Knowledge Weighs Nothing

Homemade Bushcraft/Frontier Knife Made From A File/Rasp — No Forge Required – Simple Tools Only

Homemade Knife

Mora Knives aside, it can be difficult to find an affordable, quality bushcraft type survival knife. Mora knives are very cheap and very highly regarded, but they are not full-tang knives, which means the blade steel does not travel through to the end of the handle. A full-tang knife is always preferable as it is much stronger, and even if the handle breaks, the remaining steel shaft can be wound with paracord or replaced. If the knife is not full-tang and the handle breaks, the knife is all but useless.

So what’s the answer? Well, you can try your luck with cheap full-tang knives, or you can easily make your own bespoke full-tang bushcraft knife from a metal file. The excellent video tutorial below from Outdoor Boys YouTube channel (I highly recommend subscribing! They put out some amazing video tutorials) shows how to make a homemade full-tang, high-quality knife from an old file/rasp. The best thing about this knife making tutorial is the minimum tools/equipment required — literally all you need is a bench vice, a hand grinder, a drill, and a belt-sander. You can even do away with the belt-sander if you don’t have one! There are a couple of clamps used to fit the handle, but at a push, you could easily just use the bench vice for this.

Tools aside, the other great thing about this knife/tutorial is that you do not need a forge to make this knife! That’s right, no forge, you heard me right. If you do a bit of DIY, you likely have everything you need already! This would make an awesome weekend project, check out the tutorial below. The tutorial also covers making the sheath.

One thing that came to mind when watching this tutorial – you could easily skip making the beautiful, but the time-consuming wood handle. Instead, you could make a simple paracord-wrap handle. This would save time and also allow you to always carry a length of paracord with you.

A Winter ‘Second Wave’ Is LIKELY Find Out How To Start Preparing For The Shortages & Panic Buying Right Now

It doesn’t matter whether you actually identify with being a prepper and the emergency preparedness lifestyle, or whether you are simply someone who wants to be better prepared for an uncertain future. The fact remains — if you are going to responsibly stock-up and stockpile goods, you want to be sure that you are buying and storing the right things…

To help you compile your own list of items to be better prepared, I have created this round-up post. This post features 5 expert preppers with large followings on YouTube. Each of these expert preppers shares their list of must-buy items to stockpile. There is obviously a lot of overlap between experts, but this only goes to confirm the value and importance of those specific items.

To be clear, I am not advocating that you should rush out and panic buy and stockpile all of these goods in one go, as this is the behaviour that leads to food shortages at the store, which then leads to further panic buying by others. Panic buying becomes viral – when people see shortages they panic buy themselves in response.  Personally, I think it is more considerate and responsible to steadily stock up over a number of weeks. An additional thing you can do is to spread your purchases over different retailers. We spread our shopping between small local stores, supermarkets and Amazon and eBay etc.

***Personally — right now we are stocking up a little each week, mostly on non-perishable foods (tinned and dry foods like tinned tomatoes and lots of different tinned beans, wholewheat flour, dried yeast, wholewheat pasta, brown rice and lots of tinned fish), frozen foods (mostly vegetables and some meat), pet food, pain/temperature meds, soap, bleach/disinfectants, hand sanitizer and toilet roll. Oh yeah, and coffee! Lots of coffee!

Check out the videos below for each expert’s list of items to consider stocking up, together with their thoughts and opinions on what and why you should consider stocking up and hoarding these items.

15 Items Every Prepper Should Horde for SHTF

Sensible Prepper – 600k+ subscribers to their YouTube channel

25 Items Every Prepper Should Stockpile / Hoard

DropForgedSurvival – almost 300k subscribers to their YouTube channel

13 Items to Hoard Before Societal Collapse

Canadian Prepper – almost 400k subscribers to their YouTube channel

18 Inexpensive Items You Should Stockpile Now

Iridium242 – almost 70k subscribers to their YouTube channel

Top TEN Cheap Items Every Prepper Should Stockpile or Hoard

Prepper University – almost 50k subscribers to their YouTube channel

How To Make Your Own Disinfectant Wipes — Quick, Easy & Cheap!

Homemade Disposable Disinfectant Wipes

Since it has become difficult to buy disinfectant spray and disinfectant wipes in some countries many people are looking online for homemade disinfectant solutions. The problem is many websites and blogs are touting a whole range of homemade, natural, alternative and holistic disinfectant recipes that are simply ineffective. This is bad enough during normal times but during this coronavirus pandemic, it is dangerous.

To be clear – as far as coronavirus is concerned, I would not be relying upon any disinfectant recipes that rely on essential oils (including tea tree), vinegar, lemon juice, vodka, bicarbonate of soda or witch hazel as the main germ/virus killing agent. Stick with bleach, hydrogen peroxide or alcohol, at the correct mixing ratios recommended for killing germs and viruses.

From my own research on the CDC website (see here, here and here), I have found the following products and ratios to be effective for killing germs and viruses, including coronavirus.

