Algae: fuel of the future?

Algae: fuel of the future?

Amanda Leigh Mascarelli

Environ. Sci. Technol., Article ASAP

DOI: 10.1021/es902509d

Publication Date (Web): September 2, 2009

Copyright © 2009 American Chemical Society

Biofuels produced from algae, rather than from crops, have entered the spotlight lately, and several companies now say that they are close to overcoming the technical hurdles to making algae-derived biofuels competitive on a commercial scale. However, experts caution that significant obstacles still need to be dealt with to make algae competitive with energy from fossil fuels.

For several years, entrepreneurs, investors, and even oil companies have been quietly looking to turn the photosynthetic powers of the once lowly and obscure but now coveted green slime, algae, into energy. Industry giants such as Dow Chemical Co., ExxonMobil Corp., BP p.l.c., and Chevron Corp. have recently made major investments in companies seeking to develop renewable fuels from algae, pushing this group of prolific organisms to center stage.

With thousands of strains of algae to choose from—each possessing varying ratios of oils, proteins, and starch in their cells—experts are exploring a wide range of possibilities for harnessing energy from these microbes. For example, the algae can be indigenous strains or genetically engineered organisms. And companies can choose from a diverse range of growing techniques, from inexpensive open ponds to carefully controlled enclosed tanks, to coax algae into secreting the desired product, which might be ethanol, biodiesel, or pump-ready gasoline.

Algae thrive in the presence of sunlight, CO₂, and water. They multiply quickly and can be harvested year-round. Unlike conventional biofuel feedstocks such as corn, soy, palm, and canola, algae do not require vast and often valuable tracts of land and ample freshwater to grow, advocates say. Instead, algae can be grown on nonagricultural land in a fraction of the space and with brackish water or wastewater.

Open-pond bioreactors at the PetroAlgae facility in Fellsmere, Florida.

PETROALGAE

In addition, algae are potentially far more productive than other leading oil crops such as palm, canola, and soy. Some companies are reporting that they can produce up to 6000 gallons of fuel per acre per year (gal/ac/yr) from algae, even though they’re not yet operating on a large scale. In comparison, palm yields 650 gal/ac/yr; canola, 150 gal; and soy, 50 gal. And because algae consume CO₂, algae companies plan to link up with power plants, cement factories, and other industrial plants to capture heat-trapping CO₂ that would otherwise waft into the atmosphere. “There are a lot of opportunities to address multiple problems that might make algae all the more attractive,” says Martha Groom, a conservation biologist who is at the University of Washington Bothell and studies land and habitat issues associated with energy development.

Although algae are relative newcomers on the alternative-energy scene, researchers have been investigating the promise of algae as an energy source for decades. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) began researching algae for biodiesel production in 1978, but the program was shuttered in 1996 when the price of oil dropped so low that growing algae for biofuels did not seem economically feasible. NREL researchers also ran into difficulties with contamination by non-native algae species and with the replication of laboratory conditions in the field.

Companies have spent the past few years grappling with such technical hurdles and now say that they expect to be able to produce algae-based biofuels on a commercial scale. Harrison Dillon, cofounder and president of Solazyme, Inc., founded in 2003 and one of the first algae companies to emerge, says that his company has used algae to produce more than 10,000 gal of oil at a quality that meets existing fuel standards. Dillon believes that the company can produce oil from algae at a cost that is competitive with fossil fuels within two and a half years. Other companies are focusing on a similar time frame. Paul Woods, chief executive of the biofuel start-up Algenol Biofuels, says, “I’m a believer that we’re one, two, and three years away from having this on a commercial scale.” And Andrew Beck, vice president of public affairs at PetroAlgae, Inc., an emerging renewable energy company, says that his company is commercial-ready today and that they have signed a license deal for 10 commercial units to be built in China. They hope to begin construction later this year and say that the system will take one to three years to be completed.

Yet some experts warn that, although there is plenty of room for enthusiasm, significant challenges remain. “Just the logistics of bringing [this technology] to a large scale are mind-boggling,” says Jergen Polle, an algae physiologist at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York who has worked on algae for nearly two decades.

One issue is that algae cultures grown in an open pond can easily be contaminated and overtaken by invasive species. So, some companies have opted to grow their algae in enclosed containers that allow them to precisely control the light, CO₂, and water conditions needed by various strains of algae. Doug Henston, CEO of the start-up company Solix Biofuels, says, “Closed systems have shown over time that they have significant yield benefits and merits over open ponds.” But others maintain that enclosed growth systems, commonly called “photobioreactors”, are far too costly to make algae competitive with fossil fuels. In addition to production costs, Polle notes that it’s equally important to consider the energy balance of building enclosed systems. “Even if a photobioreactor is 100 times more productive than an open pond, does it then work out in the economics and the energy balance?” says Polle. “All of the materials that go into a photobioreactor cost energy to make.”

