Keep Your House Pest-Free Without Chemicals

May 31st, 2009 | No Comments | Posted in Health Research

We all love visitors, just not visitors that are bugs, rodents and other pests. No one wants flies, ants, mice or any other creepy crawly pest in their homes. Sometimes we are so desperate to get rid of these pests we do not consider the harmful effects of the chemicals we are using. We can be putting ourselves, our families and our animals in danger without realizing it.

Pesticides are effective in killing all kinds of pests they but can also be dangerous to people and animals. For example, insecticides kill bugs by attacking the nervous system. They can also affect the nervous system of people and animals, which can be dangerous. Rat poison is usually full of anticoagulants that do not allow blood in the body to clot. The way the rats die is from internal bleeding. Humans and animals who come in contact with rat poison can have a similar problem.

Pesticides and other chemicals are hazardous to us and our animals. You can get rid of pests without dangerous chemicals. Here are some suggestions:

  • Keep pests from wanting to come into your home by keeping your house as clean as possible. You can have a perfectly clean house and still have pests but you reduce your risk significantly by keeping it clean. Leaving crumbs and bits of food on the floor or on your counters is an open invitation to bugs, mice and other pests. Put your pet’s food away every night to keep pests out of your house and never leave open food containers on the counters.
  • Close up any openings that pests could come in. Usually, pests like mice and bugs get in through small openings like those around the pipes near the exterior of your home and at baseboards. Make sure all these places are sealed.
  • Make sure your windows have screens in them so you don’t let flying pests in the house.
  • Try natural home remedies for keeping pests out of your house. For example, borax will keep roaches from coming into your home and things like pepper, coffee grounds, chalk and charcoal are thought to prevent ants from entering your home.
  • Don’t let fleas take up residence in your home. Keep them at bay with frequent vacuuming and watch your pets for signs of a flea problem. To keep fleas off your pets, try rinsing them with an herbal remedy made up of rosemary boiled in 2 cups of water and strained and cooled. Spray this on your pets and fleas will stay away from them and stay out of your home.
  • Put out traps for mice and rats. The most affordable traps are those that snap and kill the pests. If you want the more humane approach, you can spend more on live traps but make sure you don’t let the pests out anywhere near your home or they will come right back.
  • Work on your lawn regularly so you do not need chemicals to keep it looking good. Aerating and mowing frequently along with letting grass clippings naturally fertilize your yard are easy things to do.

While products with chemicals will get rid of the pests in your home, they will also put you and your family at risk so they are not worth it. You can naturally control pests without using chemicals if you are willing to do the work.

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Lawn Chemicals and Your Pet — A Bad Combination

May 24th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted in Health Research

You don’t have to be a scientist to figure out that there are a lot of dangerous chemicals out there. The warning labels on chemicals in your home tells you all the things you should not do with the product. If you are smart, you will follow their recommendations. What you might not think about is how these chemicals affect your pets.

Most household chemicals are not in areas accessible to your pets but the chemicals you use on your lawn definitely are. Chances are your dogs or cats go out to your lawn and play every so often. The chemicals on your lawn can be dangerous for your pets.

Dangerous Pesticides

Lawn chemicals used to kill bugs and other pests are called pesticides. A lot of people use insecticides and herbicides and both are dangerous to your animals. Insecticides work so well because they damage the nervous system of the insects. In most cases, the insecticides you put on your lawn are not going to be deadly for you or your animals but they can be dangerous to the nervous system. Most of the time, we do not get pesticides close enough to us to be harmed but don’t forget your pets roll and play in your lawn so they are exposed to a lot more of the pesticides.

You may use herbicides to kill the weeds in your yard and keep it looking good. The herbicides work so well on weeds because of the active ingredient which is 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2-4-D). Agent Orange, which was used in previous wars like the Vietnam War, also had this dangerous chemical in it. The veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange often have severe health problems. Dogs are especially susceptible to the dangers of 2-4-D and it may increase their likelihood of developing cancer.

Inert Ingredients

While we know that the active ingredients in pesticides can do harm to humans and animals, we sometimes forget about the inert ingredients. Things like cadmium, toluene and hydrocarbons found in pesticides can be left of pesticide labels so some people do not know that they are even in there in the first place.

Fertilizers

Fertilizers are usually safer than pesticides when it comes to your animals. While fertilizers are without the dangerous chemical ingredients, they do have a lot of heavy metals like iron which can be dangerous for animals.

Products like “weed and feed” are a combination of fertilizers and pesticides. This combination holds a particularly large danger for your animals because a lot of people are not aware of the presence of dangerous chemicals. You need to carefully study the ingredients of anything you apply to your lawn to avoid hurting your pets.

Pets really need a natural lawn with no pesticides or other dangerous chemicals or metals. If you have to use these products, make sure you find one that is relatively safe for animals and make sure your pets do not go on the lawn for a few days after you treat it with any sort of chemical product. You want a nice lush green lawn but you also want healthy pets so you need to be careful what products you use.

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