HELP!! Chemicals Used Near Bugs!!

[TeamNinjaBug]

I don't know what section to put this in. Feel free to move it to its proper place. But, I'm panicking so hard right now! My family and I were supposed to clean my place together and I specifically told my mom that I wanted to be the one to handle any use of the cleaning chemicals, since I don't trust my folks NOT to use them all up in my bug room.

Well, while I was out on an event, I come back to find that they cleaned my bug room!! With "animal safe" products. Windex Vinegar and powdered Arm and Hammer on my carpet! I was horrified and told them that if any of my bugs die, they're buying me new ones to replace them. Now I'm freaking out and worried sick and I dunno what to do!! Are those products dangerous to my bugs? I have a regal jumping spider, a texas gold millipede, a vinegaroon, and hissing roaches and crickets. When they say "animal safe", yeah probably safe for my cat and rats, but what about my bugs!? I don't have another place to put them in!! Someone please help!

 

[NYAN]

I think airing out the room might help. Also, it would be a good precaution to wash your hands before you come in contact with them. If possible, keep them from coming in contact with what you think might have chemicals on them. My thoughts are that it’s not an absolute threat to them like use of insecticide would be. Also if you can, maybe use a wet cloth to try to clean any chemical residue off of the surfaces. It might help to explain to your family that using any chemicals in the bug room would be like bringing a peanut butter sandwich into the home of someone who’s allergic to peanuts. While they might not kill them from direct contact, it adds unnecessary risk. Worst case, you could perhaps find a friend, member here or even a store which would take them temporarily?

 

[boina]

I don't know what section to put this in. Feel free to move it to its proper place. But, I'm panicking so hard right now! My family and I were supposed to clean my place together and I specifically told my mom that I wanted to be the one to handle any use of the cleaning chemicals, since I don't trust my folks NOT to use them all up in my bug room.

Well, while I was out on an event, I come back to find that they cleaned my bug room!! With "animal safe" products. Windex Vinegar and powdered Arm and Hammer on my carpet! I was horrified and told them that if any of my bugs die, they're buying me new ones to replace them. Now I'm freaking out and worried sick and I dunno what to do!! Are those products dangerous to my bugs? I have a regal jumping spider, a texas gold millipede, a vinegaroon, and hissing roaches and crickets. When they say "animal safe", yeah probably safe for my cat and rats, but what about my bugs!? I don't have another place to put them in!! Someone please help!

Yes, 'pet safe' means safe for vertebrate pets - bugs are not included.

While this is certainly better than any pesticides those products are not completely harmless for bugs, especially since the spray or powder can be distributed though the air and end up in the enclosures. Both cleaners (Windex and the carpet cleaner) contain SLS surfectant, a detergent that decreases the surface tension of water. If that ends up on the surface of moist enclosures and your bugs ingest it, for example by walking on it and then cleaning themselves, it may damage the internal lining of the digestive system, depending on the amount. There are other ingredients that may be harmful, too. Especially sprays are dangerous since the fine aerosols will invariably end up on anything around and a bug cleaning itself from the fine spray... not good.

Still, it all depends on the amount, i.e. how generous were your folks with spraying the stuff all around (and how many windows do you have?).

I would change out the substrate for everyone that's kept on moist substrate (millipedes, vinegaroon) to get rid of residues from spraying on the surface of the substrate.

And tell your folks to not ever use any spray cleaners around bugs - not ever. Powdered cleaners are only marginally better. If they want to clean they need to use moist wipes or something that doesn't contaminate the air all around.

 

[Dave Jay]

Damn! I know what to do with aquariums, but I'm just guessing with inverts. The windex is not too bad unless over spray went directly into the enclosures but the Arm and Hammer while applied to the carpet would have been vacuumed off getting fine powder everywhere. I agree, wipe down everything you can. Change the water washing the bowls carefully. You might consider covering the vents with damp cloth or damp tissues to stop any fine airborne particles entering the enclosures, washing or replacing them after a few hours. You could try to remove the top layer of substrate if it's not too difficult. Luckily the chemicals aren't too potent but you can bet some of the carpet stuff is still in suspension in the air but too much airflow to get rid of it might stir up more from the carpet.
I hope it all works out.

Edit - I was still typing while boina was answering, listen to her. Also, I thought Arm and Hammer was a powdered product, not a spray.

 

[boina]

Damn! I know what to do with aquariums, but I'm just guessing with inverts. The windex is not too bad unless over spray went directly into the enclosures but the Arm and Hammer while applied to the carpet would have been vacuumed off getting fine powder everywhere. I agree, wipe down everything you can. Change the water washing the bowls carefully. You might consider covering the vents with damp cloth or damp tissues to stop any fine airborne particles entering the enclosures, washing or replacing them after a few hours. You could try to remove the top layer of substrate if it's not too difficult. Luckily the chemicals aren't too potent but you can bet some of the carpet stuff is still in suspension in the air but too much airflow to get rid of it might stir up more from the carpet.
I hope it all works out.

I've never used powdered cleaners but I think you may be right about the powder being potentially even worse than the spray...

 

[Dave Jay]

I've never used powdered cleaners but I think you may be right about the powder being potentially even worse than the spray...

It could be, but the spray probably is a powder once dry and being vacuumed up anyway.

 

[The Snark]

Just use the canary method with a few sacrificial bugs. Mealworms for example.

 

[TeamNinjaBug]

Thanks, guys. I spent a good deal of the night trying to fan the air out and I had placed a wet paper towel over my enclosures in the hopes of limiting exposure. Thankfully, I have leftover substrate in a sealed off hefty bin I can use to replace that in the enclosures and until I'm comfortable with the air, I'm going to go to a reptile shop I frequent all the time that offers boarding services for reptiles (they're the ones I got my millipede and vinegaroon from), and ask if they'll be willing to keep my bugs until I think everything is safe in my place again.

I just can't believe my folks. Once they saw how upset I was, they called me ungrateful. As if I should be grateful to them blatantly disregarding my request and potentially hurting my animals. A slightly cleaner apartment isn't worth the lives of my pets.