Another hurdle is choosing which species of algae to work with from the tens of thousands available. During the 18-year NREL program, researchers sifted through more than 3000 strains of algae from across the U.S. before settling on 300 species that they thought were the most promising oil producers. Some species of algae can yield more than 50% of their weight in oil, while other strains are not as bountiful.

In addition to natural and indigenous species of algae, some companies are experimenting with the genetic engineering of certain algal strains to select for production of the desired product. Solazyme’s Dillon says that after extensive screening, his company found strains that thrive on biomass materials such as corn stover, wood chips, and sugar cane and then spit out oils that can be refined into anything from jet fuel to food oils. “Once we have the feedstock chosen and the product chosen, we use a lot of sophisticated biotechnology to make the conversion of feedstock into the target oil happen very rapidly,” says Dillon. Another company, Joule Biotechnologies, Inc., recently announced that it is working to produce a variety of products, including ethanol and biodiesel, from an undisclosed genetically engineered microorganism that its proprietors will only say is “not algae”.

Although many companies are focused on harvesting oils from algae, the biofuel start-up Algenol Biofuels is betting its future on ethanol. “A lot of algae can make ethanol,” says Algenol’s Woods. “But none of them do it in industrial quantities.” Rather than the usual process of extracting oil by bursting the cells open, Algenol has selected a few strains that “sweat” ethanol through a natural diffusion process, says Woods. And PetroAlgae’s Beck says that its products include a high-carbohydrate lipid mash and a high-value protein. The protein can be sold into the animal-feed market, and eventually, as food supplements for human consumption, he says.

Among the many promising attributes of algae is their ability to harness unwanted CO₂ and thrive in less-than-pristine water. Since algae can be grown in brackish and gray water, they do not compete for precious water resources, as agricultural crops do. Solix Biofuels, Inc., has just begun operating a demonstration plant on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in southwestern Colorado, where it is pumping CO₂ and water from a coal-bed methane production plant into its algae growth chambers. The plant is currently producing oil at a rate of 1500 gal/ac/yr, according to Henston, and aims to produce 4000−5000 gal/ac/yr.

If algae were once considered obscure wild cards in the energy field, nobody would say that anymore. In July, ExxonMobil announced that it was investing $600 million to research algae-based biofuels in collaboration with Synthetic Genomics, Inc., a biotechnology company cofounded by genomics pioneer J. Craig Venter. In 2008, Solazyme forged a partnership with Chevron to develop oils for biofuels, and Algenol recently announced a collaboration with Dow Chemical. And in August 2009, BP announced that it is investing more than $10 million in Martek Biosciences Corp., a firm specializing in the development of nutritional supplements from algae, to research biofuels technology.

Solazyme scientist pours crude algal oil for testing and evaluation.

SOLAZYME

Dillon notes that when he got into the business in 2003, he never imagined that algae would receive so much attention. “The investment community didn’t know what we were talking about. Back then, they were like, ‘Algae? Fuel? Biology for energy? We don’t get it,” he says. “They know what we’re talking about today.”

Algae: fuel of the future? – Environmental Science & Technology (ACS Publications)

Cleantech Investing in Israel: Phoebus Energy unveils hybrid water heating system in Jerusalem

Phoebus Energy unveiled its hybrid water heating system last week at the community center in Gilo, a neighborhood of Jerusalem, according to an article in The Jerusalem Post.

Phoebus Energy, founded in 2007 with $2 million in seed funding from Terra Venture Partners, has developed a hybrid heat pump system that integrates with existing oil-based systems to make them more efficient. Newly appointed CEO Yaron Tal told The Jerusalem Post says that Phoebus Energy’s system saves between 50 and 70 percent of oil and reduces pollution by 80 to 90% compared to a traditional heat pump system.

“The Phoebus system is based on a complex algorithm that we developed which governs when to use the oil-based system and when to use the heat pump. It constantly monitors many parameters to decide which way is most efficient to generate heat,” Tal said.

“The system measures such parameters as the temperature outside, the temperature of the water, and the price of the oil. Several of the parameters change a number of times throughout the day,” he continued.