  • Bleach — a bleach solution with bleach to water ratio of 1:10 will kill all germs and virus within ten minutes. The CDC state that a ratio 1:48 is effective for coronavirus (4 teaspoons per quart) so using a 1:10 ratio is more than adequate.
  • Hydrogen peroxide — 3% hydrogen peroxide – will kill germs and viruses within ten minutes. The CDC state that commercially available 3% hydrogen peroxide is a stable and effective disinfectant when used on inanimate surfaces.
  • Alcohol — alcohol solutions with at least 70% alcohol – will kill germs and viruses within a minute. The CDC state that 70% alcohol is effective for disinfecting and sanitizing.

Check out my two previous posts: How To Make A Disinfectant Spray From Bleach and How To Make Your Own Hand Emergency Sanitizer

Simple Homemade Disposable Disinfectant Wipes

You will need

  • Kitchen towel/paper towel (try not to use cheap/thin kitchen towel as it will tear easily). To make more durable wipes, try using Jay cloths or other similar semi-disposable cleaning cloths. These could also possibly be cleaned and reused.
  • Bleach
  • Water
  • Kitchen gloves/rubber gloves
  • Mixing jug
  • Baking tray or similar flat-bottomed container
  • A Ziploc or sealable bag

Method

When bleach is diluted with water it starts to break down after 48 hours or so. With this in mind, I recommend making a small batch of disinfectant wipes every few days.

  • Take the kitchen towel and carefully tear off 20-30 sheets. Stack them tidily one on top of the other in a stack. Place the stack of paper towel in the baking tray.
  • Put on your kitchen gloves.
  • Mix some bleach/water solution at 1:10 ratio in the mixing jug. Around 100ml of water and 10ml of bleach should be sufficient depending on the size/quantity of paper towel.
  • Carefully pour some of the mixed bleach solution over the stack of paper towels (in the baking tray!). You just want enough solution to saturate the paper towel completely, nothing more.
  • Leave to sit for a few minutes to be sure the paper towel is fully saturated.
  • Now place your hand on top of the stack of paper towel and gently press down to squeeze out excess bleach solution into the baking tray. This bit is down to your own judgement. You don’t want the paper towel wipes to be dripping wet, but they obviously need to be wet enough to wipe down surfaces. You can fine-tune this over your first few batches until you find the consistency/moisture level that works best for you.
  • Carefully place your new disinfectant wipes in a Ziploc or similar sealable bag. Keep sealed and use as necessary and dispose of in the bin.

Note — you could also adapt this to use 3% hydrogen peroxide instead of bleach. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down when exposed to light so you will need to store your wipes in a dark-coloured or opaque airtight container.

It’s recommended that you wear kitchen gloves when using these wipes as they are bleach-based. At the very least make sure you rinse your hands after using them…

How To Get Old Commercial Solar Panels For FREE (UPDATED!)

How to get free solar panels

That’s right, there is a way you can get solar panels for free! I know someone who did it and so can you. Here’s how it’s done…

Solar panels are used everywhere these days. They are often used by construction crews and traffic systems (signs, cameras & emergency signal lighting etc) and these are where we are going to focus because they quite often have contracts with the solar panel providers. Whenever a solar panel becomes cracked or damaged, they are replaced under contract, even when they are still serviceable.

UPDATE: We have several solar farms locally, that generate and sell electricity as a business. I reached out to two of them. Both had old, in some cases slightly damaged solar panels, which still functioned. Both said I could have some of these panels for zero cost. In fact, one of the solar farms offered to deliver some for a small fee.

I enquired about the efficiency of these panels. It was explained that these old or slightly damaged panels were not as efficient as new solar panels (hence why they were replaced). With a solar farm, everything is about efficiency at generating electricity. They are a business. That said, for home use (and at zero cost) these panels have years of life left in them. Additionally, if you have space you can simply have more panels, to make up for any lower efficiency with these older solar panels. 

The solar panel provider ends up with a whole load of damaged but working solar panels. They can’t sell them so they usually have to pay to have them disposed of. What you need to do is find the contact details for the solar panel providers and give them a call to see if they have any damaged but functioning solar panels you can take off their hands.

The person I know who did this got around $800 of working solar panels for free, just for a bit of detective work. He saw a solar panel on a road sign and noticed the sign had a sticker with a phone number on it to report a problem. He simply phoned the number and asked for the solar panel provider’s details and gave them a call. A few phone calls later and a trip to their facility and he had a load of free solar panels.

I guess you could also try researching and directly contacting solar panel manufacturers too. They must get loads of panels that are damaged or defective that still work but can’t be sold. Even solar panel stores must get loads of damaged but working solar panels returned, or have panels that get damaged in storage etc. No one wants to pay to have to dispose of damaged goods.  Take advantage of this and you could get free or heavily discounted stuff that works just fine.

Just a little thinking outside the box can save you a huge amount of money. Give it a try, all you have to waste is a little time and a phone call.

How To Make A ‘Doctor Approved’ Reusable Face Mask — No Sewing Required!

Homemade Reusable Face Mask

Firstly a disclaimer of sorts… Simple cloth face masks like the ones featured here are NOT worn to protect you from catching coronavirus. They are worn to help protect others from being infected by you when you are in close proximity.

