WELCOME MESSAGE
jwarn...@excite.com
Lauderdale Research and Education Center (USA). I mostly work with
white-footed ants (Technomyrmex albipes) but also with Florida
carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.). Feel free to share comments on ants
in general, pest ant control topics, questions, observations, etc.
Please keep comments respectful.
To start out, and perhaps set the tone, here are a few not-very-strict
definitions to consider (please) before adding your comments:
· Organic: having a molecular structure containing carbon.
· Inorganic: not having carbon in its molecular structure, for
example, diatomaceous earth is silicon dioxide (SiO2); therefore it is
in-organic.
· Natural: not synthetic, i.e., not man-made. Diatomaceous earth,
although sometimes processed, can be considered as a naturally
occurring substance because it consists of the exoskeletons of marine
diatoms. (If some natural product is highly processed, is it still
natural?)
· Chemical: any material substance, for example, water, salt, etc.
· Toxic: poisonous. A substance that is not usually considered
poisonous, if administered in excess, usually becomes toxic. How toxic
something is, is an important consideration. A list of comparative
toxicities is provided below.
· Insecticide: a substance that is toxic to insects. It may be, and
usually is, toxic to other organisms as well. An insecticide can be
natural, such as nicotine (which is very toxic) or pyrethrum (not very
toxic); synthetic, such as permethrin, a synthetic pyrethrum; organic,
such as DDT (yes, DDT is a chlorinated hydrocarbon, therefore organic,
and happily not being sold in the USA any more); inorganic, such as
arsenic, which I wish no one was still using, but I have read comments
from people that are still using it!
· Organic gardening: well, this term doesn't fit with the above
definitions too well unless defined something like this: the activity
of growing plants exclusively using compounds containing carbon. The
general definition (my understanding anyway) is: growing plants without
using man-made products. The main idea that organic gardeners seem to
have is that man-made products will harm people, animals, the
environment, etc. Personally, I think that each product that we might
wish to use should be considered individually.
I made the following list to show comparative toxicities of some common
products. I usually look at the toxicities of acute oral exposure to
rats, and these are expressed as "LD50's" or the lethal median dose
of a product, expressed in milligrams (mg) of the product to kilograms
(kg) of weight to the exposed animal, so THE LOWER THE NUMBER, THE MORE
TOXIC THE SUBSTANCE, and higher numbers are less toxic products. This
number says how many milligrams of the product per kilogram of body
weight actually killed 50% of the animals (rats) tested.
TOXICITY OF SOME MATERIALS (sorry, the numbers will not stay in
columns)
Material Acute Oral LD50 (rat) in mg/kg (see above)
Nicotine 10 VERY TOXIC (but "organic")
Toxaphene 29
Fipronil 95 (see Termidor below)
Diazinon® 100
Gasoline 50
Caffeine 200
Sevin® 650
Aspirin 1,200
Malathion® 1,375
TimBor® (DOT) 2,500 @5%= 50,000
Table Salt........ .....3,320...................
Baking Soda 4,200
Boric Acid 3,500
d-Limonene 5,300
Grain Alcohol 14,000
Niban® 60,000+
Termidor 0.06% spray 3,252,936 = +-60 Gal/Kg for an adult
The idea that I am trying to convey, is that a substance can be called
organic, inorganic, synthetic, natural or whatever, but you need to
really look at what the substance is before deciding that it is
"safe" or "dangerous". Saying that something is natural or
organic, doesn't necessarily mean it is safe for you, or for the
environment; for example, nicotine, is organic and natural, but highly
toxic. And because something is inorganic, it is not necessarily
dangerous, for example, borax (Na2B4O5(OH)4·8(H2O)).
John Warner,
PhD candidate, Entomology
Ant Lab
University of Florida Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center
Davie, Florida, USA
Pest Control 123
I was trying to figure the amount of Termidor an average adult would
have to ingest to reach the LD 50.
Any idea?
Scott
jwarn...@excite.com
white-footed ants (WFA) (Technomyrmex albipes) were misted twice with
this solution. Most of the ants were dead by 24hrs. and 100% were dead
at 70 hours. I'll have to measure how much was put out by each mist...I
can't find that info right now. I think it would be interesting to
calculate the LD50. An average WFA weights about 0.2 mg. I'll get back
to this and do the math when I have a chance. OH! I just realized, you
are asking about the average HUMAN adult! I was thinking the average
WFA adult. (I have ants in the brain, I guess.) OK, I'll have to start
this over again, but no time right now... I'll be back! -John
jwarn...@excite.com
0.06% concentration, is given above in my first post: about 60 Gal.
Of course, that's based on data using rats. To get LD50 data for humans
is something we probably should avoid! I suggest using the rat, acute
oral LD50.
The main idea being that Termidor is a relatively safe material.
ALWAYS FOLLOW LABEL DIRECTIONS!
-John
Pest Control 123
"over the counter?"
Like at HomeDpot.
jwarn...@excite.com
have never used this product. Please let me know if you use it, if it
is any good.
John
Diane
Thank you
thewebseye
production at http://www.ecoproduce.com and my intention is to feature
experts articles every week on the homepage. If you are interested in
contributing please let me know.
The aim is to eventually offer a consultancy service in organic
production, but I would like to build up the directory first so there
are enough people interested and finding the site.
I look forward to your reply.
Best regards,
Richard.