Phoebus Energy has already installed its system in eight locations in Israel, from kibbutzim to community centers to hotels, according to The Jerusalem Post. Phoebus Energy’s solution targets medium and large water heating systems, such as those found in hospitals, hotels, factories and large apartment buildings. The company is also already in negotiations with potential clients abroad, Tal told the Post.

Heat pumps had been around for a long time as a means to heat water, Tal said. Phoebus Energy heat pumps take an ecologically safe version of freon to transfer energy to water. The freon flows at high pressure at a temperature of 5º Celsius. Air is then pushed into the freon, which heats the freon. At 12º, the freon turns from a liquid into a gas. The gas is then mixed with the water, which heats the water, Tal said. The company managed to get the pumps to heat water to 55-60º Celsius, as opposed to other models that only reached 30-40º, he said.

The use of heat pumps cut oil use tremendously, thus reducing costs and pollution, he said.

Shalom Turgeman, who runs the Gilo community center, said in a statement, “The expected savings run into the hundreds of thousands of shekels, but the real point is that we are taking a step for a greener Earth and fighting the air pollution in the Gilo neighborhood.”

Until now, the community center, one of the largest in the country, burned more than 100,000 liters of oil per year to heat the swimming pool, water for the showers and bathrooms, and the gym.

Yaron Tal, previously the President & CEO of TopSpin Medical, was appointed CEO of Phoebus Energy earlier this month. Yoav Ben Yaacov, the Founder and former CEO of Phoebus Energy, is now the company’s VP Marketing & Sales.

It was reported last month that Phoebus Energy recently completed a financing round of $1 million from Galilaea Fund.

Cleantech Investing in Israel: Phoebus Energy unveils hybrid water heating system in Jerusalem

Roof Tiles that Power Your Home? Just say, Solé! @greenUPGRADER

These days it seems there are plenty of reasons for homeowners to consider the switch to solar power, not the least of which is a pretty attractive tax rebate from the good ‘ole federal government. But for those who also take aesthetics into consideration in their home improvement decisions, there has always been the pesky issue of plunking the somewhat bulky panels on top of your roof for all the world to see…until now.

Related Links from Huddler…

• See active discussions and wikis about Sustainable Architecture on Huddler’s Green Home

Thanks to the work of SRS Energy, a Philadephia-based company that develops and manufactures premium solar roofing tiles designed to seamlessly integrate with traditional roofing products. (See image above where blue solar tiles have been added to a traditional mission-style tiled roof). Marketed as the Solé Power Tile™, these SRS Energy roofing tiles are designed to capture and convert sunlight into cost-saving electricity without compromising aesthetics. The tiles are offered as an integrated upgrade to a traditional roofing purchase. Added to the protection and curb appeal expected from a premium roofing system, homeowners are able to capitalize on solar electricity as sustainable value

This lightweight, recyclable-plastic tile is the first solar roofing system designed for traditional California architecture. Its tough, molded-plastic body is fused with a sheet of flexible solar chips from Uni Solar that give it its distinctive blue color. And although its noncrystalline silicone cells gather less energy than conventional tilt-up panels with stiff crystalline cells, they react to a broader spectrum of light even on foggy, cloudy days. (Zahid Sardar, SF Chronicle)

Another huge advantage of the Solé Power Tile is that it is far less sensitive to sunlight than traditional solar cells, and thanks to the unique design that allows each tile to connect to its neighbor almost like Legos,  homeowners can be confident that the power transfer will continue, even if one tile in the chain becomes damaged or stops working.

Learn more about the Solé Power Tile’s partnership with US Tile and whether your home can benefit.

(Image Credit: SRS Energy)

Roof Tiles that Power Your Home? Just say, Solé! @greenUPGRADER

Eco Tech: Energy-producing Microbes Generate Electricity From Mud – Ecofriend

Eco Tech: Energy-producing microbes generate electricity from mud

Anupam | 5 hr. ago

Eco Factor: Energy scavenging microbes use mud for electricity, ready for use in microbial fuel cells.

The latest research conducted at the University of Massachusetts could herald new fuel cell designs that generate electricity from mud. Geobacter, a microbe that generates electricity when placed in mud and wastewater, is about 20,000 times finer than a human hair and according these researchers it has a unique ability to transfer electrons which enables it to extract energy from biomass.

Solar-powered Air Conditioner Aims To Reduce Your Electricity Bills

Eco Factor: Concept air conditioner powered by solar energy.