This is important with coronavirus for two reasons. Firstly, coronavirus can infect others for several days before you begin to experience any symptoms. Secondly, many people who catch coronavirus are asymptomatic. This means they get the virus and are capable of infecting others, but they experience no symptoms themselves. These two points are precisely why coronavirus is so successful at spreading and infecting lots of people…

These cloth face masks work by covering your mouth and nose and catching and reducing the number of droplets you cough, sneeze and breathe out. This reduces the number of virus particles emitted. This has two benefits — fewer emitted virus particles means there’s less chance of passing on the infection to those around you. Also, even if you do pass on the infection, their viral load (the amount of virus passed on) will likely be lower, which could mean the infected person gets a milder illness.

If lots of people wear simple face coverings (buffs and scarfs etc) or cloth masks when in towns and cities and crowded and confined places such as public transport, shops and places of work, this can dramatically reduce the spread of coronavirus in those places.

Note — The only way to completely protect yourself with a mask is if you wear a properly fitted medical, respirator style mask. Even then great care is required when putting on and taking it off to avoid infecting yourself with your hands or surfaces etc.

How To Make N0 Sew Reusable Face Masks

You can purchase simple, reusable face masks on Amazon and eBay etc, but to be honest, they are very simple to make out of an old t-shirt and then they don’t cost a penny either. Watch the videos below to see how it’s done.

The first video is by Dr Cellini. Dr Cellini is a senior diagnostic & interventional radiology doctor and he has a very popular YouTube channel. He has seen various styles of homemade face masks, but he recommends this particular DIY face mask. In this video, Dr Cellini makes his own face mask whilst following another tutorial from Jan Howell. I have also included Jan’s original video tutorial down below, in case you would rather just follow that tutorial instead.

 

(Main image from Dr Cellini)

How To Make Foaming Hand Wash With Dish Soap

Dish soap foaming hand wash

It’s the end of March 2020 and most of us are stuck at home trying to slow down the spread of coronavirus. Regardless of the country we live in, we are all getting the same basic information and instructions – stay at home – social distancing – frequent hand washing – disinfect common points of contact in the home (door handles, taps, countertops etc).

The problem with the frequent hand washing is that due to panic buying, most stores have been sold out of soap and liquid hand soap for weeks now… You can still buy dish soap (washing up liquid) in most stores though. You could obviously use a squeeze of dish soap to wash your hands in a pinch, but neat dish soap is very strong. Using it more than a few times is likely to dry out and make your hands very sore.

The good news is — you can make a simple foaming hand wash from diluted dish soap! It is probably not the best thing to be washing your hands with longterm, but if you cannot get any soap or liquid hand wash, it’s a good alternative in the short-term.

**If you need a hand sanitizer for when you are out of the home (work or grocery shopping etc), check out our simple DIY hand sanitizer post.**

How To Make Foaming Hand Wash From Dish Soap

  • You will need an empty foaming hand wash dispenser. Either rinse out an old one or you can purchase foaming pump dispensers from Amazon.
  • Some dish soap (washing up liquid)

Instructions

  • Pour some dish soap into the foaming hand wash dispenser. The amount will vary depending on the size of the dispenser. Usually, around 10% will be about right.
  • Top up with water so that’s approx 90% water and 10% dish soap.
  • Screw the pump top on and shake to mix the water and dish soap.
  • Once mixed depress several times until the foam soap starts to come out.

Note: depending on the size of hand wash dispenser and the dish soap you use, you may need to slightly alter the dish soap to water ratio to get the best foam.

**If you are also struggling to find spray disinfectant in the shops — check out our post on how to make spray disinfectant from household bleach.**

The Rocket Mass Heater: Everything You Need to Know

DIY rocket mass heaters

Looking for the most efficient way of heating your home? Perhaps you’ve heard all about rocket mass heaters and just how clean they are? Whatever the reason, this guide takes a closer look at these heaters, explains how to build them, and covers all of their benefits (of which there are many!).

Wait A Minute… Just What Are Rocket Mass Heaters?

You’re likely here because you know all about rocket stove mass heaters and the benefits that they provide. However, for those who may be less than completely up on everything that these handy heaters can offer, here’s a quick summary.

Rocket mass heaters can:

  • Heat up your home with 80% to 90% less wood than is required with a traditional fire or log burning stove.
  • Exhausted output is practically all steam and CO2 (this is minus a little smoke at the beginning).
  • Heat from a single rocket mass fire can burn and heat your home for days on end.
  • A rocket stove mass heater can be easily built within the space of one or two days (less if you have a helping hand from friends or family).
  • When being particularly careful, you can build a rocket mass heater for under $20!

Rocket Mass Heaters… What Are People Saying?

 Rocket stove mass heaters have great reputation amongst the survivalists and off the grid living crowd. Here are some of the most common comments that you’ve likely heard:

“I burn nothing but dead branches, and the heating within my home has never been warmer”.

“They burn cleaner than any other form of heating… and are a lot more efficient to boot”.

“I’m a city dweller who uses rocket mass heating to cut down my bills”.

