RE: [GBlist] Non Toxic Ant Repellent

["Terry Clark " <t.clark@clarkpest.com>]

Will, What type of ant are you fighting and what do you consider to be
"Non Toxic"? Peppermint oils or other food grade oils such as mint oil
are qualified by law as non-toxic and they are growing in popularity but
the residual is short so weekly application may be necessary. Victor
brand "poison free ant and roach aerosol" is available over the counter
(check Lowes or Home Depot and it uses mint oil as the active. If you
are using such a spray, stick to the straight linear edges such as the
corners and joints of concrete, pipes or wires, as that is where 80+% of
the ant travel is done.

Boric acid is toxic in large amounts but the amount needed to reduce
your ant population (1/2% to 1%by weight boric acid/water) dilute with
about equal percentage of sugar should not be a problem to a mammal the
size of a cat, if you limit the cats ability to access it. Try a small
margarine type of container with about an inch of the above liquid bait
in the bottom. You should punch several small holes in the side of the
container so the ants can access it and make it easier for them to avoid
falling in by using some strips of excelsior matting from a swamp cooler
pad or similar type material on the sides inside and out. 

A word of warning, some ant species only release a small percentage of
the workers to forage at any one time. A stomach toxicant like boric
acid may cause distress to the colony too quickly and splitting of the
colony can happen. The result is multiple colonies and multiple
problems. You should take some of the ants to your local Ag extension
office for identification prior to starting any control procedures.  

Insect growth regulator baits have a very high LD-50, (relatively safe
around mammals) and are available over the counter. Maxforce brand with
the active ingredient hydromethylnon as sold in a small sealed stations
that your cats would have a difficult time accessing although we do not
use the product here in California due to prop 65 posting issues. 

If you want to check out some other professional product labels and
M.S.D.S. check out http://www.weneedyou.com/weneedu_MaterialList.html


Terry Clark
Clark Pest Control

-Original Message-----
From: Will Harrison [mailto:will@carterburton.com] 
Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2002 7:07 AM
To: Green Building
Subject: [GBlist] Non Toxic Ant Repellent

It is a little off the green building subject, but does anyone have any
ideas of safe ant repellent.  I would use boric acid, but the suspect
ants are near my cat's food bowls?  I have heard that one should keep
boric acid away from pets.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance



______________________________________________________________________
This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by REPP/CREST, creator of
Solstice http://www.crest.org, and BuildingGreen, Inc., publisher of
Environmental Building News and GreenSpec http://www.BuildingGreen.com
______________________________________________________________________





______________________________________________________________________
This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by REPP/CREST, creator of
Solstice http://www.crest.org, and BuildingGreen, Inc., publisher of
Environmental Building News and GreenSpec http://www.BuildingGreen.com
______________________________________________________________________