With the summer sun getting hotter each year due to global warming and the rise in pollution, it gets really tough to stand all that heat without turning on the air conditioner. However, like most energy-eating appliances, cooling your interiors using an air conditioner shows its end impact on your electricity bills. Industrial designer Philip Stankard has tried to prove that you can remain comfortable during the summer months without exactly worrying about the utility bills. Philip has designed a concept air conditioner, dubbed Frost, which works by converting solar energy into electricity and using it to keep your home’s interiors cool.

Eco-Friendly Alternatives To Bleach

While I am finishing up my vacation, hope you find this post from 2007 helpful in your “green” quests!

By now I am sure that most of you know that bleach is incredibly toxic to both you and the environment around you. As I have mentioned before, chlorine bleach releases dioxin, furans and other organochlorines into the air, can cause sore throats, coughs, wheezing, shortness of breath, fluid in the lungs and studies have shown a relationship between dioxin exposure and cancer, birth defects, and developmental/reproductive disorders. Sounds like something you should be using to wash your clothes in, right? And although the above is all true, bleach is still the chemical of choice for whiter whites…but there are alternatives that are much safer for your family that you could be using. Let’s take a look.

First up, you should look at the ingredients in whatever product you use. The following ingredients can be used in varying amounts to whiten and clean your clothes: vinegar, lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide, oxygen, borax, washing soda, sodium hydrosulfite (salt & water). Do not combine them all together…who knows what would happen! I just wanted to let you know that these ingredients are much safer alternatives to chlorine bleach. Hydrogen peroxide, which sounds the most dangerous of all the above, breaks down into water and oxygen in the wastewater.

Besides making your own versions of whiteners from lemon or vinegar or borax, there are several brands available that come pre-made and ready to use. They are proven to be very effective in getting your clothes whiter while being safe for use around your family.

Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Bleach – Is color safe, non-toxic, biodegradable, phosphate-free, safe for septic systems and is not tested on animals. Consists of natural oxygen safe bleach, oxygen bleach stabilizer, deionized water.

Ecover Non-Chlorine Bleach – No chlorine or optical brighteners, completely biodegradable, not tested on animals and is even approved by the Vegan Society. Consists of 100% percarbonate, which is composed of salt, limestone and oxygenated water.

Bi-O-Kleen Oxygen Bleach Plus – No chemical cold-water activators or optical brighteners, no metasilicates, borax, or caustics, chlorine and borine free.

Earth Friendly Oxo Brite Non-Chlorine Bleach – Ingredients are sodium percarbonate and sodium carbonate. Free of enzymes, phosphates, chlorine, DEA and petroleum ingredients.

Of course, this post is mostly about bleach alternatives for washing your clothes, but the same type of ingredients can be used to clean your kitchen and/or bathroom. Bon Ami makes a great safe scrubber and vinegar makes a real good mold killer. So the next time you are about to pick up a bottle of bleach, do yourself a favor and try out a bleach alternative…your family and the environment will thank you!

Eco-Friendly Alternatives To Bleach. | The Good Human

Cash for Clunkers: Get the Best Car for Your Money with New Calculator

Magnify your government check by buying a fuel-efficient car, truck or SUV that will save you over time.

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When Congress approved hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out Wall Street by buying subprime mortgage derivatives and other “toxic” assets, economists and moralists worried over the “moral hazard.” Do you encourage bad behavior by saving those who have made bad decisions, and lost because of them?

When Congress passed a smaller-scale bailout for regular Americans who made a bad choice by buying a gas-guzzling SUV, truck or sports car that they don’t need, lawmakers rewarded the bad decision with a check for as much as $4,500. The reason, ostensibly, was to improve fuel economy by getting old cars off the road, but the law was written so weakly that it will still subsidize the purchase of new clunkers that get as little as 15 mpg (for a truck, 18 mpg for an SUV and 22 mpg for a car).

Granted, there are barely a dozen 2009 cars and SUVs that get 30 mpg or better, and only two (the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic hybrid) that get better than 40 mpg — a sad enough fact. But why not subsidize those vehicles, to the exclusion of gas-guzzlers? Ford — remember Ford? that other, healthier member of the Big Three? — even makes three SUVs that get better than 30 mpg (the hybrid Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner and the Mazda Tribute).

All in all, Cash for Clunkers is clearly another bailout for automakers — who need to sell more vehicles, particularly those gas guzzlers sitting on the lot. It’s not really designed to limit pollution or gas consumption.

