"eurekaoz" writes:
haven't heard any reports of people passing away abruptly (or even
procrastinatorily) from treated timber garden improvements. Wouldn't you
think that if the copper salts are all that significantly toxic to
people, there'd be an actual death rate from their use? Does anyone know
of any figures?

Environmental carcinogens are cumulative, they generally take years to
decades before any cancer becomes apparent. It's not the copper, it's the
arsenic that is the carcinogen.

Just for the record and for a totally inane first post to the group - Lemon
Preen has the fastest knockdown on cockroaches of anything in any kind of
bottle you can buy - short of belting them *with* the bottle anyway. grin

It might work for your local roaches, but will it work for those in
other localities? There are a lot of different species. I'll keep your
suggestion in mind. A couple of times each summer a large cockroach will
fly in through the kitchen window and with a clatter of wings spin around
the usually-empty sink bowl. I never quite know how to dispose of it:
hit it with a thong and there's a stinky mess to then clean up, or spray
it and everything nearby with a pressure-pak of toxin. I've now settled
on torching the thing: I grab the oven lighter (it's like a cigarette
lighter with a long barrel and a trigger) and I scorch the cockroach in
the sink with this nifty little flamethrower. (Relax, there are no
curtains on the windows to set fire to!)

Speaking of vermin: of late there has been a lot of talk on the radio about
destroying cane toads. It seems that a waterpistol filled with Detol is the
most effective method. A few squirts and the toad is dead within minutes.
The golfclub has a certain appeal to some, but can be dangerous to the
"golfer" or bystanders if the poison glands squirt up into their face.

Still, I can't believe there is no common substance that is attractive to
cockroaches and in the process will poison them.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)