What do you and your family do to protect against biting bugs? Do you rely on insect repellents with harmful DEET and other toxic ingredients? If you are concerned and worried about chiggers, fleas, gnats, mosquitoes, ticks and other biting bugs causing annoyance, irritation and health issues this post is for you. With summer in full swing now is a great time to focus on even more strategies for helping your family stay happy and healthy. If you are committed to being healthy and protecting your family from harmful bug bites and toxins this blog post will provide some great solutions, strategies, and suggestions. Unfortunately, too many people do not understand the real risks or shameful safety standards regarding insecticides and insect repellents. Unfortunately, too many companies with powerful financial funding and a put profit before people’s health mentality are telling us to use harmful insecticides and insect repellents without educating people on the long-term environmental and health risks. There are too many unanswered questions about the long-term environmental, health and safety consequences from using insect repellents and insecticides. Remember caveat emptor (which translates to buyer beware). All insecticides and insect repellents have safety warnings but most people never bother to read them and this is a dangerous delusion of damaging long-term consequences.

MosquitoPrevious blog posts have addressed the importance of avoiding all products with harmful chemicals and compounds in the ingredients which can harm you or the environment. Too many people continue to buy and use these toxic products without comprehending the serious environmental damage and health hazards caused by insect poisons and repellents around the world. There are so many books and documentaries covering the education, information, and insights regarding the dark side of the chemical insecticides and insect repellents industries that put company profits before the health of people and the planet. If you care about your self and family be sure to read the warnings and avoid the toxic ingredients and to protect your health and well being.

Many people are allowing their long-term health and quality of life to be harmed by a lack of awareness about the health hazards of insecticides and insect repellents. The education, information, and misinformation most people are receiving covers up the real harm to our environment and health by painting a deceptively rosy picture about bug control without the true consequences and cost involved. We cannot depend on government agencies that have become complacent, confused, and corrupted by money to protect us. It is up to us to be better educated and help share the message to help more people stop the poison and start being smart regarding product ingredients, safety, and toxin potential.

With a little basic education, common sense and health information, we will all be able to make better choices and decisions regarding our health. If your health and wealth are high priorities it is essential to make smart decisions about which products to avoid and which products to buy. The goal of this blog post is to educate and inform readers about better choices to protect against biting bugs.

Insecticides and Insect Repellents

Bug RepellentIt should be no surprise that insecticides and insect repellents made with toxic chemicals are a significant risk to our environment and health. Any synthetic chemical or compound that is toxic enough to kill or repel insects is also going to be toxic to animals, babies, bees, birds, and butterflies. A strong insecticide with high DEET content actually caused a synthetic fabric shirt of mine to melt at the application sites. Yikes! Once we starting using toxic chemicals to kill and repel insects we alter the balance of our environment and Mother Nature. Once the damage is done there may be no going back. Messing with Mother Nature is a recipe for disaster and many species are becoming extinct due to our misguided choices. These dangerous chemicals and synthetic compounds, directly and indirectly, affect our environment, health and well being. The mass quantities of chemical insecticides, pesticides and repellents is polluting our air, bodies, food, land, and waters. The toxic chemical and compounds in insecticides and repellents could be a contributing factor for many hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars spent on chronic health issues. Our health is our wealth and many people are using harmful insecticides and insect repellents that can take both.

Health Hazards

Treating food, gardens, homes, people, plants, and yards with chemical insecticides or insect repellent could be considered chemical warfare and a crime against humans and Mother Nature.  Unfortunately, at homes, parks, schools and work people and pets are being slowly poisoned by toxic chemicals often without awareness. We have been brainwashed by advertisements, commercials, and government agencies to believe insecticides and insect repellents can kill or repel bugs without harming us which is a dangerous deception. Our body and microbiome is made up of an elaborate matrix of organisms that affects every other cell in our body. Many companies are making big bucks by making insecticides and insect repellents with toxic ingredients. Thanks to the power of independent information sources and the internet we are able to educate and inform ourselves with a wealth of information on holistic health and natural products. While it can take an investment of time to read, research and review resources to become educated on natural health choices the hard work has already been done for us.

Health Habits

  • Essential oilsAvoid using harmful insecticides and insect repellents with toxic ingredients. DEET may be one of the worst.
  • Buy organic products to support farmers who grow foods without toxic chemicals.
  • Avoid foods grown with the harmful herbicides, insecticides, and pesticides.
  • Decide to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Buy and invest in natural, organic and sustainable products.
  • Every penny you invest/spend is a vote for healthy or unhealthy product choices. Read ingredients… choose wisely.
  • Bare skin is a biting bugs invitation for a fresh meal. Always carry, pack and wear the perfect protection: a bandana and hat, light-colored long pants and long sleeve shirts if biting bugs may be a problem. Boots, gloves and mosquito nets can offer additional protection. Bites can easily become infected if scratched so avoid and treat bites properly. Calcium bentonite clay and tea tree oil are a must for first aid.
  • Copy Mother Nature and let the bats, birds, frogs, lizards, spiders, and toads eat the insects. Maybe a bug zapper will help.
  • Some essential oils and plants naturally repel biting bugs and insect pests. Try citronella, lemongrass, lemon, lime, and peppermint.
  • Did you know there are DIY traps for biting bugs, mosquitoes, and pests? What a great science project to teach our kids.
  • Remember: the spray you may breathe or put on your skin is absorbed as if you ate it. Choose wisely… poison is still poison.

Healthy Habits & Habitats

In 2018 Morningstar NEWS will focus 50% on Healthy Habits and 50% on Healthy Habitats. Researching and role modeling proven principles for a fantastic future drives us to share these words with wisdom. Our vision is attracting a wide variety of eco-friendly people to help design, build and live in a more healthy and sustainable way. We invite ideas, insights, and inspiration to help us focus our planning and progress. Sharing solutions, strategies, suggestions, and systems will help us all design and develop better eco-communities and transition towns.

Where is Your Gap?

What actions, behaviors, beliefs, and decisions regarding your habits and habitats are impacting your happiness and health? What is your motivation for making better choices to avoid health hazards and adopt healthy habits? Investing in our health helps protect our wealth. When we are happy, healthy and holistic we naturally shift to a more sustainable ecological, economical and environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Mastery Action Plan (MAP)

Our daily habits and habitats directly impact our happiness and health. There are many reasons to avoid insecticides and insect repellents to remain happy and healthy. What are you willing to do differently today to embrace better choices in 2018? Creating a healthy habits code of conduct and mastery action plan will enhance our quality of life. Our happiness and health benefit from healthy challenges, changes, and choices. Choose wisely.

Call to Action

What comments, commitments or concerns come to mind regarding healthy habits and habitats?

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