essential oils in cosmetic products

[darlingi]

I've read through a bunch of threads here stating that several essential oils work as insect-/possibly spider repellants. However the discussion was mostly about the useage of straight up concentrated oils as used in diffusers etc. That's easy enough to avoid for me, but it seems like these oils are literally everywhere else and I'm having a hard time right now drawing a line.

When used in soaps, shampoo etc., they are often at the end of the ingredient list (meaning they're not highly concentrated in the product). Is this something that should be avoided or do these oils only act as insecticides in high concentrations, applied in immediate vicinity of insects/spiders? I live in an appartment so my shower is right next to my only room (where I also keep my Ts). Also, I spray perfume occasionally when I'm outside (never inside!) on my way somewhere, however I never thought about wether the smell of my skin could harm my spiders when I'm back home.

Am I overthinking this/taking it too far? Just trying to figure out how strict other keepers are when it comes to this stuff.

 

[Pmurinushmacla]

My shower is also the room next to mine, i spray my cologne in my spider room, never had any issues with dead ts.

 

[viper69]

I've read through a bunch of threads here stating that several essential oils work as insect-/possibly spider repellants. However the discussion was mostly about the useage of straight up concentrated oils as used in diffusers etc. That's easy enough to avoid for me, but it seems like these oils are literally everywhere else and I'm having a hard time right now drawing a line.

When used in soaps, shampoo etc., they are often at the end of the ingredient list (meaning they're not highly concentrated in the product). Is this something that should be avoided or do these oils only act as insecticides in high concentrations, applied in immediate vicinity of insects/spiders? I live in an appartment so my shower is right next to my only room (where I also keep my Ts). Also, I spray perfume occasionally when I'm outside (never inside!) on my way somewhere, however I never thought about wether the smell of my skin could harm my spiders when I'm back home.

Am I overthinking this/taking it too far? Just trying to figure out how strict other keepers are when it comes to this stuff.

overthinking

 

[DomGom TheFather]

Am I overthinking this/taking it too far?

Probably.
A little caution is a good thing. Rinse and dry your hands before touching things they interact with if you use loads of cosmetics.
As long as you're not applying bath and bodyworks to your feeders, you should be ok.

 

[Gursahib Shergill]

I've read through a bunch of threads here stating that several essential oils work as insect-/possibly spider repellants. However the discussion was mostly about the useage of straight up concentrated oils as used in diffusers etc. That's easy enough to avoid for me, but it seems like these oils are literally everywhere else and I'm having a hard time right now drawing a line.

When used in soaps, shampoo etc., they are often at the end of the ingredient list (meaning they're not highly concentrated in the product). Is this something that should be avoided or do these oils only act as insecticides in high concentrations, applied in immediate vicinity of insects/spiders? I live in an appartment so my shower is right next to my only room (where I also keep my Ts). Also, I spray perfume occasionally when I'm outside (never inside!) on my way somewhere, however I never thought about wether the smell of my skin could harm my spiders when I'm back home.

Am I overthinking this/taking it too far? Just trying to figure out how strict other keepers are when it comes to this stuff.

I have never heard that. I do have an air humidifier in the same room as my tarantulas I have put essential oils in the water to make it smell nice and I haven't had a problem in over a year

 

[Dry Desert]

I

I've read through a bunch of threads here stating that several essential oils work as insect-/possibly spider repellants. However the discussion was mostly about the useage of straight up concentrated oils as used in diffusers etc. That's easy enough to avoid for me, but it seems like these oils are literally everywhere else and I'm having a hard time right now drawing a line.

When used in soaps, shampoo etc., they are often at the end of the ingredient list (meaning they're not highly concentrated in the product). Is this something that should be avoided or do these oils only act as insecticides in high concentrations, applied in immediate vicinity of insects/spiders? I live in an appartment so my shower is right next to my only room (where I also keep my Ts). Also, I spray perfume occasionally when I'm outside (never inside!) on my way somewhere, however I never thought about wether the smell of my skin could harm my spiders when I'm back home.

Am I overthinking this/taking it too far? Just trying to figure out how strict other keepers are when it comes to this stuff.

I have 3 dogs that have regular flea treatment and run around the house trying to rub it off. "er in doors " uses scented candles on a regular basis, we both use deodorant on a daily basis.
Every thing and every one , including myself, are thriving.

Stop manby pambying about normal everyday occurancess.
A little common sense is the only step necessary.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Overthinking.

I used to keep my tarantulas in my bedroom until recently, I'd spray on antiperspirant deodorant/aftershave after showering, smoke/vape in there (I was never a particularly heavy smoker anyway and in the summer the windows would be open), and I've touched up bits of paintwork on the walls and even re-glossed the windows without moving them out, none of my tarantulas have started exhibiting dyskinesia and none have dropped dead as a result.

Essential oils in your soap/shampoo are not going to be an issue. Tbh, a lot of chemicals aren't going to cause issues unless you're applying them directly to the tarantula in high concentrations.