But that doesn’t mean that you can’t trade in a clunker for a fuel-efficient vehicle, and still cash in on the government check. Now, the Sierra Club has helpfully created a Cash for Clunkers Calculator shows how to magnify your savings by simply quantifying the savings you can enjoy every year with a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Aim for the top, with a 2010 Toyota Prius, for instance, and you’ll save almost $1,500 a year on fuel costs, compared to buying a car with the minimum qualifying fuel economy (18 mpg).

First, see if your junker is clunky enough to qualify for the Cash for Clunkers program at the government’s cars.gov site.

Then, use this Kelly Blue Book calculator to see if your car is worth more as a trade-in.

Then, use the Cash for Clunkers Calculator to determine the best fuel-efficient vehicle to purchase, and find dealers that sell it.

The Sierra Club adds these two nifty little bits of negotiating advice that should help you get the best deal:

1. Talk to multiple dealers before you mention you have a guzzler to trade in. Find out which offers the best deal for your vehicle, and work with that dealership.
2. Your guzzler will be crushed and recycled, not resold, and you will get a voucher toward the purchase of your new car. Be sure to talk to your dealer about the scrap value of your guzzler — you can apply some of the scrap value toward your purchase.

Do You Think a $4,500 Trade-in Credit for Gas Guzzlers Is a Good Idea?

Tell us by commenting below, or take the poll.

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Print Cash for Clunkers: Get the Best Car for Your Money with New Calculator

Permaculture in Palestine: Bustan Qaraaqa Greens the Hills Outside Bethlehem

by Jesse Fox, Tel Aviv, Israel

For a group of British ecologists working in development organizations in the West Bank, researching the sorry state of the Palestinian environment became, at some point, rather unsatisfying. “We wanted to move from writing reports on environmental destruction and stagnating development to actually doing something about it,” says Alice Gray. Over two years later, the group, along with a handful of volunteers, is creating an ecological oasis in almost impossible conditions. Bustan Qaraaqa (literally “Tortoise Garden”) is a Permaculture paradise in the making.

Building a solar oven.

“When we first started building this place, a little over a year ago, everyone around here told us we were crazy,” says Tom, another resident ecologist. “How are you going to grow anything here without water, they asked us. But for us that’s exactly the point – using what we have to show other people what can be done here.”

Founded in April 2008, Bustan Qaraaqa sits in a quiet valley on the outskirts of Beit Sahour, a town near Bethlehem. Alice, Tom and a handful of foreign and local volunteers live here in a century-old stone house (the oldest house in the valley, according to their landlord, whose father built it), surrounded by 14 dunams of land.

Greywater system: water from the sinks and shower are filtered, then reused to water a vegetable garden.

It may sound idyllic, but the challenges are immense. Sparse rainfall, creeping desertification, lousy soils and rocky, sloping land, just to name a few. Making matters worse, the region is in the middle of a prolonged drought, and the past couple of years have seen record low rainfall here (although, to my astonishment, I woke up one morning to a light drizzle falling on the farm – quite an unusual experience during the dry Middle Eastern summer).

After just over a year of work on the farm, the place is beginning to take shape. A water cistern, meant to collect the winter rains for use irrigating trees in the summer, sits half-full at the bottom of the valley. Soon it will host a school of tilapia. Swales have been dug in preparation for trees and vegetable gardens on the slopes. A composting toilet, greywater system, and a compost heap are all functional. There was even a chicken coop for a while, until a pack of dogs managed to break into it and eat all the fowl.

The tree nursery.

In the dry heat of the late afternoon, I find Tom, a tall, lanky Brit, lovingly tending to his pet project. The farm’s tree nursery, nestled under a burlap overhang, contains some 120 species of native trees, as well as a few exotic species. Tom collected all of the seeds himself, during his travels through seven different countries.

Kneeling down to pick out a weed, Tom lists the benefits that the trees will eventually provide: improved soils, a home for wildlife, a source of animal feed, reduced erosion, medicinal uses, and the list goes on. The trees, among them oaks, carob, acacia, pecan and pistachio, are destined to be planted on the farm’s terraces, and on neighboring farms.

One of the project’s primary goals is to empower the surrounding community. “Individuals and communities have more power than they believe,” says Alice. “The idea here is to turn our lives into an experiment, to explore what people can achieve using simple methods and the basic resources at hand.”

Swales follow the contour lines of terraces. Trees from the nursery will be planted in the thin lines, just below canals where water will collect. In between the rows of trees, vegetable gardens will grow. The circles lined with stones are “keyholes” from which the gardeners can access the plants.

