How to get rid of insects naturally at home

The number of chemical pest control options have increased rapidly over the years due to their efficacy in deterring insects. But most of the synthetic chemicals used for these pest control products are extremely harmful to humans and other animals. Natural pest control can be just as effective, if not more, at repelling cockroaches, flies, silverfish, moths, and other insects in and around your home. Here are four natural household insect repellents that are safe to use in your home to help you get rid of insects.

Peppermint oil

The essential oil, Peppermint oil, is a great alternative to the mainstream harsh chemical and plastic-laden pest control options. The major chemical compounds found in peppermint oil include terpene, alcohol and menthol. Each one is a natural fumigant through smell.  The smell receptors of insect and rodent pick up on the compounds and are repelled effectively.

How to use Peppermint oil: Apply at least 5 drops of peppermint oil to each cotton ball and place in various locations around the house. This will repel insects and rodents. Place the oil in areas where rodents get inside your home such as small cracks in the wall, doorways and windowsills. It’s important for them to detect the smell before entry. It masks the pheromone trail of rodent excreta that then attracts other rodents and shows them the ‘pathways’ in your home. Refresh the cotton balls at least once a month.

Huon Pine

Huon Pine has been used in Tasmania as a pest deterrent for more than 150 years, so it’s safe to say it works! Linii Huon Pine has a scent that naturally repels insects, like silverfish, moths, fleas and mites. Although it won’t kill pests or solve any infestations, it will stop them nesting in the area. This makes it great for the wardrobe and kitchen cupboard.  

How to use Huon Pine:  The sale of the protected species, Huon Pine is highly regulated and these ancient trees must be protected.   Linii makes sachets filled with huon shavings that are left over after furniture making from stockpiled Huon pine.  Sachets are placed in your cupboards and linen storage boxes.

You can also protect your pet from itchy bites with Huon Pine as it naturally repels fleas. Sprinkle some inside the cover of your animal’s bed or with fresh hay when cleaning a cage. 

Sandalwood

Burning sandalwood replaces the need to burn citronella candles made from paraffin and toxic mosquito coils which contain a combination of chemicals including various pyrethroids. When burnt mosquito coils release numerous suspected and known human carcinogens including aldehyde, formaldehyde, small particles and several benzene derivatives. Some coils can contain Octachlorodipropylether (S-2) which expose humans to bis-chloromethyl ether (BCME), an extremely intoxicating lung carcinogen.

The harvesting of Sandalwood is also regulated in Australia.  The spiritual, therapeutic and healing properties of sandalwood have been recognised for thousands of years, and it is a native species that grows in the arid regions of Western Australia. 

How to use Sandalwood for mosquitos: burn Australian-made sandalwood sticks from New Mountain, that contain no other fillers or harmful propellents.

Sandalwood is an effective natural repellent and provides a safe alternative to mosquito coils. Essential oils such as lemon eucalyptus, geranium, soybean, citronella, fennel, thyme, clove oil, celery extract, neem oil and picaridin are also effective at repelling mosquitos.  

 

Red cedar

Red cedar wood blocks are an effective moth deterrent and a safe alternative to chemical moth balls. The pleasant natural cedar aroma will deter moths without harmful chemicals.

The heavy scent of the oil from cedar is said to mask the smell of the wool and fabrics so that the moths is not attracted to lay their eggs.  

How to use Red cedar:  Place wooden blocks in your cupboards and pack away with you winter woollens.  Over time, cedar blocks can lose their scent, so red cedar oil is available to refresh the moth-repelling effectiveness. 

Related Articles:  The Looming Health Hazards of Chemical Repellents 

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Evohe palm oil free skin care

In her early 20s, Meghan Forrester dabbled in the luxury skincare market and discovered some ugly truths about the industry which made her to question her whole philosophy on life. She decided to give away all of her possessions and live a simple life in the hills of Northern New South Wales - a complete contrast to the bleached hair, red lipstick and high heels that once made up Meghan’s costume.

