How to Prevent Tick Bites: 3 Easy Steps

 

The ugly truth is that tick season is never over. 

In most regions, these scary pests can survive all winter long, even in freezing conditions.

Don’t worry, we have your back. Here are 3 tips to prevent potentially life-altering bites and keep ticks away from you and your pets through fall and winter.

 

Protect Yourself and Pets

Apply Cedarcide Original to you and your pets before walks, hikes, dog park visits, and other outdoor activities to prevent bites.

Need deep woods protection? Try Extra Strength Tickshield instead.

 

Get a Tick-Free Lawn

Spray your entire yard, shrubbery, and bases of trees with PCO Choice monthly to kill and repel ticks. For larger tick populations, spray twice, two weeks apart, and then monthly after that.

Because PCO is both family and pet safe, you can start enjoying your yard immediately after application.

 

Check for Ticks 

Ticks removed within 36 hours rarely cause disease or infection. After outdoor activities, get in the habit of checking yourself, children, and pets for ticks as soon as possible (ticks are about 2/3 of an inch, brown or red).

 

Thoughts, suggestions, have your own tips to add? Comment below or head over to our Facebook page and let us know what you think!

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How to Protect Clothing from Insect Damage

Carpet Beetles

Emerging from eggs laid on clothing, furniture, and carpet, carpet beetle larvae can ruin a closetful of clothes in no time, especially natural items like wool, fur, mohair and more. 

What to look for: Small beetles for adults (most commonly black or brown, sometimes multicolored), and small caterpillar-like larvae (usually brownish red, covered in fine hairs).

Moths

Infamous for leaving holes in clothing, moth larvae feed on wool, flannel, fur, and almost any other textile that’s dirty or recently used (sweat, food, skin oils, etc are all appetizing to these destructive pests).

What to look for: Whitish worm-like larvae with a hard outer shell, and very small white or gold-colored moths for adults.

Silverfish and Firebrats

These close relatives are both expert clothing destroyers, preferring starched items, natural fibers like rayon, silk, and cotton, and those stained with sugary food and drink. 

What to look for: Silver wingless insects with carrot-shaped bodies about ¼ inch long.

Roaches

While they don’t usually eat clothing on purpose, roaches are attracted to the sweat, and food spills that end up on our clothing. When consuming these items, they often create holes and stain fabrics with excrement.

Crickets

Like roaches, crickets eat clothing stains not clothing itself. Small holes and tears, not to mention cricket poop, can easily lead to hundreds of dollars in damage in only a few weeks.

 

Store Items Correctly

That means freshly cleaned, starch-free, and in a cool, dry place in tightly sealed containers or nylon bags (leather and fur items require breathable bags, such as cotton).

Vacuum

Regularly cleaning and vacuuming rugs, carpets, draperies, baseboards, furniture, and storage closets substantially lowers your risk of clothes-eating pests by removing eggs, larvae, and the debris they need to survive. Dispose of the bag when finished.

Naturally Kill & Repel 

Hang freshly dried lavender or Cedar Granules inside of a stocking in your chosen storage area to protect against damaging bugs. A cedar-based spray like Cedarcide Original can also be used throughout the space to kill and repel.

For already infested items: try washing & drying them, freezing them for 48 hours, or treating them with a fabric-safe insecticide like Cedarcide Original.

 

Thoughts, suggestions, have your own tips to add? Comment below or head over to our Facebook page and let us know what you think!

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How to Grow a Successful Movember ‘Stache

Each November, men across the world participate in Movember, a charity campaign where participants grow mustaches to raise awareness for serious men’s health concerns, including testicular cancer, prostate cancer, and suicide. 

Whether this is your first Movember or you’re a seasoned veteran, the following 6 tips will help you grow the best ‘stache possible for the cause of supporting men’s health!

Start with a Beard

In those first embarrassing days when your mustache would be a sad, spindly little thing, having a full beard can help salvage your reputation. For whatever reason, a thin in-progress beard just looks way less creepy than a thin, in-progress mustache on its own.

Try growing a beard and then trimming it into a mustache later to avoid weirding out your friends, family, and coworkers. Just remember to trim it fairly quick, Movember is all about sparking conversations with your mustache, goofy looking or not.

Reach for Biotin

While reviews and studies are mixed on the subject, many believe Biotin, the vitamin responsible for nail and scalp health, can stimulate additional hair growth—and that includes your ‘stache. 

Chances are it won’t make much of a difference, but if you’re desperate, it’s worth a shot.

Grab a Mustache Brush

Not only can they make your ‘stache look more full and luxuriant (especially for those of us with puny, patchy facial hair ), mustache combs and brushes are essential for styling, too.

Say, for instance, your mustache always grows downward, but you really need it to grow out to the side instead. Daily combing or brushing can help train the hairs to grow the direction you want, making styling much easier in the long run.

Avoid Harsh Face Washes

Harsher face washes—like the types that combat acne, for example—can wreak havoc on your mustache game. From stripping the hair of color to impeding growth, it’s best to avoid chemical-based cleansers if your aim is a healthy-looking cookie duster.

Convert the Haters

Haters gonna’ hate. Thankfully, this month, hating on ‘staches is much, much harder. You’re growing it to support men’s health and combat cancer after all. You’re basically a superhero. 

But seriously, these types of interactions are what Movember is all about. Each joke and awkward stare (they’re just jealous!) is an incredible opportunity to start a conversation about the ongoing male health crisis and the countless men who die prematurely from suicide, testicular cancer, and prostate cancer worldwide. This is your time to shine—make it count!

Wax On

Attention patchy facial hair sufferers: mustache wax is your new best friend! In addition to moisturizing facial hair and helping loads with styling, wax can do wonders for hiding bald spots above your lip. And don’t worry, it won’t look like a combover. 

Even those with thick hair can benefit from mustache wax, especially when it comes to taming those stubborn rogue hairs that always seem to stick out in the wrong direction, or back into your mouth when you’re trying to eat

 

To join in on Movember, learn more about the campaign, or contribute to the cause of men’s health, visit movember.com

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