On Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:13:24 -0400, jmcquown wrote:

I can't recall if I asked about this already. I don't know what the woman
who sprays Mom's house uses but it can't be good for pets. She was here in
April, spraying everywhere (even in closets!). Every few days I find bug
corpses. Seems like they die within hours of coming inside. Whatever this
stuff is it's still potent. If I didn't know better I'd think DDT...

I told her then I'd be bringing Persia (and possibly Peaches) back with me.
I said I was very concerned about the pesticides she uses. She seemed
puzzled by this. Unlike the "tax woman" Mom was using, she does do this for
a living; it's not a sideline. Surely this isn't the first time she's been
asked about this by a pet owner?!

Based on the bug carcasses I keep finding (mostly small beetles, spiders and
the occasional disgusting Palmetto bug) not spraying isn't an option.
Doesn't seem just spraying around the doors and windows outside would be
sufficient, either, since she does that too and they still get inside.

When I was back home UPS delivered a package. I have a sign on the door of
my apartment: "No spraying inside, I have a cat and a bird". The man who
delivered the package said, "Deciduous earth." Huh? He said pets can roll
around in it, even eat it, and it won't hurt them. Googling nets a few old
testimonials to this effect but no further information. What is it? Where
would I get it? Is it mixed with water and sprayed? Can't have anything
powdery sprinkled all over the place.

Most articles relating to pet friendly pesticides refer to lawns and
gardens, not indoor treatments. Any suggestions?

Jill

It's actually "diatomaceous earth" (or something similar - I probably
mispelled that). It's the stuff (lots of microscopic diatom shells) that
gets put into pool filters as a filtering medium. Completely non-toxic,
handles bugs by virtues of many micro-pointy edges (broken calcium-based
shells).