Summer is not the only thing in full swing right now. If you live anyplace except a desert, you're likely to be plagued by mosquitoes.

 

I hate the little buggers - but I hate putting toxic pesticides on my body even more, even if they do a great job keeping mosquitoes at bay.  I decided to test three botanically-based options against a conventional repellent that uses DEET as its main ingredient and see if I could come up with a safer alternative.

 

I lined up Burt's Bees, essential lavender oil, vanilla extract out of my pantry, and DEET-based Cutter. I've used Buzz Away in the past, and found that it worked for about half an hour at a time, so didn't re-test it this time around.

I sprayed one leg with Burt's Bees and the other leg with Cutter, which contains 21.85% DEET. I rubbed about a half-teaspoon of vanilla extract on my left arm, and dotted my right arm with the lavender essential oil. Then I went down to my very buggy garden to test the effectiveness of each repellent.

 

To my surprise, the mosquitoes swarmed to the leg that was sprayed with Burt's Bees (see left - somewhat blurry picture of mosquito biting my leg).  Nothing at all alit anywhere else (see mosquito-free arm, right).

 

So, on the herbal side, at least for me, vanilla extract and essential oil of lavender worked as well at keeping biting bugs at bay as did the Cutter, and far better than Burt's Bees.

 

 Certainly, the results were convincing enough that I would recommend you making your own mosquito repellent at home. It's easy to combine a few drops of essential oils and some rubbing alcohol or water in a small spray bottle.

 

Here are more specific directions, along with additional background information on problems associated with using DEET, and recommendations on other botanically-based repellents you can try.

 

My drinking glasses have been taking a beating. I've been using a non-phosphate based, powder detergent in the dishwasher, which minimizes pollution when the water goes down the drain.

 

But over time, the glasses have gotten very cloudy. They're still free of germs and muck when they're finished washing, but they're so cloudy, they look dirty even when they complete the entire dishwashing cycle.

 

I tried rinsing them in vinegar, to no avail. Then it occurred to me to try...toothpaste. I use toothpaste to clean my jewelry; why not my drinking glasses?

 

* I dabbed an old toothbrush with my day-to-day toothpaste (you can probably use whatever you have around the house). 

 

* I wet the brush slightly then gently scrubbed the glass for about a minute.

 

* When the entire glass had been scrubbed, I rinsed it under moderately hot water.

 

* Voila. A sparkling clean glass.

 

Now, I'm off to the store to find a no-phosphate gel dishwasher detergent. Let me know if you have any recommendations.