San Diego's homes and garages are full of toxic and hazardous products. Household cleaners and pesticides contain ingredients that can be dangerous to your family and pollute the environment. Many of these items are not even needed. Environmental Health Coalition has developed this fact sheet to help you to make the switch to safer products and alternatives.

Household Cleaners: The Home Safe Home Solution
Less toxic household cleaners can be made right at home. Here are a few recipes you can cook up from ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.

All-Purpose Household Cleaner
Add 1 teaspoon liquid soap and
1 teaspoon t.s.p. to 1 quart
warm water
This solution can be used for a multitude of cleaning jobs including countertops and walls. 

Oven Cleaner
Add either 2 tablespoons of baking soda or t.s.p. or washing soda to 1 gallon of water and scrub with very fine steel wool (0000). Wear gloves and rinse well.

Mildew Cleaner
For mild cases, scrub with baking soda. In more severe cases, scrub with t.s.p. and do not rinse off except in food areas.

Vinyl Floor Cleaner
Add 1/2 cup vinegar to 1 gallon water.

Glass Cleaner
Add to a spray bottle: 1/2 teaspoon liquid soap, 3 tablespoons vinegar and 2 cups water. For very dirty windows, add more soap.

Warning notes:
Washing soda and t.s.p. are the most caustic of the cleaners on this list. Store them in cabinets out of the reach of children. Use them only when diluted and wear latex gloves.

Label cleaning mixtures clearly. Never put them into old food containers or store them near foods.

If you do use chlorine cleaners or bleach, DO NOT mix them with ammonia, acids, or any other cleaning products. A deadly gas is produced!

Pesticides are designed for one purpose: to kill. Both the active agents of most pesticide products and the solvents in which they are dissolved pose health hazards to you and your pets. The use of pesticides indoors is particularly risky. People often use pesticidal products without regard for the proper amount, timing, or safety precautions. Ventilation in many homes is relatively poor and people spend many hours a day at home. The very young, old, sick and chemically sensitive individuals alike are exposed to the pollutants present in their homes, not just healthy adults. You can control pests in your home and protect your family.

Use the Safe Substitutes approach to indoor pest control:
1. Use preventative methods first.
2. Monitor your pest populations to learn the normal levels present and to discover when they are becoming a problem.
3. When preventative methods are not providing enough control, use the least toxic control methods.

PREVENTION
Cockroaches, ants, weevils, mice, flies and other common household pests all have three things in common: they need food, water and place to call home. To keep them out of your home:
• Eliminate food sources by storing food in the refrigerator or in tight-fitting containers. Don't leave dirty dishes out overnight. If pet food is left out, place the dish in a pan of soapy water. Use garbage cans with tight-fitting lids. Freeze cereals and flours to eliminate food pests.
• Eliminate water sources by fixing all leaking sinks, faucets, and pipes.
• Eliminate hiding places. Caulk cracks and plug holes where cockroaches hide. A good silicone caulk is the longest lasting. Duct tape can be used for a quick fix. Clean out all food and paper storage areas regularly.
• Don't let them into your home. Keep screens on doors and windows in good repair. Control ants outside by spraying their nests with insecticidal soap. Prune back branches that are providing with a bridge into the house.

MONITORING
• Look in drawers, books and under the kitchen sink for pests or their droppings.
• Use nontoxic roach traps to monitor the levels of cockroaches living in your house. Several are on the market now that contain only an insect-attractant chemical and an adhesive.

LEAST TOXIC CONTROL
• Dehydrating powders: Diatomaceous earth (look for the garden grade, not the pool grade) are dehydrating powders that kill insects on contact. Dehydrating powders are especially effective against ants and fleas. Sprinkle them in carpets or around doors and windows. Avoid inhaling the dust.
• Traps: Nontoxic traps are available to catch cockroaches, flies and wasps, and mice and other rodents. Avoid "look alike" roach traps and pest strips that contain toxic pesticides.
• Boric acid is excellent for control of cockroaches. It is a moderately toxic, noncorrosive powder found in many commercial brands (look for 99% boric acid) carried in hardware stores and garden centers. Sprinkle it in cracks and crevices and behind furniture. IT IS TOXIC BY MOUTH: do not put it where children and pets can get to it.
• Baits are a less-toxic control method that is especially useful for ants, where the goal is to kill the queen and other ants in the nest, not just the ants that reach the bait. Control is not immediate but in the long run is more effective than killing the visible ants. Commercial baits are available that contain only boric acid or borax as the active ingredient. 

PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN
The growing bodies of children are very susceptible to toxic chemicals. Avoid using pesticides if children live in your home.

Head lice and scabies are common in young children. Do not use shampoos that contain lindane and never use pesticides intended for other uses, such as roach and ant sprays.
Lice infestations can be eliminated by handpicking and thorough cleaning of clothing, bed linens and grooming items that have come into contact with an infected person. 

Scabies should be diagnosed by qualified medical personnel and the least toxic miticide used.

Contact EHC at (619) 474-0220 for more information.

SPECIAL PEST CONTROL PROBLEMS

TERMITES: Until recently, termite control options have been limited to fumigation with highly toxic gases such as methyl bromide or sulfuryl fluoride. Termite preventive and control methods that are nontoxic or less toxic are now available, with more being developed constantly.