Fast forward 20 years and you will find Meghan in clothes that can be napped in, shoes that can be danced in, and she’s grateful for messy buns being on-trend. With her warm and engaging presence, Meghan inspires real and uplifting conversations. She believes that life is too short to muck around with faking it, comparing, competing or being hard on ourselves. “It’s all about relationships, being an authentic participant in life and celebrating every moment,” says Meghan.

Meghan infuses this passion into her natural, palm oil free skincare company, Evohe, which she started over 10 years ago with her late husband, Barry Forrester. Evohe epitomises the groundbreaking feats that are possible when two or more people of like mind, join together and dedicate themselves to creating a tomorrow more beautiful and radiant than today. “When we began Evohe, we didn’t want to conform to what every other natural skin care brand was doing,” says Meghan. “We observed practices that weren’t ethical. Tricks of the trade that meant you could avoid declaring preservatives, and underhanded methods that consumers would never know about – but we would,” she said. Meghan believes the world now wants powerful, innovative natural skin care – not empty promises. “Consumers are tired of airbrushed marketing campaigns and endless lists of unpronounceable chemical ingredients.”  

Evohe skin care is a revolution in natural and luxurious skin care that joins a new generation of independent businesses that are serious about an evolution in ethical and sustainable business practices, and the production of quality, natural skincare products that have minimal impact on the environment. Each product is handmade with love in Australia using the best available Australian extracts. All ingredients are carefully selected to ensure they are high quality and potent with the power to completely nurture the body.

 Being palm oil free products is very important to Evohe.

“Mother Nature is an incredible treasure chest of natural ingredients – in fact, she really has done all the hard work for us,” says Meghan. The ingredients used in Evohe skin care are formulated with minimal processing to remain bioactive. This ensures each formulation has an active and potent effect on skin tissue and cells, and works to plump, nourish and hydrate. “Ingredients matter a lot to us and our customers. It’s our mission to formulate the highest quality, most nutritious and purest skin care and cosmetics so you can nourish your skin in the safest and healthiest way possible. We do this by vehemently avoiding cheap, harmful skincare ingredients that should never be found on the skin,” she said.

It’s important for Meghan that customers trust everything about Evohe. For every extract, raw material and essence that goes into an Evohe product, Meghan and her team conduct an extensive supplier audit, ensuring their ethics, sourcing methods and day-to-day actions in business are aligned with the Evohe Conscious Living Checklist. “We have abandoned many opportunities that made good business sense on paper, for collaborators and suppliers whose main concern was the bigger picture not just the bottom line,” she said.

At every stage of Evohe’s evolution, Meghan has steadfastly held to her values. “Many times, it would have been easier to go with a cheaper, less effective ingredient. Even when faced with seemingly no option but to compromise, we’ve resolutely held our ground,” says Meghan. In the process, Meghan has discovered groundbreaking ways to create more efficacious, kinder skin care. “When you use Evohe, you know unequivocally, that the true cost of your beautiful, glowing skin, really does begin and end with the price tag.”

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The Benefits of Natural DIY Skincare

Since when did skincare, even natural skin care, become so complicated. From anti-aging creams to pore minimising serums, we lather ourselves in creams, oils, scrubs and treatments promoting dubious claims but at the end of the day, are we just giving away our money to large profit driven companies?

Preying on people’s vulnerabilities and insecurities is an age-old marketing tactic that rakes in billions of dollars for global and Australian profit driven skin and beauty care corporations, for which most people fall victim to their marketing hype, fancy advertising campaigns and costly celebrity endorsements. We are promised eternal youth by big brands and fork out thousands of dollars for products with dubious claims in the hope of looking younger, but what we are truly paying for is the expensive promotional campaigns and not just the skin care products themselves.

A Global Industry Analysts report estimates the global anti-aging products market will peak at $120 billion by 2030. The multi-national corporations producing these products don’t truly care about you, your health or the environment. They only care about developing the next ‘miracle cream’ to boost their bottom line. Their products are mostly made from synthetic ingredients and are mass produced - some still test on animals.  

