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Re: Solved! The mystery of the miraculous insecticidal chalk

At 10:20 PM 10/22/1998 -0700, you wrote:
>You might recall a discussion a few months back, when I asked if anyone
>knew the identity of the miraculous insecticidal chalk I was using for my
>ant problem.  All I have to do is draw a few short lines across an ant
>trail with my chalk and the ants go away!  Poof!  Problem was, I was
>concerned about what the magic ingredient is and if indeed it is "non-toxic
>humans and animal" as the box claimed.
>
>Michael Barclay, one of the mediterranean plant list members, kindly had
>the chalk analyzed for me and it turns out the active ingredient is a
>pyrethroid which is a synthetic pyrethrin.  I don't know WHICH pyrethroid
>it is, so I have not been able to look it up.

Nan:

There should be enough information on the label (it is really a registered
legal document!) to give a clue like a US Patent Number.  

Also, the information has to be available in some form, since all such
materials have MSDS (material safety data sheets), required by anyone
selling products that contain chemicals.  These documents have been created
as a source of quick information to deal with emergency situations, such as
spills.

Your chalk must have these documents, otherwise selling it would be illegal.
There may be some online governmental database to get the particulars on
these products.  I don't have time to do a search right now, but I'm sure
that someone on the list will be able to pick up from here.

Rich Dufresne
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