California’s Top Pesticide Blunders

In Butte County, Calif., a man used a salt shaker to apply insecticidal dust on his dog for flea control. Later, he thought the salt shaker contained garlic salt and sprinkled the insecticidal dust on a bowl of chili.

The man realized his mistake because the chili tasted strange and the beans were a gray color. He experienced some stomach discomfort and went to a hospital for treatment.

This incident is one of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s (DPR) “Top Pesticide Blunders,” which reminds the public to avoid illness and injury by following label instructions and using household cleaning and gardening products that pose the least risk to their health and the environment.

What follows are two Butte County incidents and blunders that were drawn from 2007 illnesses and injuries reported to DPR. State privacy law protects the individuals’ identities.
• In Sacramento County, a teenage girl saw a mouse in her home and used gopher bait to control the problem because she had seen her parents use it effectively against gophers in the yard. She read the label, but did not understand it. She poured a handful of pellets into a corner of two bedrooms and waited in another room. Within two hours, she experienced a sharp pain behind her eyes, and tightness in her chest when she breathed in. She was taken to an emergency room for evaluation.
• In Los Angeles County, an elderly woman spilled insecticidal powder on herself as she tried to open the container to use for roach control in her house. She apparently held the container over her head. She experienced “burning” and was taken to her doctor.

Thanks for reading,

Jeff The ANT-SER Man

 After you are done come to my Ants-R-Pests Depot Do It Yourself Pest Store to keep the spiders from jumping on you.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-Xwmgg7GDWJ4/bee_vs_jumping_spider/

Remember spiders need live insects to feed on to live. They catch the spiders by using webs. They inject their prey with venom through fangs.

When you are moving things indoor look to make sure they are not harboring any spiders or insect prey that will feed the spiders.

Typically spiders will not go on offense to attack a person. They will bite when pressed between shoes, clothes or hats and your skin.

Some great products to use are: CB80-Extra, Demon WP,or Delta Dust . Click on them to purchase and/or view the product items.

Where are they?

Weems and Whitcomb (1975) noted that, “on many occasions specimens have been inadvertently brought into Florida in trucks and automobiles, hidden in luggage, boxes, and various commercial cargoes, but to date it appears to have been unsuccessful in establishing breeding populations in Florida.”

Gertsch and Ennik (1983) reported a few records from Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Wyoming and Tamaulipas (Mexico).

What do they look like?

The description is taken from Gertsch (1958). Adults of both sexes are similar in appearance and size, ranging from about 7 to 12 mm in body length. Adult females average slightly larger, about 9 mm compared to about 8 mm for adult males. In total, these markings appear in the form of a violin. In addition, three dusky patches may occur along the margin on each side. The sternum is yellowish, with other ventral body parts of the cephalothorax darker reddish brown.

Where do they hang out?

Most are found in buildings and outbuildings, especially in boxes and among papers, in every room from basement to attic. They were found in almost any place which had remained undisturbed for lengthy periods of time, such as behind pictures, beneath or behind furniture, in boxes of toys, in clothing, among stored papers, in the corrugations of cardboard boxes, and in discarded articles, such as tires, inner tubes, and assorted other junk. Most of the specimens found in feral conditions were under rocks, especially in bluff outcrops, with a few under bark or in logs. They definitely seemed to prefer dry conditions.

female with egg sac

Bites and Bite Symptoms

Brown recluse spiders usually bite only when they become trapped next to the victim’s skin. Bites occur either when sleeping humans roll onto the spider or put on clothes into which the spider has crawled (Vetter and Visscher 1998). Typically bites occur under clothing, mostly on the thigh, upper arm, or lateral torso, less often on the neck (Anderson 1998).

Description of the symptoms is from Wingo (1960), Gorham (1968, 1970), Anderson (1982, 1998), and Vetter and Visscher (1998). Reactions to a bite vary from no noteworthy symptoms to severe necrosis or systemic effects. Discomfort may be felt immediately after the bite, or several hours may pass before any local reaction to the bite occurs. In one study, only 57% of the patients realized they had been bitten at the time of the bite.