They present pseudo-scientific claims that make the product benefits believable to most people, increasing sales and demand, and because it’s a billion-dollar industry with mutually dependent industries such as manufacturing, retail and advertising, these claims are often misleading and rarely questioned or tested. The most empowering thing you can do as an independent consumer is to stop using the commercial skin care products and start making your own natural skin care products at home.

Biome's Naked Beauty Bar to make your own natural skin care products was formulated to combat this issue and offer a natural and environmentally friendly alternative to chemical produced products. 

The Naked Beauty Bar takes a back to basics approach, allowing you to truly understand the ingredients in your products. Instead of purchasing expensive creams produced by global brands, you can make your own at home from a few simple natural ingredients. From lip balm and body scrub to natural deodorant and toothpaste, you can make various beauty products from naturally derived ingredients including clay, salt, avocado oil, ground coffee, shea and cocoa butter, honey, vinegar, sugar, soap berries, charcoal, essential oils, petals and herbs. These ingredients possess beneficial properties that nourish and heal the skin naturally. 

Don’t fall victim to large corporations elaborate promotional campaigns and pseudoscientific claims. Save money by making your own natural skin care products at home.

There is a growing trend to market 'special skin care' to the tween age or pre-teens (10 to 12 years old).   It really is unnecessary to introduce children so young to a skin care routine with special packaged tween skin care such as cleaners and moisturisers.  It is good for tweens to use gentle cleaners (such as a natural moisturising hand made olive oil soap) and washer. Tweens rarely need a moisturiser, but should wear a sunscreen on days they will be outside.


Related: Natural toxin free deodorant; Cutting chemicals out of cosmetics; What is in your sunscreen?  How to Nourish Your Body with Hemp Oil

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How to compost

Composting is a rewarding planet-friendly activity that creates a closed loop in your own home by turning food scraps into rich nutrients for your garden. Reduce landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions by learning to compost your household food scraps using composting, Bokashi or a worm farm.

Garden Composting

You can set up an outdoor garden compost heap without any special equipment by creating a designated heap in your backyard; though if you want something a bit more contained, you can purchase a compost bin.

Balance your carbon and nitrogen (which makes a successful compost) by including a mixture of high nitrogen “green” matter (fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and grass clippings) and high carbon “brown” matter (leaves, straw and shredded paper). If you have excess carbon, decomposition slows down. If you have excess nitrogen, you will end up with a stinky pile. A recommended ratio of carbon to nitrogen for an outside compost pile is 25:1, so 25 brown parts to every 1 green part.

Good For: Those who have a medium or large backyard and create lots of food scraps or organic garden matter.

Build a compost heap > add scraps + brown matter > water > mix > wait > add to garden

Bokashi

A Bokashi is a compact 1.5 litre bucket that uses microbes to ferment and decompose waste. The fermentation process does not produce smells and can be used on almost all foods including dairy, meat and fish. The Bokashi bucket tap allows you to drain the excess liquid as you fill it up which you can use to fertilise your garden, clean drains and break down waste in septic tank systems.

Good For: Those who have limited or no outdoor space but still want to quickly decompose food waste.

Bokashi bin > add scraps + Bokashi powder > drain liquid > fill bin > bury contents in garden

Worm farm

Worm farms are a low maintenance and fun way to dispose of your organic waste. You can set up a worm farm in a wheelie bin, or there are kits and DIY options available. All you need to grow your worm farm is food waste and a weekly watering, the worms will take care of the rest. The worms used in worm farms aren’t common earthworms – they are compost worms, usually either red, blue or tiger worms. The castings and diluted worm juice can be used for garden fertiliser.

Good For: Those who have a balcony, or shady outdoor area and want a low maintenance option. Worm farms flourish both inside and out and don’t take up too much space.

Worm farm bin > add scraps > water weekly > drain liquid > bury castings in garden

Check out a Beginners Guide to Composting here

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