Botanical, plant-based Insecticides are sold as “Natural Insecticides”. A TV
commercial for a popular brand’s new line of poison led to the question,
"What's in the stuff?"
The plant-based ingredients are eugenol (clove oil) and chrysanthemum flower
extract called pyrethin.
Eugenol is a food additive as well as being used as fragrance and in
dentistry.
It is definitely toxic to insects and fish and affects mammals organs when
eaten in certain concentrations.
Info toxicity of eugenol on living creatures:
http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/v14je11.htm
Pyrethin is highly toxic to insects and fish. It causes illness to mammals
when given in oral doses. It’s not certain if it’s carcinogenic to humans
but causes slightly elevated rates of liver and thyroid tumors in rats.
This is an MSDS (material safety data sheet) from a botanical insecticide
whose main ingredient is pyrethin powder 0.9%.
http://www.prentiss.com/msds/pdf/655_479.pdf
The popular brand, the one marketing using flowers on its label and in its
ads, is trying to expand its market and sell more product. Does a company
making poison for use on living things have the best interest of living
things in mind?
It’s important to note that other ingredients known to be toxic to humans
(E.g. Petroleum Distillates)
are found along with the botanical ingredients in some products.
In some ways, botanical insecticides are better than their more toxic
synthetic counterparts. They break down in sunlight and are more selective,
but they're still poison and need to be treated as such, even with the
pretty flowers on the label.
An area of great concern is the fact we are guinea pigs along with the other
mammals used in lab testing. We are piecing together the big picture about
the effects of indiscriminate use of toxic chemicals in our cosmetics,
homes, yards and workplaces. Evidence is coming forth. Our use of toxic
chemicals is changing us, our bodies, our moods, the next generation of
humans. Most of these products, we could easily live without.
Learn about the connections between chemicals and disease:
A searchable database that summarizes links between chemical contaminants
and approximately 180 human diseases or conditions
http://database.healthandenvironment.org/index.cfm
Increasing evidence of a possible link between the synonymous rise of
reproductive health problems in humans and the rise of our exposure to many
chemicals. Reporting on a Greenpeace report.
http://www.seventhgeneration.com/making_difference/newsletter_article.php?article=474&issue=72
Startling study on toxins' harm WSU findings show that disorders can be
passed on without genetic mutations
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Politics/toxins060605.cfm
People with MCS are suffering but are our voices being heard in the face of
marketing of products? Not every body is equipped to detoxify chemicals
touted as safe or acceptable risk to humans. What about people who are
sensitive? Well, we get sicker. Even healthy people have no idea what
they’re being exposed to and the overall effect of so many products being
used indiscriminately in one day. Testing is done in isolation. We don't
know about the accumulated effects, as happens in real life. From cosmetics
to fragrance to pesticides to building materials, to pharmaceuticals, to
food additives to smog. We know enough to say, “Enough is enough.”
We need to find better ways, and thankfully, there are better, more earth
friendly, non- toxic options for people who can’t live with the bees who are
helping make their food or with fish who’ll end up swimming in water along
with our waste.