Typical symptoms are as follows: Symptoms start two to six hours after the bite. Blisters frequently appear at the bite site, accompanied by severe pain and pronounced swelling. By 12 to 24 hours, it is usually apparent if a Loxosceles wound is going to become necrotic because it turns purple in color; if necrotic symptoms do not express by 48 to 96 hours, then they will not develop. If the skin turns purple, it will then turn black as cells die. Eventually the necrotic core falls away, leaving a deep pit that gradually fills with scar tissue.

Author: G.B. Edwards, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry.
Originally published as DPI Entomology Circular 406.
Photographs: Jeffrey Lotz and G.B. Edwards, Division of Plant Industry; Jim Kalisch, University of Nebraska – Lincoln; and James L. Castner, University of Florida
Project Coordinator: Thomas R. Fasulo, University of Florida
Publication Number: EENY-299
Publication Date: August 2003. Latest revision: June 2009.
Copyright 2003-2009 University of Florida

•  There are about 1000 species of spiders in the United States. They live everywhere, even inside homes and buildings. The brown recluse and the widow spiders are considered venomous spiders; however, most spiders are not harmful to man.
• Spiders feed entirely on living insects or other animals, they may actively search for their prey, hide and wait for them to pass, or build webs to trap flying insects.

Control:

Non-Chemical Control of Spiders

 Outside lights should not be left on at night.  Trash, lumber piles, bricks, weeds, and outside structures are good breeding places for spiders and should be cleaned up. Inside the home spider webs should be brushed down. The egg sacs should be destroyed, vacuum cleaner attachments may be used to clean walls, and the collected debris should be destroyed.

Chemical Control of Spiders

Chemical control of spiders is difficult outdoors because web spinning spiders do not tend to contact treated surfaces. Inside the house, space sprays containing pyrethrins or pyrethroids are effective in killing spiders. Space sprays have little residual activity and should be applied when spiders are noticed. Dust formulations can be used in crawl spaces, attics, and utility areas to provide long-term protection. The insecticidal dusts tend to cling to the spider webs for long periods of time. When spiders chew their webs to recycle the silk they consume the toxicant and die.

I hope this helps anyone who reads this.

Well I appreciate you listening.

Have A Great Day,

Jeff Ahrens, A.C.E.

First I would like to talk a little about the famous spiders:

Spiders usually remain hidden and do not seek out and bite humans. Most spiders cannot penetrate the skin of a human with their fangs. Almost all spiders possess venom, but only a few are considered dangerous to humans. They are predators, feeding primarily on insects and other arthropods. When feeding, spiders inject a digestive fluid into their prey, and then suck up the digested food.

There are about 1000 species of spiders in the United States. They live everywhere, even inside homes and buildings. Some species are able to bite humans and inject venom into the skin. The brown recluse and the widow spiders are considered venomous spiders; however, most spiders are not harmful to man.

Control of spiders is difficult outdoors because spiders do not tend to contact treated surfaces. Inside the house, space sprays containing Pyrethrin or pyrethroids are effective in killing spiders. Space sprays have little residual activity and should be applied when spiders are noticed. When spraying enclosed areas, care should be taken so spiders agitated by the spray do not drop onto the person doing the spraying. Repeat the treatment in 4 weeks to kill young spiders that hatch from eggs.

A list of recommended insecticides that are used in household pest control follows;

• Demon WP             
• CB 123
• Talstar
• Delta Dust
• Pyrethroids

Dust formulations can be used in crawl spaces, attics, and utility areas to provide long-term protection. The insecticidal dusts tend to cling to the spider webs for long periods of time. When spiders chew their webs to recycle the silk they consume the toxicant and die.

The survey also found that the majority (70 percent) of homeowners are concerned about the safety of pest control products and want to handle insect invasions in a manner that poses no threats to themselves, their family or pets. The good news is that consumers don’t have to choose between pests and pesticides they go to www.ant-ser.com for do it yourself products. Today’s pest control options provide homeowners with effective pest management in and around their homes with low impact on their families, pets and the environment.  www.ant-ser.com has products such as Talstar, Advion, Demon and rodent baits.

Please follow this link to see the results from a Dupont survey.

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Dupont-1006246.html