One way of connecting with the community has been through the trees. Bustan Qaraaqa’s inhabitants conduct tree-planting workshops, help local farmers during the olive harvest and are constantly seeking out other farmers interested in planting some of their seedlings.

They are also interested in working in a more urban setting. One potential project would involve setting up roof gardens and greywater systems in refugee camps, where food security is a serious issue.

Another big plan is to build constructed wetlands for sewage treatment. As in most of the West Bank, sewage in Bethlehem is not treated. Instead, raw sewage flows into valleys, eventually making their way to the Dead Sea – contaminating the land and destroying the ecosystem along the way.

Bethlehem’s sewage happens to be dumped into two valleys not far from the farm. Using little more than a clever combination of purifying plants and graded terraces, Tom envisions a method of treating the city’s sewage without the need for treatment plants.

While Alice hopes a local farmer will eventually take over the farm, she adds that this is not essential. “The project is much bigger than this site,” she says. “Bustan Qaraaqa’s role is to serve as a demonstration site and to pass on knowledge.” From the look of things, they are off to a very promising start.

All photos by Jesse Fox.

Permaculture in Palestine: Bustan Qaraaqa Greens the Hills Outside Bethlehem : TreeHugger

A Natural Fungicide!

I have been having problems with a rust on my daylilies, and I when searching for a natural solution, I found this recipe on Mike’s Gardening Tips (@ You Bet Your Garden with Mike McGrath):

The Cornell Formula:

• In one gallon of water, mix
• 1 tablespoon of baking soda
• 1 tablespoon oil (horticultural oil or dormant oil, or in a pinch vegetable oil, No motor oil or WD-40)
• 1 or 2 drops of dishwashing liquid

Directions: For a plant that is already showing signs of disease, first remove all the diseased parts you can reach. Then remove all of the mulch underneath the plant (and get rid of it). Spray the Formula liberally on the cleaned-up plant and apply new mulch. Be sure to cover the undersides of the leaves as well. Spray in early morning or evening.

I have gone through all of my dayliles and removed infected leaves. I just received 2 loads of bulk fresh mulch, so have been cleaning up under the plants as well, and applying new mulch.

I also fertilized my plants, so they would be stronger and healthier, making them more able to withstand an infestation. I had gotten some worm castings from the Jacobsons and applied it before adding the new mulch.

I had fertilized my gardens with Miracle Grow’s 3 month fertilizer pellets this spring, but I am not satisfied with the results. I applied it in April and still find the pellets. The plants also don’t seem to be doing as well this year, not growing as well and some are “yellow”. I think I will go back to using the powered fertilizer or now that I can get worm castings, add them to the flower beds in the spring.

Merry Microfiber Blog » Blog Archive » A Natural Fungicide!

Green Tips For Fighting Mosquitoes

by Kate on July 15, 2009

Every Week we send out a Free Weekly Green Tips newsletter and each week we publish the green tips from the week prior. Sign up today for our free Weekly Green Tips.

After going on a run today and coming home with smashed tiny bugs all over my face, neck, and shoulders (I know, nasty) I realized, it was time to talk about green ways to fight bugs… We are making this set of green tips a series because there are a lot of different types of bugs out there. We want you to be prepared and stay away from potentially toxic bug sprays.  Here are some green tips for fighting mosquitoes.

• Don’t buy Deet! Deet can cause hives, skin irritation, nausea, and over time children who have been sprayed with DEET have been more prone to seizures… YIKES! So, what is the alternative? Well there are a couple of different options out there for greener bug spray like EcoSmart and Bite Blocker Insect Repellent. They are made from plant oils that are natural repellents for mosquitoes.

• Get a Bat House – Bats are not like the vampire-like creatures you see in scary movies, they really are not harmful to humans…just bugs. So, one great way to fight the mosquito population is by purchasing a bat house (if you live in an area that has bats of course). The bat house is similar to a bird house and it basically provides outdoor shelter to bats. If I had to pick bats or mosquitoes, I would pick bats any day.

• Make your own natural bug repellent – There are a couple of ways to make your own bug repellent. Some options include rubbing pure vanilla, lavender plants or oils, and citronella oil onto your skin. You can smell good and keep mosquitoes away – awesome!

• Eat a lot of garlic – Your friends may not want to be around you when you eat a lot of garlic, but neither will mosquitoes. Turns out mosquitoes do NOT like garlic. So, if you have garlic around, the mosquitoes will not be around. Woohoo! Bring out the garlic bread!

Green Tips For Fighting Mosquitoes | Greener Trends