 So, now that we know that these really are the most efficient forms of heating on the planet, let’s get down to the nitty gritty of how they work, and what you’ll need to build one.

Example of a rocket mass heaterRustic rocket mass heater used to heat a permanent tipi

The science behind a rocket mass heater

OK, so you may be wondering just how rocket stove mass heaters work, particularly as they seem to buck all the trends and go against all of the fire guidance that you’ve ever been taught (e.g. they output no smoke and the wood burns sideways).

What’s more, with a 75% efficiency rate you’d think that the most wood you could possibly save on would be the remaining 25%, right? And to top it all off, just how on earth can such a contraption not emit a plume of smok,e given that there’s a gaping big hole right in the top of it?

Well many of these questions are answered as soon as you see a rocket mass heater in action, here’s a quick overview…

How rocket mass heaters work – In detail

With the sticks within a rocket mass heater stood straight up, it’s only the bottom ends that burn and, what’s more, as they are at a junction within the heater, they burn sideways. The heat within is also insulated, which is why rocket mass heaters get so hot. As this naturally has a strong convective current, encouraging hot gasses to hit the barrel where they then expel much of their heat, consequentially cooling the gasses and making them easier to push around the heater. The gasses that finally exit are then simply made up from steam and carbon dioxide.

The main magical act that makes a rocket mass heater super special, and the main working of the rocket mass heater that we should be in awe of, is found within the heat riser. Here this open ended combustion chamber, coupled with a strong convective current, ensures that the smoke never gets sucked upwards and instead the air is continuously sucked in from the wood filled hole, meaning that no smoke escapes at all. In fact, it’s so hot within this top region that most of the smoke gets burned up!

How to build a rocket mass heater

2 Rocket mass heater plans from the tried, tested and completely trusted experts

Bonny rocket mass heaterThe ‘Bonny Convection Bench’ rocket mass heater

The first  tutorial is based upon one of the most popularly referred to designs for rocket mass heaters there are. Constructed by Ernie and Erica Wisner, this is a roadmap that has been carefully put together by two engineering veterans (who reassuringly have over 700 rocket mass heater builds under their belt).

Here’s the link for the ‘Bonny Convection Bench’ rocket mass heater professional build plans. It currently cost $25 but they are professional quality build plans that could save you $1000s

Rocket Mass Heater Annex6‘RocketMassHeater-Annex6’ rocket mass heater

Need a pretty large rocket mass heater for your home? Well, the second tutorial below are for a heater that’s more than capable of heating a 3 storey, multi-level family home, even in cooler regions such as right by the coast. The reinforcement within the plans along with the in-built air flow channels ensure that any flooring, hardwood or otherwise, is completely protected whilst providing for effective circulation that heats the whole house.

Here’s the link for the ‘RocketMassHeater-Annex6’ rocket mass heater professional build plans. It currently cost $25 but they are professional quality build plans that could save you $1000s

If you need an adapted plan to fit within your cabin then here it is. This design maps out an eight inch diameter rocket mass heater which takes up just 3.5 foot by 9 foot on the floor.

Rocket mass heaters versus the traditional wooden stove

There may be many readers out there who are avid fans of the conventional wooden stove, and who may be seriously pessimistic about just what a rocket mass heater may be able to offer them. So this section is dedicated to demonstrating just how a rocket mass heater compares when talking about heating efficiencies between the two.

“They say that a current wood stove is 75% efficient… so if the most improvement that can be seen is 25%, and rocket mass heaters can heat the home with a tenth of the wood… isn’t a rocket mass heater then 750% efficient? And why wouldn’t 100% be the maximum efficiency rate at which you can operate?”

The statement above sets out both a confusing landscape as well as a few common misunderstandings. And there are two ways in which this conundrum can be answered.

First, you should measure the temperature and volume of smoke that leaves your traditional wood stove (in short, it’s both extremely hot and of a large amount) and compare this to the exhaust found within a rocket mass heater (where there is a trickle of output that has a temperature of a little more than room temperature). This shows that there is far more heat that is retained by the rocket mass heater than by the conventional stove.

Second, we should look at the figures. Being 75% efficient does not consider the heat that escapes up through the chimney in smoke form. If we were to test a conventional oven within the lab we’d find that between 14% and 16% of the heat were escaping in smoke form alone. So then the 75% rating then becomes 64%. The higher rating is simply marketing spiel helping the big stove companies in their quarterly figures.

Lastly, we must consider that this original 75% may not be all that it seems in any event. This is a rating that was found within a laboratory with experts who were focused on getting the very best rating (and therefore skewing the results). So even though a wood stove may be able to achieve 75% when in ideal laboratory settings with a bunch of experts, the rating that you’ll receive within your home is likely to be far less. In fact it’s been found that on average the operating efficacy of a conventional wood burning stove tends to level off at around 35%, which becomes ever less efficient for those who are opting to burn damp leaves (where efficiency can run at something like 5%!). Now in comparison we take rocket mass heaters, which have no way of losing their inner air flow, and thus never lead to a slow, inefficient burn.

