Re: Dust blowing from Africa contains Pathogens

[Guest guest]

African Dust s Microbes Across the Ocean:

Are They Affecting Human and Ecosystem Health?

"What types of microbes are in the dust? Bacteria, fungi, and viruses—some of them pathogenic (capable of causing diseases) and some of them common to many environments. Roughly 30 percent of the bacteria isolated from airborne soil dust are known pathogens, able to affect plants, animals, or humans."

http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/african_dust/ofr-2003-028.pdf

Re: ENVIRONMENTAL SPRAY

- thanks for recipe. My adaption might be substituting silica for the boric acid and essential oil(s) and/or orange cleaner for the Limeaway. All conjecture at this point. >> This is the recipe that took my life from completely insane to only fairly insane in 8-12 weeks (it acts on life cycle). > I repeat with the borate every 6 months and without it every month or two:> > Ingredients:> > * Eaton's Boric Acid (about $25/5 lb online)> * Nylar (company name Demize) ($25 for a small bottle, which is plenty to start with)> * Limeaway> > Instructions for mixing (amounts are for 1 gal sprayer; double for 2 gal sprayer):> > * 1 qt hot water> * 1 C boric acid> * 1-1/2 oz Nylar> * 2 oz Limeaway (more if you feel bold!)> * add water to fill line> > Adaptation for pet bedding:> > > * 1 qt hot water> * 1 C commercial flea powder> * 1 qt bottle of Fooey or other dog chew retardant> * 1-1/2 oz Nylar> > What to spray in your home:> > * Everything porous> * All fibers> * Stucco (as in my dog's room)> * Cracks and crevices in caulk, furniture, walls> * All latex painted walls> * All fixtures (be careful not to get into outlets; you can turn off power and apply same mixture w Q-tip there)> * Complete car interior> * Whole garage, without removing anything (unless I have a couple of days, lol)> * Yard, though I am not doing this yet. Soon. Meanwhile, I don't go there.> > Safety:> > * Respirator> * Gloves> * EYE PROTECTION (this has saved me from one exploding sprayer; do not skip this!)> > Each room:> > * Spray your legs first> * Spray all around the doorways to other rooms> * Spray all around the windows and fixtures and outlets> * Spray the furniture> * Refill sprayer> * Stand on one end of the room and zigzag> * Start mid ceiling and spray in zigzags side to side away from you, then down the side and far walls.> * Go to the other side of the room and repeat.> > About Nylar:> > An insect growth regulator, Nylar works by preventing the development of the egg tooth in egg-laying pests. Obviously this means it does not affect lice or other live-born pests.> > About boric acid:> > Boric acid DISSOLVED IN WATER absorbs where the powder can never go or would not stay. The water allows it to travel into smaller, deeper, places, and to suspend in carpet fibers where normally it would either sit on the surface or "walk" quickly to the carpet backing.> > Boric acid works in three ways: it dessicates (dries), it shorts out the electrical field, and it shreds. Most vulnerable are the larvae (nonflying wormlike soft-bodied life stage. However, it also acts on other life stages once the exoskeleton is shed and before the new one develops and hardens. Since this is when the little rascals are the meanest, I was very happy when I figured this out!> > About Limeaway:> > Citrus based cleaners can be extremely caustic, that is, they BURN. In some cases, they melt. There are only two products that I have tested on fiber critters that actually melted the critters. One was Orange Plus, and the other was an otherwise benign plant food. I have not tested the Limeway for this characteristic, but it seems quite caustic, and it works very well in this application (home spray) as I am never bitten when I add it in with the boric acid and Nylar.> > These things are not tests. Except for substituting the Limeaway for permethroids in the last couple of years, this recipe and technique is what I have done for years, and been very pleased. > > katie>