Safety of Rubbing Alcohol for Pest Control
QUESTION:
Dear Debra,
I found your site tonight searching for safety of rubbing alcohol.
Living in a townhouse complex, confronted suddenly with roaches. They began to enter from behind a bathroom mirror. Have lived here for 15 years and have not had a problem until now. I have tried vinegar, bay leaves, neem oil, lemon oil, tee tree oil, and soapy water for 2 weeks. Each had an effect which did not last long...new little darlings kept coming out.
I finally called an eco-friendly pest eliminator. In anticipation of their arrival next week, I tried one more item: rubbing alcohol. It is working, however, searched on web for safety, and that is how I found your site. I am concerned about the flammable vapor. I have placed cotton pads in corners of the kitchen and bath, and swabbed the area lightly around the animals water dish. It has been 6 hours exactly and so far none have appeared.
Still concerned about flammable vapors, although the vapor scent does not last long.
Also ordered 2 copies of your book. Can hardly wait to read it.
Thank you for all you do. So glad to have found you, thanks to the darling little multi-legged creatures.
Peace,
POSTED BY JMARLENE :: :: HTTP://WWW.FINEARTREGISTRY/PORTFOLIO/TAGLIENTI :: ARIZONA USA :: 10/07/2006 3:36 AM
DEBRA'S ANSWER:
Here is the MSDS for Isopropyl Alcohol (Rubbing Alcohol). It says that the "flash point" is 53. A flash point is the lowest temperature at which a liquid can ignite. The lower the flash point, the easier it is to ignite the material. So 1 would be really flammable.
The MSDS also says "fire may produce irritating or poisonous gasses" and "may be poisonous if inhaled or absorbed through skin. Vapors may cause dizziness or suffocation. contact may irritate or burn skin and eyes."
If you are wanting to kill these creatures, I recommend boric acid. It is a lot safer to have around the house that rubbing alcohol.
Debra :-)
We have had great success repeling many types of roaches in FL with catnip. Our neighbor does not keep her yard and garage clean. When she does a major cleaning, we are bombarded with these insects unless we have the catnip bags ready.
The active ingredient is said to be 100X more effective than DEET. We put cut catnip from the health food store in muslin reuseable tea bags ( 1/2 - 3/4 full) and place over the house. Be careful to keep out of reach of your cats. I read that a German company is hoping to market a product based upon this. In the meantime, just put catnip and roaches in your search engine.
car
POSTED BY CAR :: FLORIDA USA :: 10/10/2006 5:05 PM
