Q & A

Welcome to the Planet Natural Garden Forum! Whether you’re new to gardening or have been at it for some time, here you can search existing messages for answers to your questions or post a new message for others to reply to. If this is your first visit, please read over our forum instructions carefully before posting. Enjoy!

  • Semaspore Bait Safety?

    Created by Janet Reasoner on July 2, 2016 at 12:48 pm

    I bought this because your website said Semaspore Bait was safe for humans, pets and the environment. I got it yesterday. The label says to not use around food plants and to wear waterproof gloves, long sleeves and shoes and socks when applying. I am NOT HAPPY. What is the truth? I am extremely careful about what I put around here because I do have many pets. Please respond ASAP.

  • Author
    Posts
  • July 2, 2016 at 4:10 pm #203455

    Eric Vinje
    Keymaster

    Hi Janet –

    All pesticides sold in the United States must have an EPA label on them no matter how safe they are. These labels must also contain certain phrases and signal words regardless of their toxicity. For example, the statement “Keep Out Of Reach Of Children” is on every EPA label. For what it’s worth, I was told by an EPA officer that even distilled water would be subject to these same labeling requirements if it was marketed as a pesticide.

    Semaspore Bait is a microbial pesticide made from a naturally occurring protozoa (Nosema locustae) that is specific to grasshoppers and one species of cricket. It will not harm you, your pets, your family, wildlife, chickens, fish or any other animal that comes in contact with it. We make the bait here at Planet Natural by raising Nosema locustae in live grasshoppers. We then extract the Nosema, mix it with distilled water and organic molasses (used as a sticking agent), and spray the solution over bakers grade wheat bran that is being mixed in a large blender.

    I apologize for the scary label, but you can thank the EPA for that. If you still don’t feel comfortable I suggest you do your own research and Google “Nosema locustae.” The protozoa has been studied since the 1950’s and has undergone all kinds of toxicity tests, just like all the other biological pesticides. Semaspore Bait is also approved for organic use by both the USDA’s National Organic Program and the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI).

    Hope this helps!

  • Author
    Posts

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.