 

[goonius]

I
I have 3 dogs that have regular flea treatment and run around the house trying to rub it off. "er in doors " uses scented candles on a regular basis, we both use deodorant on a daily basis.
Every thing and every one , including myself, are thriving.

Stop manby pambying about normal everyday occurancess.
A little common sense is the only step necessary.

Seems like most of the “my tarantula is suddenly dying threads” that I see involve flea treatments. Nice that you’ve been fortunate that way, but trying to keep a literal insecticide that’s been known to cause harm to arachnids away from pet tarantulas doesn’t seem “mamby pamby” to me.

OP, I think you’re overthinking this. A small amount of lavender, for example, in a hand soap won’t bring any harm to a tarantula. Agree that concentrated EOs could be problematic (they can be for humans and pets — especially cats —too!) but not harmful o anything really at the strength you’re talking about.

 

[Matt Man]

essential oils are Snake Oil v2.0 so save some money and avoid. Spend it on Ts. That being said "overthinking"

 

[Dry Desert]

Seems like most of the “my tarantula is suddenly dying threads” that I see involve flea treatments. Nice that you’ve been fortunate that way, but trying to keep a literal insecticide that’s been known to cause harm to arachnids away from pet tarantulas doesn’t seem “mamby pamby” to me.

OP, I think you’re overthinking this. A small amount of lavender, for example, in a hand soap won’t bring any harm to a tarantula. Agree that concentrated EOs could be problematic (they can be for humans and pets — especially cats —too!) but not harmful o anything really at the strength you’re talking about.

The only time flea treatment can possible cause any problems is when someone is going mad with aerosol type flea treatment that's sprayed onto furnishings and carpets in order to kill possible eggs.
A small vial squeezed onto a dog's coat between the shoulder blades is not going to harm anything.
Any treatment for anything applied correctly won't harm any invert , only an aerosol sprayed directly onto a t will have damaging effect.

 

[goonius]

The only time flea treatment can possible cause any problems is when someone is going mad with aerosol type flea treatment that's sprayed onto furnishings and carpets in order to kill possible eggs.
A small vial squeezed onto a dog's coat between the shoulder blades is not going to harm anything.
Any treatment for anything applied correctly won't harm any invert , only an aerosol sprayed directly onto a t will have damaging effect.

Fipronil, which is generally the active ingredient in these back-of-the-neck treatments, is pervasive and I have seen many poisoning stories on this forum and others where the person touched their treated animal and then fed the spider or reused a pair of scissors that was used to open a flea treatment for something they were using with their tarantulas and ended up with a dying spider.

Almost all waterways are contaminated with fipronil, suspected from use on pets, so while I hear that your experience has thus far been that it is not harmful, these chemicals don’t ‘stay put’ and I have seen instances where people lost their tarantulas because of the use, as directed, of these chemicals.

 

[Dry Desert]

Fipronil, which is generally the active ingredient in these back-of-the-neck treatments, is pervasive and I have seen many poisoning stories on this forum and others where the person touched their treated animal and then fed the spider or reused a pair of scissors that was used to open a flea treatment for something they were using with their tarantulas and ended up with a dying spider.

Almost all waterways are contaminated with fipronil, suspected from use on pets, so while I hear that your experience has thus far been that it is not harmful, these chemicals don’t ‘stay put’ and I have seen instances where people lost their tarantulas because of the use, as directed, of these chemicals.

"Touched the treated animal, then fed their t, " Reused a pair of scissors that they used for flea treatment"

As I said previously, if you can't be bothered to use any chemical responsibly you can't really cry " my t has suddenly died"

You don't cross contaminate raw meat with cooked, or fresh chicken utensils laying around, so why not adopt the same strict regime when using Any form of treatment.

I've been keeping inverts, reptiles, of most types since the early 80's and have had dogs the same amount of time.
I have not lost anything that has suddenly died for no apparent reason.
If you keep any animal, reptile, invert etc. they rely on you for their very existence, you don't cut corners, take chances with them.

Being lax in any form of animal keeping is inexcusable, making excuses or saying I'm lucky won't wash.

 

[Tarantuland]

I don't use scented candles or essential oil diffusers in the room with my spiders but elsewhere in the house I haven't had an issue. Or just stop showering and using soap. The world is your oyster

 

[DomGom TheFather]

The world is your oyster

Amen, brother!
A stinky oyster fresh outa pearls but damn it, she's ours.

 

[dragonfire1577]

I'm an entomologist currently focusing on urban entomology and essential oils can really increase efficacy when added to the formulations of some insecticides. One insecticide I'm running repellency bioassays on right now does a decent job killing bed bugs with primarily essential oils as it's active ingredients. That being said the insecticide in question has abrasive agents and is applied at 1 gallon per 1000 square feet. I wouldn't spray anything with a strong scent or harsh chemicals adjacent to exotics just in case it irritates them in some way but I wouldn't expect any mortality from normal household use of these products.

 

[darlingi]

Thanks for your opinions everyone! Seems like I can keep on showering