is a good deal for your pocketbook as well as your skin.

GIVEAWAY + FREE SHIPPING

To Enter Giveaway, Leave A Comment Below

⇓⇓⇓

Brandi and her Brown Bread Mozzie Company have a special offer for the Big Green Purse community: free shipping when you order the $99 kit (which includes the 4 buckets, a year’s supply of  Bti granules, and the scoop).

But more, Brandi will give away one free kit to a lucky Big Green Purse visitor. All you have to do is leave a comment below. Tell us what you’re doing to control mosquitoes at your house, or why you know natural mosquito control is better than using insecticides or just why you love summer.

The winner will be picked from a random drawing on Friday, July 14.

The post This Natural Mosquito Killer Won’t Hurt You, Kids, Bees or Birds appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Mosquitoes are out in full force, but before you run for the big toxic guns, read this post. We’ve researched several options to help you buy non toxic mosquito repellent or make your own.

PLUS: Don’t let the buggers breed. Here’s how to reduce mosquito breeding on your property.

How to Buy Non Toxic Mosquito Repellent:

Read the Label, Look for These Ingredients,
Try These Products

Read the Label

Before you buy any repellent, read the label to find out what’s in it that makes it so offensive to skeeters.

Remember: repellents repel, they don’t actually kill.

If the container says “kills on contact” or something similar, it is definitely too potent to put on your skin. Don’t spray “Off” or “Raid” to kill mosquitoes, especially in an enclosed area, where you could end up inhaling those potent chemicals.

Look for These Ingredients

Essential Oils – Lavender, Lemon Eucalyptus, Geranium, Peppermint, Castor, and Lemongrass are commonly used as the “active” ingredients in DEET-free, commercially available mosquito repellents.

They may be combined with purified water, coconut oil, glycerin, lecithin, and various kinds of salts to reduce the potency of the oils and so they can be easily sprayed on your skin.

Please NOTE: Essential oils are very concentrated. Even though they’re “natural,” some people are allergic to them.

No one should put an essential oil directly on her skin without diluting it first. You can dilute it in water, in fragrance-free lotion, in coconut oil, in shea butter, or in other natural carriers.

As with any product, find the one that works best for you. You may want to try a couple of different brands (see below) before you settle on the one that does the best job of keeping you pest-free.

Picaridin – Pronounced pih-CARE-a-den, this is a synthetic compound that was developed by the Bayer company from a plant extract related to table pepper. You may see it also sold as KBR 3023, Bayrepel, or icaridin.

Appalachian Mountain Club, which compared DEET to picaridin, reports “studies have shown picaridin to be as effective as DEET in repelling mosquitoes. Unlike DEET, however, picaridin is odorless, non-greasy, and does not dissolve plastics or other synthetics.”

If you cannot find a DEET-free spray that uses essential oils, look for one with picaridin as the active ingrdient.

What About DEET?

DEET is one of the most effective chemicals used to repel mosquitoes and ticks. It is not classified as a human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; EPA believes that when DEET is used in moderation, it is safe.

However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control note that DEET can cause severe psychological effects and serious skin reactions when applied too frequently and in high temperatures. There have also been cases of DEET being found in the umbilical cord blood of newborn babies, which means that it passed through the placenta after the mother applied insect repellent containing DEET to her arms and legs.

That is enough to motivate me to use non-DEET alternatives!

Try These Products

Here are some commercial products that I have tried that work well for me. You may be able to find them locally where you shop, but we also carry them in our Amazon store.

The post How to Buy Non Toxic Mosquito Repellent or Make Your Own appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Are you plagued by fruit flies? I’ve had swarms of them in my kitchen this summer – and they were everywhere, hovering over the fruit bowl, perched on the edge of the kitchen sink, flying by when I was cooking at the stove. They’re not only tiny, but so fast, I could never seem to hit them with a fly swatter. And of course, it doesn’t make sense to spray them with toxic chemicals – who wants nasty pesticides all over the place? I finally figured out how to get rid of every single pest. Hopefully, what I did will help you, too. The trick is to get rid of the places where fruit flies breed, then trap those that remain so they won’t keep breeding.

