BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM You might already have eucalyptus oil at home, maybe for the diffuser or a bundle you hang in the shower. It also happens to be something pests avoid. The scent is sharp and herbal, nothing like what rodents or crawling insects encounter in the wild, and that unfamiliarity alone makes them steer clear. The catch is that the way most people first reach for it, soaking cotton balls and placing them near problem spots, doesn’t hold up. There’s a better method, and it’s not complicated. The cotton ball mistake It makes sense as a first instinct: soak a few cotton balls in eucalyptus oil, tuck them near where you’ve spotted activity, and let the scent work. The problem is it fades faster than you’d expect. Pest management expert Jim McHale warns that once the smell weakens, you’ve left rodents a ready-made pile of soft nesting material right where they were already comfortable. A diluted scent won’t move pests that have already settled in. The right way to wield eucalyptus  McHale recommends an oil-based solution applied at the entry points and pathways pests use to get inside, not near where you’ve already spotted them. A five percent solution in those spots can deter rodents and crawling insects, which a 2014 study on eucalyptus as a natural repellent confirmed. You’re putting the scent where they’d have to cross it, before they’re already in. Apply it every day. Without consistent reapplication, the scent fades and takes the deterrent effect with it. Walk the perimeter of your home first and seal any gaps or cracks you find, because the oil works best when there are fewer ways in to begin with. A note on safety Pure eucalyptus oil is toxic to pets and young children. Always dilute it before use, and keep treated surfaces out of reach until dry. If you have animals in the house, this is the part to pay attention to. When to bring in a professional Natural deterrents are most useful early, when a small problem is still containable. Once pests are well-established, eucalyptus won’t cut it. At that point, live trapping and exclusionary methods are more reliable options. And regardless of where you are in the process, McHale’s broader advice holds: pest control works better as a combination than as a single fix. Removing food sources, sealing entry points, and eliminating nesting spots all matter alongside the deterrent. Eucalyptus is one useful piece of the solution, but it won’t resolve everything.     Did this solution stand out? Share it with a friend or support our mission by becoming an Emissary.The post Using eucalyptus oil to repel household pests: what the experts say first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton set up a series of financial wellness conversations with women around the state. She expected to hear about rent, wages, and the cost of groceries. What she kept hearing about was menopause: what it was doing to their work, their money, their days. The bill that followed came directly from those conversations. At the end of May, the Illinois legislature unanimously passed a law letting licensed healthcare professionals take specialized training in perimenopause and menopause care as part of their required implicit bias awareness training. No new hours required. No new mandate. Menopause education is made available inside a requirement that already exists. Illinois is the first state to try this. Why the gap is so wide The scale of the problem is hard to square. Seventy percent of women who seek medical care for menopause symptoms don’t receive treatment. Menopause-related productivity losses cost over $150 billion globally. Black and Latina women are more likely to experience severe symptoms and less likely to receive hormone therapy from a provider. When Stratton’s team looked at Illinois specifically, a state of nearly 13 million people, they counted fewer than 200 physicians certified as menopause health professionals. “When I think about a state of almost 13 million people and half of the state being women — 200 people being certified just wasn’t enough,” Stratton said. How the bill works Beginning January 1, 2027, licensed healthcare professionals in Illinois can count specialized menopause and perimenopause training toward their required implicit bias awareness hours. No new continuing medical education requirement. Menopause training becomes an option within hours that providers are already doing. The design was intentional. Stratton’s team wanted something that would work for providers, not just create friction. “Having all physicians being able to get this — you never know who you’ll have that conversation with. It could be your primary care physician, but it could be another physician that you’re seeing and you’re talking about your symptoms… and it could lead more physicians to say, ‘Hey, have you checked out to see whether this might be perimenopause or menopause?’” Stratton said. Pauline Maki, PhD, director of the Center on Health, Awareness and Research on Menopause at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, helped write the legislation and is now designing the CME course. It will cover hormone therapy basics, FDA-approved non-hormonal options, and how to address the needs of patients across different backgrounds. “My inbox is blowing up with people asking me to consult with them on their legislation,” Maki said. Where this is heading Ten states and Washington, D.C., have now passed some kind of menopause law. Sixty pieces of related legislation were introduced in state legislatures in 2026 alone. Rhode Island was first, passing workplace accommodations in June 2025. Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia have all passed insurance coverage laws. Michigan looks likely to follow Illinois’ approach, with movement also building in California and Massachusetts. Stratton is 60. She went through perimenopause without a diagnosis. That meant years of broken sleep and struggling with symptoms that were never named. She’s expected to win an open U.S. Senate seat in November and has said she plans to take this work federal. “It’s not treated as a public health issue, it’s treated as a personal issue,” she said. “We need to change that.” Every woman who lives long enough goes through menopause. The question Stratton keeps asking is why that’s never been enough.     Did this solution stand out? Share it with a friend or support our mission by becoming an Emissary.The post Illinois found a smarter way to close the menopause care gap first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

