3/8/14

There are many unusual and clever tricks to keep squirrels from raiding the bird feeder in your backyard. One simple trick may actually work: Use red pepper flakes. Rodents such as squirrels hate the spicy, sharp taste of red paper flakes and quickly learn to avoid stealing the seeds. Our feathered friends, on the other hand, can't detect heat from red pepper flakes and will devour it, along with the seed. The plus side is that red pepper flakes are harmless to animals -- even those that don't like the taste!

3/7/14

Here's another reason to skip buying mealy peaches in the middle of winter: They have more pesticides on them than any other fruit in the supermarket. Conventional peaches that are imported from outside the country when they aren't in season are the most treated fruit with chemical pesticides according to the Environmental Working Group. Skip peaches when out of season and enjoy them when they are grown and harvested locally. And if you really want peaches, consider organic frozen ones. They may not be the freshest, but they are guaranteed to have been grown without any chemical pesticides.

3/6/14

State legislators in New York and California have recently introduced bills that would ban skin care products that use artificial exfoliants in their composition. The reason? Many beauty product brands use something called microbeads, which are microscopic plastic beads that help slough off dry skin. The problem is, plastic beads do not biodegrade and end up in waterways like lakes and oceans where they become part of the microsystem. Fish ingest the beads and, over time, the beads become a chemical compound that pollutes our waterways. The solution? Avoid plastic microbeads and use natural scrubs like sugar, coffee and salt to keep your skin glowing.