What Do Ants Have to Do With Essential Oils?
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As wonderful as my new house is, there is one drawback: a colony of grease ants has taken up residence. Frustrated at having to clean up a mountain of ants again, I Googled how to naturally get rid of the tiny pests. A post from Mommypotamus recommended Clove essential oil. Elated that I actually had clove oil, I quickly dabbed some onto a cotton ball and pressed the concoction into the window crevice where the ants were gaining entrance.
Within minutes, the constant stream of critters slowed to a trickle, and by the next morning, no trace of them could be found...at the window, anyway. The little terrors had discovered a new inlet in the dining room, so I repeated the process with the same results.
I was thrilled - not just about getting rid of some of the ant infestation, but because an essential oil remedy had actually worked.
Many friends and family members have recommended essential oils (EOs) to me over the years. They've given me tips, advice, and recipes for using them, and although I've tried several of the suggestions, I havn't really seen an improvement in our health. That doesn't necessarily mean there wasn't improvement, but it if there was, it wasn't tangible.
I was kind of frustrated. I kept hearing glowing reports of how essential oils healed this malady or that virus, and as much as I love the various EO scents, I couldn't really see their benefits.
Until the ant incident, that is.
Chasing away the ants with clove oil was the first time I thought, "wow, maybe these essential oils really do work for some things!"
One thing I was especially excited about was the fact that I hadn't had to use any kind of bug spray on the ants. At the same time, though, clove essential oil is extremely potent in its own right. Just because something is natural does not automatically mean it is safe. And truthfully, some of the recommendations I've been given about essential oils, such as putting a few drops into my water bottle or applying them undiluted to my skin, aren't safe practices (essential oils don't dilute in water and many of them are too strong to apply without what's known as a carrier oil).
Since many of my readers are avid essential oil users and others want to learn more about natural health and wellness, I wanted to give a quick heads-up about a new Ultimate Bundle available today through Monday, June 27th: The Herbs and Essential Oils Super Bundle. I love that much of this bundle will be focused on safe natural remedy practices. Instead of writing about the bundle's contents and benefits, though, I'll let this video here do a much better job for me!
But I also have a confession to make: I'm not planning to buy the bundle. It isn't that I don't want to learn more about natural health; I do! It isn't because I'm concerned about a lack of quality; Ultimate Bundles have always exceeded my expectations. And it isn't because I don't think we'd benefit from it; I'm confident we would. It's just that I have so many ebooks and ecourses (not all on natural health) sitting in my queue that I don't want to add even more to my list right now. I'm trying to be a good steward not only of my finances but also of my time.
Because of my success in getting rid of ants with essential oils, I do plan to use EOs more consistently and in a wider variety of ways. I will probably revisit the EO class from Vintage Remedies that I took a couple of years ago. And I hope to complete enough of my current courses and ebooks that I'll have time to buy next year's Essential Oil Ultimate Bundle, assuming there will be one!
Your turn: Are you interested in natural health? Have you found natural remedies to be a benefit to your family? If so, share in the comments some of your favorite natural health tips and resources!
