Welcome to the Hotel Mosquito

Welcome to the Hotel Mosquito
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place) 
Pitty about that buzz in my face
Plenty of room at the Hotel Mosquito
Any time of year (Any time of year) 
You can find it here 
. . . . . 
You can check-out any time you like, 
But you can never leave! "

What you'll need to be the perfect host.

Plastic drink bottle (this is a 1.25lt), 1/2 cup of sugar, 1.5 cups sugar, 1tsp Yeast,sticky  tape, paper, craft knife, fishing line for hanging.
Cut the bottle near where it tapers for the neck. Invert the top inside the bottom.  Use the sticky tape to seal it. Dissolve Sugar in hot water and allow it to cool to 'warm' (about 32oC) before adding the yeast. Pour into bottle and poke holes for hanging.

Hang in a cool, dry place, away from your outdoor setting. The yeast releases Co2 which attracts the mozzies.  The reaction will last about 2 weeks and then you can load it up again. Get your neighbours involved and your BBQ's will be more comfortable.

Mozzie life cycle is about 2 weeks so keep it up for the summer.
http://www.mosquitoes.org/LifeCycle.html

Health Heat Pack from a Pair of Baby Jeans

Being a hoarder can have its upside, provided you're prepared to re-purpose items with sentimental value. Babys first jeans can make an excellent rice heat bag. A natural way to ease aching muscles.

Just make sure it is 100% natural fabric and take out any metal bits so it won't spark when you heat in the microwave.

National Recycling Week 12 to 18 November, do your bit to reduce the waste

Health Boost - Green Cleaning Style

Everyone in your house always seems sick but you are not sure why.

If you have ruled out any obvious cause, such as mold, then you can give your body and environment a once over with natural disinfectants.

Recently, a few people, myself included have been complaining that their family members are always coughing, sniffling or getting upset tummies. Now that it is spring, it might be time to have an inside and outside spring clean.

If you google 'Overall Health Boot' or 'natural immunity boosters' you'll get either heaps of commercial products or 'drink water, exercise and think happy thoughts' solutions. These are great but if you are doing them already what next?

Here are a few things that will make your environment hostile to bugs and healthier for you.  I have linked to scientific papers backing up my home remedy theories.

Probotics - antimicrobal and keeps the gut slippery so bad bacteria can't hook on, combined with fibre and water, probotics help keep your system efficient.
Clove Oil - kills  a range of illness causing microbes including whooping cough bacteria, SARS, MRSA, black mold, bathroom mold, wipe on shoes for storage,
Clove Buds - chew to kill microbes in your mouth and gut.
Lavender Oil - anti bacterial add to room spray and surface wipe, add to floor cleaning water, vacuum filter and oil burner. Any airborne bugs will be wiped out.
Tea Tree Oil - spray in hair to kill nits, soak feet in for fungus.
Bicarb of Soda - should be top of the list! It is totally food safe and anti fungal and anti bacterial. It also leaves the environment hostile to regrowth. Apply to bathroom walls, fridges, shoes, soak water bottles and lunch boxes in it.
Vinegar: spray 25/70 solution of vinegar and water as an antibacterial surface wipe, combine with bicarb as a degreaser (superb oven cleaner and soap scum mover)
Neem Oil - haven't used it but is it supposed to be a good insecticide, lice and  fleas are hopping at this time of the year.
Sunshine - It is free and drys out flea eggs, put your dishcloths out in the sun to dry between uses.

Areas you might not think of as harboring bugs;
*Clean your hairbrush, door handles, water bottles with boiling water, clove oil and sunshine.
*Treat your family to new tooth brushes and wash the holder out with clove oil solution.
*Clean anything going away for storage, wipe with clove oil solution and put some bicarb in a container with holes poked in.
*Go to your dentist and get your teeth cleaned.

Reuse and recycle to make Home Made Products
Spice or Flour Shaker: put some bicarb of soda to combine with the vinegar solution spray
Spray Bottle: 25/70 solution of vinegar and water (remember it is corrosive so neutralise with bicarb and wash off metals)
Squeeze Sauce Bottle: make your own cream cleanser
Film Canister: Poke holes in lid and fill with bicarb as a fridge refresher.
Take Away Food Container: poke holes in lid and fill with bicarb as a wardrobe dehumidifier.
Small cosmetic spray bottles: put a few drops of clove oil in water to have a handbag size antimicrobal air and surface spray.

I was not even looking for this but came up in my research for the rest of my post. I'll leave you to your own conclusions when you see commercial products that try to sway you with their scientific claims.

Effectiveness of common household cleaning agents in reducing the viability of human influenza A/H1N1

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:

. . . . . . . Importantly, however, our findings indicate that it is possible to use common, low-technology agents such as 1% bleach, 10% malt vinegar, or 0.01% washing-up liquid to rapidly and completely inactivate influenza virus. Thus, in the context of the ongoing pandemic, and especially in low-resource settings, the public does not need to source specialized cleaning products, but can rapidly disinfect potentially contaminated surfaces with agents readily available in most homes.

Ridding the Ants or No more ants in my Pantry

Come here honey and I'll try not to borax you.  The picture says it all.  But, if you are viewing this in text, I'll spell it out for you.  Honey attracts and borax and kills the ants. They bring their 'poison apple' back to the queen and take down the whole show. 

Just mix up some borax in the honey and place in a lid (I used a gravy tin lid). Leave where you see lots of ant activity. If it gets licked clean then add some more. After a week or so you might want to stir it up. After two weeks you can get rid of it. Caution around kids and animals, it wouldn't be too healthy for them to ingest.

Even Angels Cause Trouble

Picture this, Fresh painted wall, a 3 year old budding picasso, red texta (marker/felt tip) that proves to be not washable. The bicarb didn't work, the vinegar spray didn't work, the orange oil kinda moved it but the eucalyptus removed it and a small bit of the paint tool.  As a bonus, the fumes cleared my sinus.

'Mummy'  by Jade Walsh Age 3 (non-washable, washable texta on acrylic)

Reducing Chemicals in my Environment

Reducing chemicals in my environment became important to me 3 years ago being pregnant with my first child.  

The obvious substitutes were bicarb of soda and vinegar. I have since added laundry soap, washing soda, borax and essential oils. Have also reduced what I put on my body, finding that mineral salts works better than deodrant. It has been difficult to find scientific backing to what I have found to work, expecially on those pesky microbes, so I'm hoping to be able to dig up some resources. Most resources I have found on the internet have been from companies selling their products which gets my backup for a start.  11 months ago Green Cleaning burst onto the FB arena and swiftly picked up 30 likers, 8 of them in this week.

Why would you play $8.99kg for a product that does the same thing as a $2.89kg product. Because of it's environmental claims? The first one has Eco in the name and the second has Homebrand. Both of them have Sodium Pericarbonate as the active ingredient, neither of them have added phosphorous, the cheaper one has enzymes which could cause irritation for some people with allergies.

If you have skin allergies you might consider your own basic washing powder, so that you know what is in it. BTW 60% of both products is made up of bicarb of soda anyway.