Here’s how:

1)   PUT ALL FOOD AWAY. Fruit flies love any food that’s available to them, whether it’s raw, cooked or waste. I put all fruit and veggies in the refrigerator and tightly closed bread bags and cracker boxes. Cookies went into a sealed cookie jar.  I cleaned off oil bottles and honey jars so there were no drips to attract hungry bugs.

2)   THAW FOOD IN THE FRIDGE. Rather than thaw frozen food on the kitchen counter, I put it in the refrigerator. I let frozen bread and cookies thaw inside the microwave or in the bread bin, both of which close tightly.

3)   CLEAN. CLEAN. CLEAN. I’m as guilty as the next person of leaving dirty dishes in the sink – unless I’ve got fruit flies. That unwashed milk glass or the plate covered with drying pasta sauce couldn’t be a bigger invitation to a fly fest. At the very least, rinse food off all dishes before you leave them stacked, though it’s better to rinse and put them in the dishwasher if you have one. Also, clean up spills and crumbs on counter tops and on the stove. Flies don’t care where their food is, as long as it’s there.

4)   TOSS THE OLD FLOWERS AND REPOT THE PLANTS. Toss old flowers and the stale water they may be standing in. Also, fruit flies often take up residence in the top couple of inches of soil in a plant pot. If you have potted plants that seem to be attracting flies, take the pots outside, get rid of the top two inches of dirt, and replace with “clean” dirt (perhaps from a garden center, as opposed to your own garden).

5)   DEFUMIGATE YOUR DRAIN. The drain in the kitchen sink is a favorite spot for fruit flies: it’s dark, dank and often full of food morsels. If you have a disposal, put a piece of lemon in it and run it through. Then, add a few drops of vegetable oil and swirl it around. The oil will coat and kill any remaining pests.

6)   SEAL SCREENS AND CRACKS IN DOORS AND WINDOWS. Fruit flies seem to appear out of nowhere, but they could be getting in through small tears in a screen or through cracks in a door or window. You can get a screen repair kit at your hardware store, as well as caulk to seal up the cracks. In a pinch, use duct tape.

7)   COVER TRASH CANS. You’ll need a trashcan with a lid and a plastic bag that ties tightly. If you compost, don’t leave a compost pail in the kitchen. I actually keep my compost in a small covered container in my refrigerator until I can put it into the compost bin, which also has a lid on it.

8)   SET SOME VINEGAR TRAPS. I put this in red because it’s so key to getting rid of the flies. Get a few small shallow bowls. Put 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in the bottom. Swirl in several drops of fragrance-free liquid soap (you want the flies to smell the vinegar, not the soap). Put the bowls on your kitchen counter or wherever you see the most flies. The flies will be drawn to the smell of the apple cider, but once they land in the mixture, the soap will make it impossible for them to escape. Trust me, these non-toxic traps work like a dream. I set them out one night and the next morning, all the pests were in the bowl of cider! (This bowl full of flies was what I found in my kitchen the morning after I set up my apple cider trap.)

9)   SET SOME STICKY TRAPS. Spread some bright yellow index cards with a little honey and tape them to a window frame or other easy-to-see spot.  Once the flies alight, they’ll have a hard time leaving.

Fruit flies are nasty, but they don’t have to make you naughty. These tips worked for me. If you have others, please share!

The post 9 Natural Ways to Trap Fruit Flies appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Do you hate mosquitos? Who doesn’t? But just hating them won’t make them go away. One way to keep them at bay is to use a good but non-toxic to humans repellent; I list some options below. But it also helps to trap them, which is why I want you to know about a terrific eco-friendly mosquito trap that is inexpensive, painless to people and the planet, and effective.

By the way, don’t waste your money buying electric bug zappers or battery-powered insect traps. They don’t actually prevent mosquitos from breeding, and they’re pretty intrusive – who wants to sit on the porch on a nice summer night and hear “zzzz” every time a bug gets electrocuted?

