GREEN BUSINESS VIEWS

Posts Tagged ‘green homes’

At some point, mosquitoes will attempt to ruin your summer fun, but there are a number of ideas that can improve your life.  DEET is the common anti-bug spray, and DEET is effective.  Most people who look at the health impact of DEET will quickly start looking for other solutions.  Get proactive and work on eliminating breeding areas.  Standing water is key here, since most mosquitoes rarely travel more than a quarter mile from their place of birth.

Mosquitoes like tall grass because they can hide there, and they actually get nourishment from water trapped in in very small areas.  Mosquitoes do not live on blood.  They need blood for reproduction.  That is why male mosquitoes do not bite.  Mosquitoes feed on small prey found in the wild.  So, keep weeds mowed, and find a way to drain standing water.

Nonetheless, when mosquitoes do attack, here are some ways to keep them away, naturally.

Yarrow tea or Lemon balm. You can mist this on your body to repel mosquito bites. This is a safe and affective way to protect yourself.

Pure vanilla actually repels mosquitoes. You must use real and not imitation vanilla.  Mosquitoes are not the only bugs that don’t like vanilla, so it’s good to keep around. You can put vanilla on your pulse points to keep away the bugs.

Lavender. Although Lavender smells wonderful to us, bugs hate it. You can use the flower to rub on your skin or use the oil on your pulse points just as you would for perfume. This is proof that you don’t have to smell like a chemical to keep away the bugs.

Garlic. By eating garlic, you will repel mosquitoes (and maybe a few people too). Mosquitoes hate garlic and will not come near it.

Citronella. The most common way to avoid mosquito bites when outdoors is to use a citronella candle. Planting marigolds around your house can also discourage them from hanging around. You can likewise use citronella oil on your skin as a repellent.

Here is a simple way to make your own bug repellant

• 2 teaspoons of any of the following essential oils: basil, cedar wood, citronella, juniper, lemon, myrrh, pine, rose geranium or rosemary (available at health food stores)
• 1 cup 190-proof grain alcohol (available at liquor stores)
• Place ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously. Transfer to a small bottle for storage. To use, rub a small amount on exposed skin, though test first to make sure skin does not react negatively.

Mosquitoes are driven by scent and CO2 that animals and people exhale.  Some suggest that nearby traps will help eliminate bugs of all types.  This is true.  If you confuse the insect or draw it away, your family may get more time outside.

While doing your part to save the earth, it may be helpful to know the benefits that come from a Greener environment at home.  The EPA warnings are now well known.  Indoor air quality is 5-6 times worse than outside air.  That being said, there are very few things that anyone has suggested beyond changing the cleaning products of the facility.  In fact, the process of identifying and making a few changes in the building is smart as well as practical.

There are twenty-four detoxification suggestion in a new book called, “Detoxify Your Home.”  The same ideas can apply to any building as well.  Candace Richmond R.N. offers the second in her Naturally Green Clean series.   This is a great addition to any home owner or business office.  The reasons are explained in the book, but suffice it to say that we pay a price in our health and employee productivity when it comes to the indoor air quality.

Candace Richmond also revised her first work, “Naturally Green Clean” to include the natural way to deter and eliminate pests as well.  The two books now offer one of best presentations applicable to Greening any operation.  The books can be found at www.NaturallyGreenClean.org allowing an immediate download of great information.

In a convenience-driven world, it is so much easier to grab whatever you need from the store shelf.  What is not being addressed is the long-term health impact of using chemically-based cleaning and household products.  Any discussion about how well the products work is a foregone conclusion.  Most popular products will do the job that they were designed to do.  So, it is just as well to ignore the hype and brag of brands promoted on the media.

Get NATURALLY GREEN CLEAN

Candace Richmond is a former RN and mother of three boys.  Like most people, she came to better information after struggling with health conditions that were made worse by common products around the house.  She has taken her years of research and experimentation to write a rather remarkable book.  This is nearly a encyclopedia of information compacted into about a 120 page book.  This is something to get and keep as a reference guide for Green cleaning in the home.

I’d also like to add that this $19.95 book will pay huge dividends beyond the health aspect.  All those commercial cleaning products are expensive.  Some suggest that more than 10% of your food bill goes into cleaning products.  Making your own cleaning products will not only protect the health of your home and family it will reduce your grocery store bill in a big way.

Naturally Green Clean has been recently revised to include pest control as well.  As she notes, we have been spraying low-level toxins in our homes and offices for years beleiving that the danger was infinitesimal.  Anyone reading the labels of cleaning and pest control product is forced to realize that the risk is actually substantial and frankly impending.  See: www.NaturallyGreenClean.org