PREVENTION
• Subterranean termites cannot tunnel through fine grained sand or crushed volcanic cinders. These findings have now been translated into building codes for sand barriers that can be installed prior to pouring the concrete foundation slab. Sand can also be applied in the crawl spaces inside joist-type foundations.
• Dehydrating powders such as diatomaceous earth or silica aerogel can be shot into the walls during construction or after termite treatment to prevent further infestations.

MONITORING
• A thorough inspection is necessary before any treatment is begun in order to give you an accurate idea of the extent of the problem and what treatment options are applicable.

LEAST TOXIC CONTROL
In many cases, simply replacing the wood is sufficient. For more severe infestations, several companies now offer the following less toxic means of pest control:
• The electrogun will kill termites in exposed wood. Volts of electricity are injected into the wood.
• Some companies use nontoxic cold (liquid nitrogen) or heat treatment to kill termites.
• Spot treatment with TimBor or boric acid.
• Subterranean termites can be controlled with predatory nematodes. These minute wormlike creatures live in soil and attack termites, causing them to sicken and die.

FINALLY
If you decide to use a company that does chemical fumigation (or you're a renter and have no choice), be sure and get all the information in writing regarding the toxicity and residual life of the fumigant, as well as all safety recommendations and precautions. Be aware that it is unlawful for anyone to claim that a pesticide is "safe" or even "safe when used as directed."

FLEAS: Effective control of fleas requires an organized plan with attention to fleas in the rugs or carpets, on the animal, and in the yard.

PREVENTION
HOUSE: Vacuum often to remove fleas and flea eggs. Dispose of the vacuum cleaner bag at frequent intervals or freeze it overnight after carefully wrapping in a plastic bag to kill flea eggs and larvae. Steam cleaning should be considered if there is already a severe infestation.
PETS: Healthy animals are less likely to be attacked. Good nutrition and good grooming help maintain healthy skin and fur. Herbal dips and herbal flea collars are somewhat effective in repelling fleas. Discontinue use if you notice skin irritation or an allergic reaction.

MONITORING
PETS: Use a good flea comb to remove fleas on your pet; flick the fleas into a dish of soapy water to drown them. Frequent combing may keep fleas under control.

LEAST TOXIC CHEMICAL CONTROLS
HOUSE: Diatomaceous earth can be brushed into carpet and pet sleeping areas. Leave it three days, then vacuum it up. Dehydrating powders are effective against both adult fleas and larvae. Never apply dehydrating powders directly on your pet.
PETS: Pyrethrins (see warning below *)  are moderately toxic and provide instant "knock-down" relief. Look for a pump spray or powder formulation. Your vet may be able to recommend a pyrethrin product that also contains methoprene, an insect growth regulator. Methoprene interrupts the insect life cycle, and provides longer term relief than pyrethrins alone.
YARD: An insecticidal soap product can be used outdoors to control fleas.

*Pyrethrins and synthetic derivatives called pyrethroids have low-to-moderate toxicity for humans and other mammals and are now a widely used alternative to organophosphates. However, they are known to provoke serious asthma and allergy attacks in susceptible people. Also, pyrethrin products usually contain piperonyl butoxide, an additive whose safety has been brought into question by recent studies that showed liver cancer in both mice and rats exposed to the substance.

Most garden pests and weeds can be controlled without the use of strong chemical pesticide products. Safer products and techniques can keep your pest populations to manageable levels without exposing your family and pets to toxic chemical sprays, dusts, or residues. 

The Common Sense Approach:
Alternative pest control is based on a common sense approach. Prevent insect, weed, and fungus problems from developing by maintaining a healthy garden of well-adapted plant varieties. Four easy steps in the common sense approach are:
1. Maintain your garden through proper watering and fertilization, periodic pruning and weeding, and by clearing away debris.
2. Monitor pest population by getting to know the bugs that damage your garden as well as the beneficial insects that keep a good balance.
3. Utilize nontoxic control methods first when pests do become a problem, e.g., handpicking, a strong water jet, barriers, and traps.
4. Use the least toxic chemical available when all other methods fail and confine the treatment to the affected area only.

*Pyrethrins and synthetic derivatives called pyrethroids have low-to-moderate toxicity for humans and other mammals and are now a widely used alternative to organophosphates. However, they are known to provoke serious asthma and allergy attacks in susceptible people. Also, pyrethrin products usually contain piperonyl butoxide, an additive whose safety has been brought into question by recent studies that showed liver cancer in both mice and rats exposed to the substance.

Resources: Check out local hardware stores and nurseries for garden grade diatomaceous earth and other less toxic pest control products. Call EHC for an up-to-date list of companies offering less toxic termite control and sources of other products referred to in this fact sheet.

Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC): P.O. Box 7414, Berkeley, CA 94707 (510) 524-2567. Current, thoroughly researched, pest-specific information on least-toxic pest management, available in publications and over the phone.

© Environmental Health Coalition  •  401 Mile of Cars Way, Suite 310  •  National City   •  CA  •  91950  •  (619) 474-0220