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!!
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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

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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.

The post The 10 Most Toxic Items at the Garden Center appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Want to garden organically but don’t know how to beat the bugs? This handy infographic, prepared by the good folks at First Choice Environmental, suggests 4 tricks that will help you create a healthier garden overall. It tells you which bugs are good, then helps you avoid more toxic pesticides in favor of biological pest controls that use the good guys to control the bad guys. It lists a few beneficial flowers you’d probably want to plant anyway – but especially after you find out how effective they can be at warding off plants. And suggests a simple barrier you can put up so bugs don’t land on your plants in the first place. For organic pest control for your garden, try these eco-friendly DIY steps.

The post 4 Steps to DIY Organic Pest Control for Your Garden appeared first on Big Green Purse.

A new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that “organic crops and crop-based foods are up to 69% higher” in antioxidants than crops grown using toxic chemicals. In fact, shifting to organic fruit, vegetables and cereals, and to foods made from them, would provide additional antioxidants equivalent to eating between 1-2 extra portions of fruit and vegetables a day! Why does it matter? Many studies link antioxidants to reduced risk of heart disease and certain cancers. Eating organically can help reduce those risks.

The study also shows that organic food contains “significantly lower levels of toxic heavy metals.” Cadmium, a heavy metal that can cause a number of serious health problems, was found to be almost 50% lower in organic crops than conventionally-grown ones.

That’s not all. Pesticide residues were four times more likely to be found on conventional crops than on organic ones.

So add the nutrition and health benefits of organic agriculture to a long list of environmental benefits we enjoy when farmers skip toxic chemicals or when we grow our own organic gardens. Those environmental benefits include cleaner air, safer drinking water, protection for birds, bees, and other wildlife, and even healthier soil.

With so many benefits to growing and eating organic food, there still seems to be one barrier to choosing it: cost. In some cases, organic food can be more expensive than conventional. Here’s what we suggest to make organic food affordable. If you have other ideas, please leave them in the comments section below. Thanks!

SUMMARY OF BENEFITS OF ORGANIC FOOD

1) It’s more nutritious.

2) It offers more antioxidants.

3) It’s far less contaminated with toxic heavy metals.

4) It contains less toxic pesticide residue.

5) It protects clean air, safe drinking water, and the natural world.

For More Information

Afford Organic Food! Top Ten Organic Food $$$$ Busters

Florida Resident Shifts $1,137 to Organic Foods, Native Plants & Worm Poop

Organic Food Backgrounder

The post Benefits of Organic Food: It’s More Nutritious appeared first on Big Green Purse.

In honor of national Food Day, I’d like to suggest 10 ways we can revamp our food system to make it healthier for people and the planet, and more delicious, too! What do YOU think we should do?

1) Help more farmers grow organic food. Right now, U.S. agriculture policy provides price supports and subsidies to farmers who use pesticides and insecticides – and penalizes those who don’t.  Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

2) Charge more for food that’s grown using pesticides and herbicides. Organic food can cost as much as 30% more than food that’s been raised using all kinds of chemicals that pollute our air and water and make us sick. Organic food is more expensive because there’s less of it, and it’s more labor intensive to grow because (see 1 above) organic farmers don’t get paid not to use pesticides and herbicides. Given the cost to society of cleaning up the environmental and human health problems created by pesticide use, shouldn’t there be a “HEP” (health/environment penalty) imposed on conventional food that would help bring its price more inline with the price of organics? 

3) Require all restaurants to compost food. In fact, not just restaurants, but hospitals, government buildings, school cafeterias – any institutions that throw away massive amounts of food — should be required to compost food waste rather than throw it away, turning it into organic fertilizer for use locally. FYI, you could be composting your own kitchen waste, too!

4) Define “natural.” A lot of food is marketed as natural, even though it’s been highly processed, is overpackaged, and doesn’t bear one iota of resemblance to the food it originally came from. Working with biologists and botanists, let’s define what “natural” really means – and prohibit flagrant misuse of the word by marketers who know we want to eat natural food, even if that’s not what they’re selling.

5) Stop wrapping food in plastic. Plastic wrap, plastic boxes, plastic clam shells, plastic bags, plastic bottles: these days, it’s hard to find food that’s NOT wrapped in plastic. What’s the big deal? Plastic doesn’t biodegrade, and there’s some research indicating that chemicals in the plastic can leach into the food itself. How can you avoid the plastic? Buy fresh food, fill your own safe containers from bulk food bins, and choose food packaged in glass jars or wrapped in paper.

6) Get rid of BPA in the lining of canned foods. Bisphenyl-A has been linked to a variety of health disorders. This new study suggests that pregnant women exposed to BPA could give birth to girls with behavior disorders. It’s time to ban the use of BPA in any food container, including soda cans, baby bottles, and plastic food containers.

7) Make cooking a required class for all high school students. When I was growing up, girls in middle school were required to take “home economics” (the boys got away with “shop”). These days, both of those classes are optional – which means many kids opt out. Yet I’d argue that one of the reasons why fast food is so popular is because so many people don’t actually know how to cook. Why not make cooking class a requirement in senior year of high school, regardless of whether kids are heading off to college or to live on their own? The semester-long curriculum would focus on nutrition, locally grown food, organic agriculture, and composting, along with how to make a decent omelette or a delicious salad.

8) Prepare more of your own food. If you don’t know how, here are a few good cookbooks to get you started.

 9) Grow your own. If you have a pot, a patch of sun, and a patio, you can grow cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and herbs. With a 10×10 plot of land and some good compost, you can grow plenty more. These 10 tips will get you going.

10) Sit down at the table when you eat. Preferably, with friends or family. One of the reasons we may not mind eating junky food so much is that we don’t give ourselves enough time to enjoy our meals. If you get up a few minutes earlier, can you actually eat a nice breakfast instead of snarfing down some kind of McMuffin on the run? If you get your kids and spouse or partner involved in the cooking, can you all pull together a meal of what Food Day sponsor the Center for Science in the Public Interest calls “real” food? Yes, time is of the essence. But delicious food is the very essence of life!

Surely you must have other ideas for ways we can make our food system better for us and healthier for the planet. Please share, and Happy Food Day!

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The post In honor of Food Day, 10 Radical Ways to Make Food Better appeared first on Big Green Purse.

President John F. Kennedy was so moved by Silent Spring that he initiated a presidential advisory committee to study the issues it raised. The U.S. Senate opened an investigation into the use and abuse of pesticides based on her research. Nevertheless, Rachel was vilified by the agricultural chemical industry, who accused the book of being “sinister” and “hysterical.”

Today, we’re coming full circle. Even as proof mounts almost daily that cancer is linked to pesticides and herbicides, Rachel Carson’s detractors persist. Their latest ploy? Derail an effort in the U.S. Senate to commemorate Rachel’s birth and honor her unique contribution to environmental protection.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is using Senate rules to oppose a commemoration of Rachel Carson, blaming the pioneer for using “junk science” to sway public opinion against DDT and other chemicals.

On the eve of Rachel’s 100th birthday, her own words seem more relevant today than when they first appeared on the page:

“The human race is challenged more than ever before to demonstrate our mastery – not over nature but of ourselves”

“Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species — man — acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world.”

“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, ‘What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?’”

The post What is it about Rachel Carson that some misguided souls just love to hate? appeared first on Big Green Purse.