We Live In The Country!: Earthkind: #1 Pest Prevention and NATURAL!

Earthkind's Natural Pest Repellents

Thanks to Tryazon, a great sampling program, I recently had the opportunity to discover and test Earthkind's natural pest repellents, and host a "Facebook Live" party for them, and I have to say that my husband and I are Very impressed with their products! Our inn (and home), the Elkhorn Inn & Theatre, is in Extremely Rural southern West Virginia, and pests have always been an issue "out here in the boonies"- in great measure because we cannot and will not use toxic, poisonous pesticides in our home/inn or on ourselves or our pets. We have pets, as well as guests with children, and we live here, and do not want to be constantly exposed to poisons, or risk our pets being poisoned. And so our options for pest control have been limited, and until we found Earthkind's products, not terribly successful. Every place has its share of pests: in NYC it was cockroaches and water bugs, in Florida No-See-Ums and Palmetto Bugs, in Israel it was giant, flying Egyptian "scarab" cockroaches... But West Virginia really takes the cake in the Pest Department: Some of the many pests we have had to deal with in our rural area for the last 19 years include: rodents, spiders, and moths, as well as pantry bugs, "stink bugs", "Ladybug Beetles", ticks, skeeters, chiggers, Japanese Beetles, and many others! The only "natural" and successful pest solution we ever had were our two rescue kitties, Caramel and Butterscotch, who were natural mousers, and who kept our building free of that issue for years, but our new kitty, Miss Chex, is NOT a mouser! (She's a wonderful, sweet, and loving critter, but she has No Clue how to be a cat...) So we spent a Lot of money on "electronic" rodent repellents that did Not work, and used traps with only limited success: when the clever mice literally ate the bait out of our traps, DIY Dan created a weighted, spring "diving board" over a bucket of water, but even that didn't work: the little monsters figured out how to get to the bait without tripping the diving board! And the problem with traps is that if they Are successful, you then have to deal with Dead Pests, which is NOT fun... We just want them all to STAY AWAY! So when I discovered Earthkind's "Stay Away" products, via Tryazon, and had the opportunity to learn about and test their products I jumped at the chance!
Earthkind's products are made with Essential Oils, so they not only work- and are GUARANTEED TO WORK- they smell GREAT!

Today I officially joined 2020, LOL, and did my very first "Facebook Live Party" for Earthkind, and it was a success! In the process of setting up for the party and trying Earthkind's products, I learned a lot, not only about the products, and how to best use them, but also how to keep places as free of pests as possible.
Earthkind currently has 5 products: Stay Away Rodent, Stay Away Spiders, Stay Away Ants, Stay Away Moths, and Stay Away Mosquitoes- but they actually work to keep more than just those pests away!
Stay Away Rodent is made with Balsam Fir Oil, and, as with all the Stay Away pouches, one packet will last from 1-3 months; when the scent diminishes, you know it's time to replace it. If you use their hanging Pouch Pod you can extend the life of the pouches, as the oils will evaporate slower. I learned from Earthkind that the scent of dog food is THE Number One attractant for rodents, and that putting dog food - and, actually, all foods- in a sealed container (as opposed to the boxes and bags they come in) will help reduce the problem!
Stay Away Spiders is made with Rosemary, Lemongrass, and Citronella Oils, and so it smells great, too! Earthkind suggests using one pouch per entryway, or two per room, and putting them in places where spiders like to hang out. I also learned from Earthkind that vibrations from music will help to keep your place spider-free- so crank up the radio! :-)
Stay Away Ants is made with Lemongrass, Peppermint, and Thyme Oils, and you use one pouch per cupboard. Stay Away Ants has ALSO been used to keep German and American Cockroaches at bay- and they are a Huge problem in places like NYC!
Stay Away Moths is made with Cedarwood and Geranium Oils, and Geraniol, and you use one pouch per storage container or closet. We've lost more sweaters and other woolens to moths than I can count, so discovering Stay Away Moths was HUGE for us!

Stay Away Mosquitoes is Earthkind's spray-on insect repellent, and it also works for ticks, biting flies, chiggers, and gnats, and has been used to keep no-see-ums away, too! It's made with Picaridin, a safe insect repellent that can be used by pregnant women and children. I will Definitely be using this in our garden this summer, and when we go ATVing to pick berries, as I am usually eaten alive by chiggers and skeeters, and constantly picking ticks of of us and our pets...

Earthkind's Blog has LOTS of great info on keeping pests at bay: https://www.earthkind.com/blog/

Since this party was all about bugs, I decided to make some Bug-Themed Appetizers and Drinks, to keep everyone amused, at least virtually: Tomato Ladybugs, two kinds of Mozzarella Mice, and a Spider Cocktail:

Tomato Ladybugs

Mozzarella Mice

Mozzarella Ball Mice

My Spider Cocktail & "Stay Away Spiders"

Click here to see my "Facebook Live" presentation- it gets good at about the 5 minute mark, after I figured out what I was doing, LOL: https://www.facebook.com/822334729/videos/10158336443609730/