This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Safe And Effective Natural Anti-Bug Remedies

 

Like many others, I am uncomfortable using commercial chemical insect repellents. While they may be effective in controlling ticks, mosquitoes and other pests which can annoy and transmit diseases, the safety of chemical anti-bug sprays have been questioned by scientists and citizens alike:

http://www.livescience.com/6687-bug-spray-dangerous.html

Find out what's happening in Plainfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Many people are chemical-sensitive or prefer not to use commercial chemical bug repellents. For those people, I have some information that is useful and practical.

For plants and shrubs that repel insects, it is suggested that these be grown around your home and patio.

Find out what's happening in Plainfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This is from The Homestead Survival blog, entitled "5 Easy-Growing Mosquito Repelling Plants” http://homesteadsurvival.blogspot.com/2012/04/5-easy-to-grow-mosquito-repelling.html

There are also essential oils that are effective against insects, including lavender oil, oil of citron, eucalyptus oil and others. Eucalyptus oil is cheap and available over the counter at Wal-Mart and Meijer. Puritans Pride has regular sales and a selection of natural essential oils to help combat insects without using chemicals:

http://www.puritan.com/

Cedarwood Oil (Cedar) is another natural insect repellent and is not only effective but pleasant smelling. This is rapidly becoming my favorite anti-bug remedy.

Many essential oils are safe for use on your pets to repel fleas and ticks, as well. You will need a few trigger sprayers and distilled or purified water to mix with the oils, shaking well and applying with a spray mist, avoiding eyes and mouth areas and apply a fine mist on neck region and coat, shaking trigger sprayer frequently so oils are mixed with water. 

For more information on natural insect repellents, visit this web site: http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/a/aa050503a.htm

To keep your home bug-free naturally and without chemicals, visit this web site:

http://www.make-stuff.com/formulas_&_remedies/home_&_hearth/insects.html

You may want to keep a few trigger sprayers containing diluted essential oils on hand for home and away from home outdoor activities. I keep one in my vehicle and recommend you do this, as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Visit us on the web at:

www.livegreen4less.com

Facebook: Live Green 4 Less

Pinterest: Live Green 4 Less

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?