Beloved actor and Jurassic Park star Sam Neill passed away on July 13, 2026, rather unexpectedly. The 78-year-old announced in April that he was cancer-free, much to the delight of those who loved him. Sam’s family shared the heartbreaking news of his death on social media. “Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected, but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free,” the family shared in a statement on social media. “They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by SamNeillTheProp (@samneilltheprop) Friend Steven Spielberg Spoke Out Following Sam Neill’s Death Steven Spielberg shared a statement with Variety following Sam Neill’s sudden death. “I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in ‘Jurassic Park,'” Steven Speilber wrote. “Sam was exceptionally collaborative,” he added. “It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children.” Many people offered condolences to Sam Neill’s family following their announcement. “Such sad news. I worked with Sam on Merlin and not only was he a brilliant actor but he was such a wonderful person as well. Thank you for kindness and humour fabulous Sam,” a message reads. This person agreed, writing, “Such a shock – loved by so many – I’ll be cracking two paddocks tonight.” This story’s featured image is by Murray Close/Getty Images

Vlad Skuridin was playing video games at his Texas home on July 7, 2026, when something truly terrifying happened. Lightning struck and traveled into his family’s Cypress home. Vlad, 13, who was playing on a metal desk, felt the strike in his abdomen. “I was just sitting here, everything was going fine. I was playing games, I was not expecting anything, and there is a metal part right here, and my skin was touching it, so I got shocked,” Vlad told KPRC. Vlad Skuridin Thought He Might Die Vlad Skuridin told the news station that the jolt knocked him off his feet and left him positively terrified. “I just jumped out really fast, and I started screaming. It was crazy. I honestly thought I was gonna die. I did not think I was going to survive that. I don’t know how I survived it,” he said. Vlad’s dad called 911, and first responders arrived at his home shortly after. They evaluated the teenager and concluded that he didn’t need further medical attention. The incident left him feeling extremely grateful. “I’m feeling fine, but I’m still a little shocked and dizzy. Not from the shock, from the lightning, but just everything that happened here is crazy,” Vlad said. Vlad Skuridin added that he never expected to be struck by lightning, certainly not while sitting in the comfort of his own home. The incident made him reevaluate his life pretty darn quickly, “Anything can happen at any moment. You just got to be ready for it. You got to be nice to everybody. It can end whenever. It can end whenever you want, man,” Vlad said. This story’s featured image can be found here

There is no doubt that some people are braver around wild animals than others. They spend much of their time outdoors learning and coexisting, which helps them learn animal behaviors, so what could be a very dangerous situation for the average person might be a regular day for them. Instagram snake enthusiast Loopy Outside spends a lot of time with the reptiles. He recently posted a video doing something with a rattlesnake most of us wouldn’t even dare consider. “Sharing some water with a huamantlan rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus salvini)! This individual was quite thirsty it seemed as the rains hadn’t hit this area yet, so we figured it’d be beneficial to supply him with a little bit of water before we sent him on his way. Such a beautiful species that I hope to see more of in the future!” Loopy wrote. View this post on Instagram A post shared by @loopyoutside The Rattlesnake Seemed Totally at Ease with Loopy It’s pretty obvious that Loopy isn’t afraid of the rattlesnake, even if it was rattling its tail. He slowly pours the water from the bottle into the snake’s mouth, and it laps the liquid up just like a pet kitten or pyuppy would. Loopy’s handling made some people nervous. “Ummmmmm why are you even that close????” Someone asked. Others familiar with snakes shared their own stories. “We see a lot of rattlesnakes in the desert and some always tell us to kill them but we leave them, they rattle to let us know they are there but really just keep to themselves, we admire them and move along,” a comment reads. Some thought that Loopy’s rattlesnake was really cool. Like this person who wrote, “What a lil cutie. you are brave.” This story’s featured image can be found here