If you liked this post, but you’d like something a bit simpler to build first, why not check out our DIY rocket stove post?

(Images from: Wikipedia & Ernie and Erica Wisner)

Coronavirus — When You Can, Reach Out & Help Elderly / Vulnerable Neighbours

Coronavirus Help Vulnerable Neighbours

This coronavirus (Covid 19) pandemic will be difficult and worrisome for us all. It is a particularly scary time for the elderly, disabled, and those with living with existing medical conditions.

Similarly to the oxygen mask instructions on aeroplanes (put the mask on yourself first, before trying to put them on your children), in the first instance I think it is important to care for and secure you and yours. Once all reasonable preparations are taken care of, we should all then consider what we can do to help and support the elderly and vulnerable in our street and the local community.

Many old and disabled people experience loneliness and difficulties at the best of times. These are not the best of times. In many countries, people over the age of 70 are, or will soon be asked to self-isolate at home for several months. It seems sensible for people with pre-existing medical conditions to do likewise.

I know you have your own priorities and worries, but once you are sorted and in good shape, please consider reaching out to the elderly and vulnerable in your street and the local community.  It’s not just the elderly or vulnerable living in isolated areas who will struggle, people living bunched together in towns and cities can feel just as isolated and alone.

If you know anyone who might appreciate some help or support during this global pandemic, let them know you are available to help.  Just letting someone know they can call on you if needed could make all the difference…

IMPORTANT — stay away if you are ill. When offering help/support, it is important not to spread the coronavirus to those we are trying to help.

There are many ways you can help without direct contact. For example, swap phone numbers (or email addresses) and talk on the phone rather than in person. Even if you seem well, it is sensible to drop off food/supplies etc by their front door, to keep your distance. They can get it after you have left.

It is vital that you always follow hand washing protocols etc so that you do not pass on the virus on food/supplies you take around.

At all times you want to balance providing support whilst limiting contact as much as possible.

Some Ways To Help The Elderly & Vulnerable

  • Phone and say hello. Tell them to call if they need anything. Phone every few days to keep in touch. Tell them to call even if they just want some company.
  • If you don’t know them personally, talk to them at distance or leave a note (see down below) with your name and phone number. Tell them to phone if they need anything at all.
  • If they are internet savvy — swap email and messaging contacts. Keep in contact online.
  • Offer to help with errands and groceries. Offer to do their shopping and drop it round.
  • Offer to go to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions etc.
  • Some people cannot afford to spend much on heating and food etc. Check they are staying warm and eating well. Local charities and organisations can help.
  • Offer to walk their dog if appropriate and safe.
  • Help clear snow and ice from around their home.
  • If they become unwell, recommend they seek appropriate medical advice. If required do this for them.

Reach out, connect, show compassion and respect dignity.

Viral Kindness Cards

A lovely woman from the UK, Becky Wass, created these excellent postcards below. You can download and print them out here.

Simply print some out, fill them in and post them through elderly/vulnerable neighbours’ letterboxes. *Be mindful to wash your hands etc before printing and filling in these cards.*

ViralKindness note
DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLE POSTCARD TEMPLATE

Simple DIY Stink Bug Trap (Works Fast) Build One Today!

How to make a DIY stink bug trap

Stink bug traps are perhaps the easiest and most environmentally-friendly way to deal with these troublesome insects. Although you can purchase pre-made traps, they are usually overly expensive, poorly made, and some are not all that effective.  Luckily, you can easily make a very effective DIY stink bug trap for next to nothing. In fact, you may already have everything you need to make one at home for free!

Below you will find step-by-step instructions on how to make your very own homemade stink bug trap. Additionally, there is an infographic with step-by-step images, and there is also a video tutorial showing how to build your own DIY trap. Further down, we have also included some additional specific information on stink bugs.

(You might also want to check out our ‘how to get keep spiders out of your home‘ post. It contains two techniques for keeping your 100% house spider free!)

How To Make A Stink Bug Trap

Stink Bug Trap Materials

To make a homemade stink bug trap, you’ll need to gather the following items:

1 | A 2-Litre Soda Bottle
2 | Razor Blade or Box Cutter
3 | LED Lights (RECOMMENDED: pack of three LED lights on Amazon for around $7)
4 | Black Electrical Tape
5 | White Masking Tape

Stink Bug Trap | Step-by-Step Instructions

Step One | With the razor blade, cut off the soda bottle just above the label, which is typically 1/3 of the top portion.

Step Two | Wrap the lower portion of the bottle with black electrical tape. This helps focus the light beam for maximum effectiveness.

Step Three | Put the LED light at the bottom of the bottle.

Step Four | Put the freshly removed top portion of the bottle upside down into the bottom portion of the bottle to create a funnel. (See Video for Visual Description)

Step Five | Add 4 strips of masking tape from the bottom to the top of the bottle so the stink bugs have a rough surface to climb. However, do not place the tape on the interior portion of the bottle as you don’t want these critters climbing out of the trap.

Step Six | With a pen or stick, press down on the LED light to turn it on.

