Taking Things a Little Too Seriously:
Toxic Pest Control
Occasionally when you do a search you come up with something completely unexpected. Today I found out how serious housewives could get when it came to ridding their homes of pests. What an eye-opener this was. The following ideas for pest control are no longer in use, and I think you will see why immediately.
Recommended ingredients included “quicksilver” (mercury) mixed with egg whites applied with a brush to get rid of bed bugs. Users of this recipe were warned to keep children away as contact could be fatal. Please remember The Mad Hatter; it is said that the reason he is “mad” is because of the amount of mercury that was used by hat makers. Today we have “hazmat” units that are dispatched if mercury is released into the environment; they have closed doctor’s offices and fined them for breaking an old mercury filled meter.
Other concoctions involved arsenic, gasoline, benzene, and kerosene. As it turns out the insects such as moths and other fabric eaters can be warded off with fire and will also avoid flammable products. I can’t imagine dousing clothing with flammable fluids to get rid of moths, can you?
These ideas have been used by homeowners as recently as the 80’s. A neighbor of mine used burnt motor oil on hunting dogs. Biting flies often go after a hunting dog’s ears. Coating the dog’s ears with the burnt motor oil makes the dogs ears repulsive to the flies, the sulfurous material helps the bites to heal. Again, I do not recommend any of these methods.
Pest control in Scottsdale sure has come a long way. Your local professionals are well versed in the methods that are currently available and approved for taking care of your infestation. You could use “a mix of red lead, molasses and corn meal spread on the bottoms of upside down plates to trap and poison cockroaches” or you could call for a free inspection. I think the choice is clear.