This simple mosquito trap is a more eco-friendly option. Just put a few cups of rain, ditch or pond water in the jar and add the powdered bait that comes with the trap. The mosquitos will lay their eggs in the water; once they go in the jar, they can’t get out. Both the mosquitos and the larva that hatch will be trapped forever.

For best results, position a trap every 10 feet or so around the perimeter of your porch or patio, using at least two traps. Don’t put the traps near where you usually sit or picnic, as the jars do lure mosquitos in before they trap them.

What else can you do to reduce mosquitos in an eco-friendly way?

1) Eliminate all standing water. Dump water from trays and dishes potted plants sit in. After any rain, take a walk around the porch, patio or yard and dump out any water; mosquitos can breed in less than a cupful of liquid, so dump it all out!

2) Check roof gutters and downspouts, too. If they’ve gotten clogged, water could pool behind them, providing a great hiding place for breeding mosquitos.

3) Keep pond water moving. Mosquitos need still water to breed; if you have a pond or fountain, use a small pump to make sure the water is continuously moving. You could also keep goldfish in the pond to eat up mosquitos that hover overhead or lay larva in the water.

4) Light candles. On my porch in the evenings, I also light citronella candles. The traps and candles combined have reduced my mosquito problems significantly. However, please note: citronella candles really only work when there’s very little breeze.

5) Wear protective clothing. Mosquitos are at their worst at dawn and dusk. If you need to be out in your yard early in the morning or when evening falls, wear collared shirts with long sleeves, long pants, socks and shoes rather than sandals, and even a hat.

6) Use mosquito repellent that’s safe for you and other wildlife, too. Some insect repellents contain harsh toxic chemicals you really don’t want to put on your skin.  Here are a few we recommend.

RELATED POSTS   DEET-free Mosquito Repellents That Work

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Mosquito Traps

Pond Pumps

Citronella Candles

Mosquito Repellents

The post 6 Ways To Beat Mosquitos. #1 – Don’t Zap ‘Em, Trap ‘Em appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Most conventional mosquito repellents contain DEET, a chemical that is toxic to a variety of flying and biting insects and has raised questions about its safety for people. The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) analysed human health consequences from DEET exposure and found that the most problems occurred when DEET was applied in high concentrations and left on the skin rather than washed off.

However, the Environmental Health Association of Nova Scotia recommends consumers choose botanically-based repellents rather than DEET unless they face serious health threats from something like West Nile Virus. Reports the agency, DEET is “a member of the toluene chemical family. Toluene is an organic solvent used in rubber and plastic cements and paint removers. DEET is absorbed through the skin and passes into the blood. The Medical Sciences Bulletin, published by Pharmaceutical Information Associates Ltd. reports, “Up to 56% of DEET applied topically penetrates intact human skin and 17% is absorbed into the bloodstream.” Blood concentrations of about 3 mg per litre have been reported several hours after DEET repellent was applied to skin in the prescribed fashion. DEET is also absorbed by the gut.”

DEET may also negatively impact the central nervous system and cause serious skin rashes, says the association. For all of these reasons, Health Canada has banned products containing a 30% or higher concentration of DEET. Also banned are 2-in-1 products, like sunscreen that includes DEET.

DEET-Free Alternatives

The safer alternatives contain some combination of essential oils and another liquid, like rubbing alcohol, to make it easy to spread or spray on. The most common essential oils used in repellents seem to be citronella, lavender, geraniol (a derivative of the geranium plant), eucalyptus, lemongrass, mint, rosemary and thyme. There are many prepared options available in stores and online. Or you can make your own.

I decided to try Burt’s Bees, essential lavender oil, vanilla extract out of my pantry, and DEET-based Cutter. I’ve used Buzz Away in the past, and found that it worked for about a half an hour at a time, so didn’t re-test it this time around.