Step Seven | Place the stink bug trap in a dark room at night, and in the morning review your collection.

There you have it! This is perhaps the easiest – and most effective – stink bug trap.

How To Make A Stink Bug Trap INFOGRAPHIC

make a sink bug trap infographic

 

 

DIY Stink Bug Trap Video Tutorial


Stink Bug Prevention is Better than Elimination

Establishing a stink bug trap is essential to catch bugs that are in your home; however, prevention is a key player in overall elimination. According to many pest experts, exclusion is the most important method to keeping stink bugs at bay. Review your home to look for cracks in doors, windows and siding. Make sure to repair damaged screens on windows or doors and seal all unintended openings with a high-grade silicone caulk.

While many pest control companies recommend using pesticides to help control stink bugs, this is not the wisest choice. Although these chemicals can help deter stink bugs from entering your home, should they already exist, insecticidal products can kill stink bugs but then only provide other pests, such as carpet beetles, with a food source. Therefore, these harmful chemicals not only enhance the likelihood of a secondary infestation, but also cause extreme harm to the environment.

The most effective way to eliminate these pests from your home is through a stink bug trap.

Brown marmorated stink bug image

What Are Stink Bugs?

Regardless of where you live or what your climate is like, there’s an infestation coming your way – stink bugs, or brown marmorated stink bugs to be exact.

These creatures are not only determined to find their way into your home, but as its name suggests, they stink! Let’s take a few moments and learn more about these odorous bugs.

Before building a stink bug trap, it’s important to know what exactly is a stink bug? In the most fundamental sense, stink bugs are a member of the Pentatomidae insect family and feature a large, oval (or shield) shape. Its average length is 17 mm and adults typically feature varying shades of brown on both the lower and upper portions of their body. Due to its shield shape, stink bugs feature nearly the same width as its length.

To identify a stink bug, lighter shades of brown form bands around the antennae while darker shades of brown are location on its membranous, as you look toward the rear of their front wings, these two bands seem to overlap. On the head and pronotum of the stink bug, copper or blue-metallic coloration is typically found.

As you may already be well-aware, its name is derived from the odor produced from its abdomen and along the underside of its thorax. This odor is the result of a chemical reactions scientists believe is a defensive mechanism. Upon first glance, you may not immediately smell its odor; however, should the bug become startled or feel as if it’s in danger, it will release its strong odor, which can quickly fill a room.

Unlike many other insects found throughout the region, scientists are not sure which seasons are “prime” seasons for the stink bug. However, during fall and winter months, stink bugs seem to gravitate toward the warmth of a home. This is evident during nighttime when they are drawn to the heat emitted from lights, computer screens and televisions.

While stink bugs are annoying should they enter your home, they also pose a serious threat to agriculture; both small and large. Stink bugs feed on a wide array of plants; however, they seem to be drawn specifically to fruits, such as peaches, apples, citrus fruits and mulberries. They are also prone to feed on weeds, soybeans, ornamental plants and other human food sources.

Although stink bugs are not a serious threat to humans, some people can develop an allergic reaction to the chemicals found within their odor, which means stink bugs have an aeroallergen tendency. It’s important to note that individuals who crush or smash stink bugs with bare skin may develop an allergic reaction within their skin, because of this, it’s not advised to crush stink bugs, but rather use a stink bug trap. Also, should you crush this stinky creature, its glands produce a vast amount of the odorous chemical, which can be quite unpleasant, to say the least.

Be sure to check out our related post: 6 Mosquito Repellent Plants To Grow

(Image from: Wikipedia & Fyn Kynd Photography)

5 Turmeric Tea Recipes – Plus The Health Benefits Of Turmeric

Turmeric tea recipes & turmeric health benefits

You can use turmeric to reduce inflammation and pain related to inflammation. Make a tea from it is one of the easiest ways to consume turmeric. In fact, turmeric tea is often known as anti-inflammatory tea! Making turmeric tea is nice and simple, and there are all sorts of variations and adaptations of the recipe, allowing you to customize it to suit your personal tastes. Whichever recipe you use (or even if you get creative and make up your own version), it’s important that you only use good quality turmeric powder, or alternatively, you can use grated fresh turmeric root for a stronger flavour. There are numerous turmeric health benefits, and you can read more about the benefits of consuming turmeric regularly, further down the page.

Turmeric should be easy to find in your local grocery store or supermarket. Additionally, Amazon has the most extensive range of turmeric powder. We use and recommend Starwest Botanicals Organic Turmeric Root Powder from Amazon as it is organic, high quality and exceptional value.

***Please note that, despite turmeric’s benefits, you shouldn’t drink tea made from turmeric, or take turmeric supplements whilst you are pregnant or breastfeeding. If in doubt please contact your doctor first.***

Turmeric Tea Recipe Infographic

Turmeric tea recipe infographic

Check out the recipes below and discover how to make turmeric tea. Many people are concerned that making tea with turmeric is difficult, but that is not the case at all. Give one of these anti-inflammatory tea recipes below a try and see.

