Toxic Free Bug Spray

24 Oct

Recently, I cleaned out my old worm farm. It had been neglected for a while and become more of a spider farm than a worm farm.

Spiders are my least favourite thing about gardening. I try to leave them alone or move them out of the way, but sometimes they get a little too close for comfort.

Before my big clean up, I gave the worm farm a shake every day and started hosing down everything in hope the spiders would get the hint and MOVE ON.

Unfortunately for me (and the spiders), they didn’t listen. I had 5 big spiders jump out and chase me across the lawn. Yep, I ran inside squealing and locked the door behind me.

I had to come up with a Plan B. Chemicals were out of the question. I didn’t want to harm the bees or the veggies growing in the garden AND I didn’t want to be breathing in all those toxins.

After doing some reading I put together a low-tox bug spray with ingredients I had around the house and, it actually WORKED!

Since then, I’ve kept a spray bottle full of the mixture, just in case. It also works as a surface spray, the essential oils are antibacterial and the dish liquid helps to remove stubborn stickiness #winwin

Chemical based sprays and cleaning products are not only harmful to bugs, they can hurt us too. Not always straight away, but over time, toxins build up in the body and cause all kinds of problems.

Often chemicals are only tested for safety as individual ingredients, not the chemical cocktails they are packaged as.

There are also no studies for the multiple chemicals we are exposed to every day. The body may be able to handle a bit of bug spray, but what happened when we add cleaning products, perfumes, scented candles, body care products, weed killers and pesticides from food, all in the one day? It’s a lot for the body to process.

Our toxic load is the accumulation of toxins and chemicals in our bodies. Exposure can be from food, drinks, cleaning products, the environment, medication, personal care and beauty products.

Reducing exposure to harmful chemicals is the first step in reducing our toxic load. As cleaning products or personal care products run out, we can replace them with a low-tox product or consider if we need them at all.

The next step is supporting our organics of elimination - Liver, bowels, skin, kidneys and lungs. Two simple ways are to drink more water, which I’ve written about here and coffee enemas, which I’ve written about here.

As a naturopath I can support you in reducing your toxic load as well as support and strengthen your organs of elimination. This can be done through diet, lifestyle practices, herbal medicine and nutritional supplements. There is also testing available to help determine levels of heavy metals in the body. If this something you are interested in, send me a message hello@kirstyking.com.au or book an appointment here.

Start looking at the chemical based products around your home and see where you can make swaps and changes. Here is my Toxic Free Bug Spray / Surface Spray.