I sprayed one leg with Burt’s Bees and the other leg with Cutter, which contains 21.85% DEET. I rubbed about a half-teaspoon of vanilla extract on my left arm, and dotted my right arm with the lavender essential oil. Then I went down to my garden to test the effectiveness of each of these four repellents.

Amazingly, the mosquitoes swarmed to the leg that was sprayed with Burt’s Bees (see left – somewhat blurry picture of mosquito biting my leg).

Nothing at all alit anywhere else (see protected arm, left). So, on the herbal side, at least for me, vanilla extract and essential oil of lavender worked as well at keeping biting bugs at bay as did the Cutter, and far better than Burt’s Bees.

To get more recommendations, I polled members of the Green Moms Carnival.

Jenn of The Green Parent said, “I use California Baby Citronella Summer Lotion.  My youngest gets really bad bug bites but just a little dab of this lotion and she remains bite-free all nite.”

Lisa of Condo Blues said “I use EcoSmart insect repellent and it works great! During our family reunion, one family used Off and obviously mine used EcoSmart. The active ingredients are wintergreen oil and rosemary oil. It kept the bugs away and everyone who used my insect repellent liked it better because it smells better than Off.” Lisa also recommends Happy Critters Farm Natural Bug Spray if you don’t mind the smell of citronella.

The last time Beth of Fake Plastic Fish went camping, she used All Terrain Herbal Armor, another DEET-free solution consisting of various essential oils like citronella, geranium and lemongrass. (NOTE: This solution did not spray out of the several bottles I tried in the store. If you don’t mind spreading it on rather than spraying it, it could work for you.)

Anna of Green Talk usesShoo Fly by Bioganic.

Karen of Best of Mother Earth is also trying out vanilla extract.

Thistle Farms is another company selling an herbal-based insect repellent. Added bonus: the farm is being managed by women who have survived drug use and prostitution and are making a new life for themselves working to develop and market natural products.

NOTE: YOU CAN BUY MOST OF THESE PRODUCTS ON OUR AMAZON STORE.

My recommendations?

1) First, cover up. The less skin you expose, the less likely you are to get bitten. If you’re working in your garden or hiking in the woods, wear shoes, socks, lightweight pants, a lightweight, long-sleeved shirt with a collar, and a hat. If you’re sitting on the porch or at an outdoor event and don’t want to wear long pants or long sleeves, drape a light-weight shawl or scarf over your legs or arms. If the bugs are really vicious, spray your clothes, not your skin (and launder when you get in the house). Another advantage of protecting your skin? You won’t need to apply sun screen.

2) Light citronella candles when you’re sitting outside. You will probably still need to squirt bug spray on your ankles and legs, but the candles will emit an aroma that helps keep mosquitoes away from your arms and face. The more candles, the better.

3) If you’re the do-it-yourself type, pick up a bottle of an essential oil like eucalyptus, lavender, citronella, or geraniol, or try some combination. Get a 4- or 6-ounce pump bottle; add somewhere between 10 and 20 drops of oil to several ounces of water and shake well. Spray on exposed skin, always avoiding your face. Alternatively, mix a vegetable oil like coconut oil with essential oil, using no more than 2% essential oil; then rub on exposed skin. (NOTE: DO NOT USE ESSENTIAL OILS WITHOUT DILUTING THEM FIRST, AS THEY CAN IRRITATE THE SKIN. Always dilute in a fragrance-free lotion, a vegetable oil like coconut oil, or even water.)

4) Try one of the herbal repellents available in most grocery, hardware, and gardening stores, or order online. They generally cost about the same as conventional, pesticide-based sprays. If you don’t see a botanically-based option, ask for one.

5) If you feel you must use something stronger than essential oils, choose a product containing Picaridin, which does not seem to irritate the skin the same way DEET does. Always use the lowest concentration that will work for you. Never use DEET or other pesticides on infants or children; especially avoid sunscreens that also contain insect repellents. Wash your hands immediately after applying.

Buy DEET-free insect repellents here.

The post DEET-Free Mosquito Repellents That Work appeared first on Big Green Purse.