Basic Turmeric Tea Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of water
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • Lemon or honey (or both!) to serve

How To Make the Tea

  • Heat 4 cups of water, bringing it to the boil.
  • Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric.
  • Reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer for around 10 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat and strain using a fine sieve.
  • Pour into serving cups and add lemon or honey to taste.

Turmeric Tea With A Twist Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 inch fresh ginger root, minced
  • 2-teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1-teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 lemongrass tea bag
  • 6 peppercorns (you can leave these out if you prefer!)
  • Pinch of sea salt

How To Make the Tea

  • Bring the water to the boil in a small saucepan.
  • Add the peeled, minced ginger root, turmeric, cinnamon, peppercorns (remember, these are optional!), sliced oranges, and sea-salt.
  • Allow the mixture to simmer on a medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes.
  • Add the lemongrass teabag and allow to steep for around 3 minutes.
  • Remove the teabag and pour the mixture into a mug.

Creamy Turmeric Tea Recipe

 Why not give your tea a creamy twist with some coconut milk?

Ingredients

  • 1 cup coconut or almond milk
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • A pinch cayenne pepper
  • ½ inch finely chopped ginger root
  • 1 ½ teaspoon of honey (or an alternative sweetener)

How To Make the Tea

  • In a pan, gently warm the cup of coconut or almond milk.
  • Mix together the turmeric, cayenne pepper, finely chopped ginger root, and the honey.
  • Add a small amount of the warmed milk and stir it into the mixture.
  • Mix well until all of the lumps have disappeared.
  • Add the rest of the milk and mix.
  • Strain and then serve.

Sweet Turmeric Black Pepper Tea Recipe

 Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 2 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
  • Lemon
  • Freshly ground black pepper

How To Make the Tea

  • Mash the turmeric and honey into a paste (you can then store this in a jar to ensure you have it on hand whenever the need arises).
  • For each cup of sweet turmeric black pepper tea, take a heaped teaspoon of the turmeric and honey paste.
  • Top with boiling water.
  • Add a squeeze of lemon and a few generous twists of freshly ground black pepper.
  • Stir and enjoy!

Turmeric Lemon Tea Recipe

 Turmeric lemon tea combines the sweet, tangy flavours of lemon and ginger, with a gentle kick from the cayenne pepper.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/8 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 tablespoon turmeric
  • Cayenne
  • Honey to taste

How To Make the Tea

  • In a mug, mix together the lemon juice, turmeric, ginger and cayenne.
  • Top with boiling water.
  • Stir well.
  • Add honey to sweeten to your personal taste.

Additional Serving Suggestions

There are numerous ways to serve your turmeric tea, here are a few of our favourites…

  • Add a slice of orange, a dash of honey, the juice of 1 lemon, and 1 teaspoon of coconut oil.
  • Turmeric also works perfectly with a slice of apple or cucumber.
  • If you want a milder taste why not add extra water.
  • Serve chilled in the summer for a refreshing and healthy drink.

Now that you have some turmeric tea recipes to try, let’s find out a bit more about turmeric itself and the many health benefits of turmeric.

What Is Turmeric?

For centuries, turmeric has been widely used as a spice, medicine, food, and colouring agent across large parts of Asia. In India, it has been considered holy and auspicious for hundreds of thousands of years, not only due to its eye-catching colour and unique flavor but also because of the extensive range of health benefits that are associated with it. In fact, it is often referred to as the ‘Queen of Spices’!

Recent research has seen it promoted in the eyes of western science and it has been deemed as highly effective for treating osteoarthritis and various other health issues such as Crohn’s disease, stomach ulcers, skin wounds, kidney inflammation, and many, many more. It is also full of plenty of healthy nutrients such as protein, dietary fibre, niacin, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, potassium, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, and zinc.

A member of the ginger family, turmeric is a root that usually comes in a powdered form, although it is also available in capsules, tincture, fluid extracts, and tea.

turmeric rootTurmeric Root

Turmeric is used in many recipes, especially in curries and other Asian dishes but it’s earthy, spicy, and often bitter taste can be an acquired taste for some (although once they’ve acquired the taste, many people become addicted!). Additionally, turmeric can be consumed as a super healthy, anti-inflammatory drink – turmeric tea!

Turmeric Benefits

Turmeric health benefits

 

Turmeric contains curcumin, which is a potent antioxidant with many health benefits, most notably its anti-inflammatory properties. Turmeric and tea made from turmeric are renowned for the multiple health benefits it offers, particularly when it comes to inflammation and many people use turmeric for inflammation related pain relief – helping to treat health issues such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. It can also help patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, and high cholesterol, to name but a few.

Turmeric can also help to prevent the blood from clotting and reduces the often-painful inflammation caused by wounds, acne, and various other skin conditions. In fact as research progresses, more and more turmeric health benefits are being discovered.

Anti-inflammatory

When it comes to pain relief, so many people across the globe call upon anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and aspirin, to relieve the symptoms of everything from headaches, backaches, and other muscular aches and pains. Whilst these medicines are really effective at relieving the pain and inflammation caused by a whole range of conditions, they can cause many adverse side effects, especially with long-term use.

