Water | Resources
Nontoxic Fly Repellent
It’s getting to be that time of year where flies become a problem, so I thought I’d pass along this tip a reader sent me.
We went out with friends on Sunday for breakfast and sat in the patio section beside the house. We happened to notice zip lock baggies pinned to a post and a wall. The bags were half filled with water, each contained 4 pennies, and they were zipped shut. Naturally we were curious! Ms. Sweety told us that these baggies kept the flies away! So naturally we were even more curious! We actually watched some flies come in the open window, stand around on the window sill, and then fly out again. And there were no flies in the eating area! I checked this out on Google. Below are comments on this fly control.
Zip-lock water bags
Ann Says:
I tried the ziplock bag and pennies this weekend.. I have a horse trailer. The flies were bad while I was camping. I put the baggie with pennies above the door of the LQ. NOT ONE FLY came in the trailer. The horse trailer part had many. Not sure why it works but it does!
Danielle Martin Says:
Fill a ziplock bag with water and 5 or 6 pennies and hang it in the problem area. In my case it was a particular window in my home. It had a slight passage way for insects. Every since I have done that, it has kept flies and wasps away. Some say that wasps and flies mistake the bag for some other insect nest and are threatened.
Maggie Says:
I swear by the plastic bag of water. I have them on porch and basement. We saw these in Northeast Mo. at an Amish grocery store & have used them since. They say it works because a fly sees a reflection & won’t come around.
DJ Says:
Regarding the science behind zip log bags of water? My research found that the millions of molecules of water presents its own prism effect and given that flies have a lot of eyes, to them it’s like a zillion disco balls reflecting light, colors and movement in a dizzying manner. When you figure that flies are prey for many other bugs, animals, birds, etc., they simply won’t take the risk of being around that much perceived action. I moved to a rural area and thought these “hillbillies” were just yanking my city boy chain but I tried it and it worked immediately! We went from hundreds of flies to seeing the occasional one, but he didn’t hang around long.
I’m going to try this myself when the flies start coming out.
Allergy Suffers’ Guide to Spring Cleaning
I was interview for and quoted in this article on allergies and spring cleaning, so I thought I’d post it for you to read:
Dangerous Cosmetics in the News
Here’s an article from the Miami Herald talking about the dangers of toxic ingredients in cosmetic products:
After you read this, go to Debra’s List to see safe, natural and organic bodycare products.
Anew International
I saw a live demonstration of this product at the Natural Products Expo and I really liked it. You may have seen similar kits sold in malls that allow you to buff your nails to get a shiny polished look on your nails. This kit costs more, but it is a medical grade kit that actually makes your nails stronger and healthier in addition to giving them a beautiful shine. The shine also lasted longer than the cheaper kits. If you have a problem with split nails or cracking cuticles, this kit will help your nails heal naturally.
American Pride Paints
No-VOC paints are "Green Seal certified, are usually solvent-free (zero VOC), and never contain chemicals that are suspected carcinogens. This means that the indoor air remains free of harmful chemicals and odors thus providing a direct benefit to anyone that comes into contact with the products."
Water-based ink markers
Question from Annette Tweedel
Hi Debra,
I have tried looking for the water-based ink markers and cannot find them. What are they supposed to look like and are there different name brands? What does the package look like? The only markers we have are the toxic ones.
Debra’s Answer
There are different name brands and they depend on what kind of markers you are looking for. Crayola and Prang water-based markers for children are sold at drug and discount stores everywhere.
I have some fine-point Pentel Color Pens. The link I gave here is to a set sold at Staples, but I can often buy them individually at art supply stores.
My favorite water-based writing pen is Pilot Precise V5 Rolling Ball, which you can get at any office supply store like Staples or Office Depot.
When looking for art materials, look for the CP Nontoxic or AP Nontoxic seal. This indicates that the product has been reviewed by the Arts and Crafts Materials Institute and found to be nontoxic. Search their list of approved products at http://www.acminet.org/CPListSearch.html.
Topical Flea Treatments Harmful to Pets!!!
Question from TerryAnn
Being the dog lover that I am, I want to post this article about recent EPA reports regarding the harmful nature of topical pet flea treatments. Here is the link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35914331/ns/health-pet_health/
When you are putting one of these flea treatments on your pet, you are exposing him to pesticides!!! Your vet may tell you it is safe, but here we are many years into doing it, and the EPA is discovering it may be dangerous to their wellbeing. There are safer alternatives, perhaps a bit more effort, but in my opinion there is no amount of effort that is too much for my beloved pets.
Thank you Debra for providing a place for things like this.
Terry
Debra’s Answer
You’re welcome. Thank YOU for posting. 🙂
Mothproofed 100% wool blankets from the 50’s – are they still toxic ?
Question from vertemaman
Hello Debra ! I have a few 100% wool blankets from Ayers in Quebec that I inherited a long time ago that date back to the 50’s or 60’s. The tag says: Moth proof. I really loved these blankets as it is so hard nowadays to get such heavy and warm wool blankets (or if you do, you might have to pay 300$). Do you think they are still toxic, even after 50+ years to have in our home ?
thank you,
Debra’s Answer
I found a link that answers your question: http://knitting.about.com/od/yarn/f/mothproof.htm.
To paraphrase, it says the chemical used to mothproof wool is Mitin FF, which is added to the yarn in the dye bath. It adheres to the yarn in a similar way as the dye does. So, like dye, the chemical will not rub off or wash off in normal cleaning or dry cleaning. Mitin FF is a pesticide that works by killing the moth larvae when they ingest and digest the wool protein. So it doesn’t prevent moth larvae from eating your wool 100%, but it does stop them from doing a lot of damage.
Mitin FF has been used as a pesticide in the United States since 1948 and is used exclusively for mothproofing wool. It is considered to be “low to moderately toxic” and to have “low mammalian toxicity.”
I would venture to assume that your blankets are mothproofed with Mitin FF. Given that it was not very toxic to begin with, I would say there is little, if any, danger now.
Those “Silken” Tea Bags
Yesterday I had lunch with my friend Gloria and she ordered tea. It was Mighty Tea brand, and the tea came in one of those “silken” tea bags.
“What is this tea bag made of?” she asked. I didn’t know. But I found out this morning.
They are made of cornstarch. And they are 100% biodegradable.
Turns out that Mighty Tea originated those silken tea bags some years ago. While many other brands now use the silken bags, some use glue or staples to seal their bags while the Mighty Leaf pouches are stitched with an unbleached cotton string.
You can read more about the pouches at green and biodegradable packaging, and while you are there, check out their many organic teas.
American Environmental Health Foundation
Founded in 1975 by William J. Rea, M.D., AEHF is a nonprofit organization founded to do research and provide education about multiple chemical sensitivities. This is funded in part through proceeds from their on-line store, which carries nearly 1500 environmentally safe products for the home and office, including: organic cotton clothing and bedding, personal care products, pollutant detection kits, charcoal and ceramic masks, household cleaning products, vitamin and mineral supplements, ar filters and purifiers, safe paints, sealers, and stains, adhesives, water filtration systems and saunas.
