Contest: Win Organic, Non-Toxic Insecticide from EcoSMART
Enter here to win one of three bottles of EcoSMART products!
EcoSMART makes a line of non-toxic insecticides made from botanicals - natural essential oils like peppermint, rosemary, and wintergreen.
“University research has shown that these oils attack the Octopamine neuro-receptors. Octopamine is a key insect neurotransmitter that regulates insect movement, behavior and metabolism. The blockage of the receptor activity prevents the transmission of the Octopamine signals, which leads to immobilization and/or knockdown, followed by death.” -EcoSMART Fact Sheet
EcoSMART products include an Insect Repellent, Ant and Roach Killer, Flying Insect Killer, and Wasp and Hornet Killer, all of which are safe around kids and pets.
“Eco–friendly and composed of natural ingredients, these compounds are biodegradable and help maintain a sustainable and healthy environment. Additionally, EcoSMART has no adverse impact on birds or fish and will not contaminate water sources.”
- » See also: The Joy of Green Cleaning by Leslie Reichert
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Enter 3 times for 3 chances to win a free bottle:
- Subscribe to the RSS feed (the orange button to the right) and leave a comment here letting me know that you did so.
- Leave a comment here telling me how you feel about the word “killer”
- Leave a comment here telling me how you deal with insects, either with poison or naturally.
Enter before October 18!
On Sunday October 19th, I will randomly (scientifically, even) pick three readers to win the product of their choice from EcoSMART. Be sure to enter your email when leaving a comment, so we can contact you.
I already subscribed to the RSS feed months ago!
“Killer” is not one of my favorite terms, but I think its use is appropriate here. Product names/labels should clearly state what the product does. This one kills certain insects, so call it what it is.
In my home, we use a mixture of boric acid, sugar, and water (which we learned from Mike McGrath’s “You Bet Your Garden”–organic gardening program on NPR) to control ant incursions into our kitchen.
boric acid is used in our house. thanks for the post. my family is always looking for the “natural/green” way to do everyday things!
Hey Derek/Readers-
Be sure to check up on products that are listed as “non-toxic”, because this is a marketing ploy. There is no such thing as a “non-toxic insecticide” - that’s an oxymoron.
Any ingredient, including (even especially) botanicals (like limonene) can be dangerous (eg corrosive to the eyes) in high enough concentrations.
In doubt about something? Call the EPA’s Pesticide Library: 1-800-858-PEST (7378) or visit their website here: http://npic.orst.edu/
While it’s great to hear that folks can win an insecticide in this contest to save a little money, I think a couple of things should be pointed out about “natural” products like this one.
First, natural does not mean non-toxic. There are a number of natural compounds that are highly toxic (arsenic, lead, atropine, nicotine, etc.), and anything can be toxic in high enough amounts. Methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen) has been listed as a severe skin and eye irritant (EPA Toxicity Category II - Category I is highest, IV is lowest) when tested on guinea pigs.
Second, the claim that this is an absolutely safe and non-toxic product don’t jive with the fact that it kills insects by contact. Clearly, there is some toxicity there if the product kills insects when they touch it. Manufacturers often make claims that products are 100% safe to attract customers.
On the other hand, the active ingredients in this product have been put on a list of chemicals that are exempt from registration by the U.S. EPA due to their low toxicity (not lack of…).
As for “organic” insecticides - that really only means that the plant source of the essential oils was not treated with synthetic pesticides (conventional insecticides). So, this insecticide was not treated with conventional insecticides. That does not change the toxicity of the ingredients, but if you ate the product, you wouldn’t have to worry about ingesting conventional pesticides…
I have been subscribed to your feed for maybe 17 years so that should totally count already. Also, it was only a month.
The word “killer” is awesome. Especially when applied to bugs. Not as in, “Killer bugs.” That’s just creepy. Why are we bringing this up?
“Deal with insects.” Hmmm. Well, I have a jar of apple cider vinegar on my sink to attract and kill the billions of gnats Hurricane Ike dropped off in my kitchen. The billions of gnats are currently circling it and 3 so far have drowned. There was a long line of ants to my front door and I sprayed the trail with vinegar and then they were all confused and wandered around aimlessly for 40 years before…wait…shoot…wrong story…they did get lost and never came back, though. And I live on the third story with a non walking daughter who also can’t carry bags of groceries which is awesome but, hey, we don’t get a lot of bugs. Because if we did, I would probably move to the roof. (I hate bugs!)
Hi there!
I always like to find natural ways of dealing with insects. For ants we use cornmeal, for mosquitos we use a natural herbal repellant from Wishgarden Herbs. I don’t have issues with bees, we just try and leave them alone
I’ll be subscribing to your feed- I look forward to keeping up with your website!
I subscribe to your RSS feed already.
I don’t like the work “killer” when it applies to humans , but when it comes to bugs and other household pests…I am all about killing them. I don’t want to trap them, release them, and then have them back in my house the next day. In fact, I am not above using chemicals to kill bugs in my house. But with a toddler, I don’t feel safe putting anything hazardous on the floor.
We use vinegar and cayenne to deter ants and vinegar and dish soap to kill fruit flies. Although neither is as effective as I would like. I grew up in a home where bugs were killed immediately and directly by spraying them with poison. I hate having to wait for bugs to slowly go away or die. I would love to try some natural insecticides.
Thanks, Clayton and Bryan, for pointing out the inconsistencies and vagueness in label claims. Natural and non-toxic aren’t very precise terms, and the “organic” claim on the product - I agree, that’s pushing it…
In my house, we live and let live. The only time I’ve had to resort to “killers” is with a paper wasp nest right near our door, and I had to choose my family’s safety over the wasps’ lives. I have never had to deal with roaches.
A more accurate description of these might be “less toxic than some.”
If I had to make a choice between something with high toxicity and something with low toxicity, I would definitely try to choose the safest option, but a killer is a killer is a killer, no matter the ingredients.
Readers, what do you think about non-toxic and all-natural claims for products like this?