In fact, the side effects of the long-term use of anti-inflammatory drugs include, but are by no means limited to, nausea, diarrhoea, gastrointestinal bleeding, hypertension (high blood pressure), increased risk of heart attack, increased risk of kidney cancer, and erectile dysfunction.

But the truth is, natural home remedies such as turmeric (anti-inflammatory tea) for pain relief can often deliver the same effects as these medications, without many of the potential side effects.

Turmeric-powderTurmeric powder used for the tea

So, how does Turmeric help with inflammation?

Well, in exactly the same way as anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen. These drugs work by inhibiting an enzyme, COX-2 (Cyclooxygenase 2), which causes inflamed areas of the body to become painful and more inflamed. By blocking this enzyme, the medication blocks the pain and reduces the inflammation.

Turmeric works so well because it contains high levels of a compound called curcumin, which is a COX-2 inhibitor too. Curcumin is a potent antioxidant with many health benefits, most notably its anti-inflammatory properties. However, whilst turmeric has the same positive effects as anti-inflammatory drugs, it rarely causes side effects. After all, it has been eaten and drunk across most of Southeast Asia for thousands of years without causing any problems. These anti-inflammatory properties are also at least partly responsible for all the other turmeric health benefits listed below.

Liver cleansing

As well as being a great anti-inflammatory, another turmeric health benefit is that it is also a powerful liver cleansing spice. In today’s toxin and chemical-filled world, it’s easy for your liver to become stressed and overworked. Think about it, there are toxins all around us, in our air, our food, and our water. If your liver can’t keep up with the level of toxins feeding into it, they start to accumulate in the body and can have a serious effect on your health.

As well as avoiding processed foods and using lots of natural personal care and cleaning products, you can also help your liver out by incorporating herbs and spices into your diet to support your body’s detox pathways. As well as being a great anti-inflammatory, turmeric is also a powerful liver cleansing spice. So, if you’re looking to give your liver a boost, then a daily cup of this anti-inflammatory tea could offer the perfect solution.

Prevents Cancer

It is believed that turmeric can help to prevent prostate cancer, slow or even stop the growth of existing prostate cancer, and even destroy cancer cells. Research has also shown that the active components in turmeric make it one of the best protectors against radiation-induced tumours, and it also has a preventive effect against

Relieves Arthritis

Turmeric has also been linked to arthritis, providing an effective form of pain relief to those who suffer from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as many other forms of the disease. This is because the anti-inflammatory properties that can be found in turmeric work to destroy the free radicals in the body that are renowned for damaging body cells. In fact, case studies have proven that those suffering from arthritis who consume turmeric on a daily or regular basis, experienced far more relief from symptoms such as joint pain and inflammation, compared to those who didn’t consume turmeric. Given the benefits of turmeric for those with arthritis, it is definitely worth trying turmeric tea for a week or two to see if symptoms improve.

Controls Diabetes

Turmeric is also regularly used to treat diabetes. It works by helping to moderate and control insulin levels in the body. But not only does it assist in the moderation of insulin levels, it is also renowned for improving glucose control, whilst increasing the effect of the medications that are used to treat diabetes.

Another significant benefit of turmeric in treating diabetes is that it is able to reduce insulin resistance in the body, and it’s also been suggested that it could even prevent the onset of Type-2 diabetes! It’s important to note though that, if combined with other strong medications, turmeric can cause low blood sugar, so it’s always best to check with your doctor before using it alongside any other medications.

Reduces Cholesterol Levels

It’s highly likely that, at some point in your lifetime, you will suffer from high cholesterol, especially as you grow older. However, research has proven that, by regularly using turmeric as a food seasoning, it can significantly decrease cholesterol levels. Maintaining a healthy cholesterol level is paramount, as it is a well-known fact that high cholesterol notoriously leads to a whole host of serious health problems such as heart disease and stroke. If you have high cholesterol, it may be time to start seasoning your food with turmeric, or drinking some turmeric tea, especially given all the other turmeric health benefits list here.

Immunity Booster

Also known as lipopolysaccharide, turmeric can help to stimulate and strengthen your body’s immune system. This is because it is full of antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal agents that work together to fight against colds, flu and coughs, ensuring that your immune system is healthy and strong.

If you do find yourself suffering from cold or flu-like symptoms, try one of the turmeric tea recipes above, or simply mix one teaspoon of turmeric powder into a glass of warm milk, and drink daily until you feel better.

Heals Wounds

It’s inevitable that, from time to time, we all find ourselves nursing a cut or graze caused by a silly accident. However, even the smallest cuts or grazes can cause infection or take a long time to heal.

Both a natural antiseptic and antibacterial agent, turmeric can also be used as a highly effective disinfectant, protecting your skin or graze against infection whilst speeding up the healing process. All you need to do is sprinkle a small amount of turmeric powder onto the affected areas and you will instantly be protected. But that’s not all, turmeric can also be used to help to repair damaged skin, treat burns and even be used to effectively treat psoriasis along with a whole host of other common inflammatory skin conditions. See also: How To Stop Bleeding With Black Pepper.

(Turmeric tea image credit: Jules)