I wish (bounce houses are a lot of fun), but it most definitely is NOT.
This is my next-door neighbor’s 4,000+ square foot house today as it is being fumigated for the treatment of drywood termites.
And the poison du jour is apparently called Sulfuryl Flouride (Vikane).
Quoting from Wikipedia: “It is neurotoxic and a potent greenhouse gas, but is widely used as a fumigant insecticide to control termites.”
I’m not happy about this for a few reasons.
This house is directly next to mine. Despite “best efforts” to keep this deadly neurotoxin inside my neighbors home, due to to the impossibility of a perfect seal along with obvious cuts and small openings that I can clearly see in the covering places over the house, some of these gases are clearly escaping and drafting toward and into mine and other neighbors houses.
Prior to starting this treatment, my neighbor notified me the day before that this would be happening. He’s a super nice guy and a like his family a lot. In fact, I am concerned for his family’s health after such an extreme treatment. He said they will be returning home in just a few (3) days.
Is that really enough time to be safe? Is any amount of time enough to be safe after fully saturating your home and all affected surfaces with a deadly neurotoxin? Is it possibly that remnants of this poison will remain on surfaces for YEARS and negatively effect the people who live in the home through surfaces they touch, along with off-gassing from gases that have absorbed into fabrics, wall and floor surfaces, etc.?
I see this through the lens of a Building Biologist. I am personally in training to become a certified Building Biology Environmental Consultant (BBEC) through the Building Biology Institute.
Many people have heard that indoor air quality is actually worse for their health than naturally vented outdoor air. Molds, VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) such as formaldahyde gases from paints and indoor furnishings, trace amounts of carbon monoxide, radon gases seeping up from the Earth, etc. already contribute to overtaxing the immune system and contributing to many human and animal health problems.
Pour on a heaping dose of Sulfuryl Flouride into the mix (which despite what the fumigation company may be saying), and you’ve just seriously added to the toxic burden that all home inhabitants will have to deal with and possibly suffer from far into the future.
We live in the age of “mysterious illnesses”. These are often unexplained health problems that are on a dramatic rise in the population such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, ADHD, depression, anxiety autism and so much more…
The true cause of many of these unexplained health problems is systemic toxic overload.
The problem is that modern humans are being bombarded with toxins from every direction from the foods the surfaces we touch and the air we breath, and most people are accumulating more toxins into their cellular tissue on a daily basis than they are able to eliminate.
The solution is to minimize toxic exposure and increase toxin elimination.
We can do this in many ways including eating an abundance of clean (organic) foods, spending time in nature and breathing clean air, using high quality HEPA air filtration systems in our homes, along with becoming proactive to increase the effectiveness of our body’s detox pathways which can involve taking specific supplements, using infrared saunas to sweat it out, deep breathing techniques and much more…
Reducing exposure to toxins, and increasing elimination of them is ESSENTIAL if you expect to be healthy and thrive in the modern world.
Now, I’m not an expert in pest control or drywood termites, but I can tell you that if I saw evidence of some of them in my home, I absolutely WOULD NOT call in the National Guard to eliminate the problem for me, and poison my home forever.
I would first research natural solutions for termite control, and I would exercise all possible options that I know with certainty were SAFE for me, my family, my neighbors and my world, and have been demonstrated to be effective. How about these for a start from IPM Pest Control:
Heat/Cold Treatments:
If you’re dealing with a drywood termite infestation, heat and cold treatments are a viable option to control the termite population, although you may have to remove some of your belongings from the premises to keep them from getting damaged. Heat and cold treatments require the infested area to be blasted with air, reaching temperatures as high as 140 degrees. For hot treatments, the area has to reach 120 degrees for 35 minutes to kill the colony. Colder treatments, however, take much longer — the area must be maintained at a temperature of 15 degrees for four whole days to get rid of termites.
Parasitic Nematodes:
Another unique and natural method to rid your home of termites involves using small worms called parasitic nematodes available online or at a pesticide store. These nematodes will quickly get to work making meals out of the termites damaging your home. Killertermitesguide.com says, “This is a form of biological control one can use to introduce a natural predator into the termite colony and let nature take its course. Using these small Nematodes is an extremely effective way to remove a stubborn termite infestation.
Botanical Treatments:
Finally, another natural and effective termite solution is orange oil, which contains an active compound called d-limonene. It has the strength to kill termites upon contact, but it works best in well-defined spaces. The queen of a certain termite species can lay up to 40,000 eggs per day, so if your termite infestation is widespread, consider using Neem oil, which kills termites upon ingestion.
Ultimately, these are just three all-natural termite solutions to try. Keep in mind that the most effective termite control solution is to contact a professional to assess the situation and select the most appropriate treatment.
While I’m not happy about what’s happening next door to me right now, I understand that I live in a world full of man made toxins that are having a disastrous effect on human and animal populations, and the planet (Gaia Mother Earth) as a whole. Together, we CAN restore balance on the planet.
I choose to become part of the solution to the healing that is needed on an individual and collective basis.
Almost always (if not ALWAYS), there is a non-toxic and truly healthy solution to virtually any problem you are facing. Have the courage to look for it, trust your instincts to try it, and then persist until you’ve solved your problem, naturally. There are either others who have figured out these solutions for you that you can research and implement immediately, or you can be a trailblazer and test and INVENT solutions for problem that are truly healthy, sustainable and good for you and everyone on else the planet.
The world needs people like YOU who fight for what is right, and begin to end the toxic nightmare that is the root cause of so many of the problems the world and all the people and animals on it are facing right now.
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