Ethyl Acetate

[JLDomestics]

Does anyone know of a website online that would ship to Canada or even a store I could visit to pick up some ethyl acetate?

 

[lucanidae]

High concentration ethyl acetate is hard to obtain, at least in the U.S., unless you are affiliated with a lab. A much easier and cheaper method is (at least if you only plan to use it to kill bugs) to just buy some nail polish remover. You should be able to find some whose active ingredient is ethyl acetate. It dosen't kill the bugs quite as quickly but it definitley gets the job done and saves time money and hassle.

 

[DrAce]

Ditto that. You could certainly get some from any good chemist. Claim you need to remove nail polish, but find acetone gives you burns to your skin. That should lead them to get you the right stuff.

It will smell sweetish to the nose... like some marker pens.

 

[jen650s]

It is often sold to remove nail polish on artificial nails at beauty supply places. The max strength stuff should do the trick.

 

[Mat]

In the UK I get mine from educational suppliers - the ones that supply lab equipment and chemicals to schools. We have a couple of big companies here that let you order on line with a credit card and deliver the stuff to you, I would presume there are similar firms in Canada. Worth a look if you can't order some from your local chemist shop.

Matt

 

[JLDomestics]

Yeah I usually obtained some from my profs but they are all on holiday and I can't get ahold of any and I need some like last week! I tried some nail polish remover, and lots of it, but some of these beetles just won't die. I thought some were dead so I pinned them only to find the next morning that they were still alive, and pinned!

 

[lucanidae]

Happens all the time even with ethyl acetate, just freeze them.

 

[JLDomestics]

I find that legs and antennae tend to fall off much easier with freezing so I stay away from the freezer.

 

[Waspman]

I hate when that happens, really frustrating when your pinned specimens are moving a few hours later.

You might have to leave them in the killing jar overnight and pin them in the morning. They might get some white dust on them from laying on the plaster all night, so just put a thin piece of paper towel on top of the plaster.

 

[jen650s]

Have you tried starter fluid? It is primarily ether with a propellent. You have to be very careful around heat sources and in enclosed areas (don't breathe it), but it is readily available from auto parts stores for cold starting situations for hard to start vehicles.

 

[JLDomestics]

I finally tracked down some ethyl acetate.

 

[nepenthes]

ETHYL ALCOHOL works just the same too.

 

[Bear Foot Inc]

So does CO2...

 

[JLDomestics]

Never heard of a CO2 killing method. How does that work?

The thing I really like about ethyl acetate as a killing agent is it's cheap, and the insects appendages remain very pliable for days after death and they can be set in place with tweezers.

 

[Bear Foot Inc]

I use the CO2 from my paint ball tank. I put 4-5 lobsters in a clear cage and filled it with CO2. Killed them very fast.

 

[JLDomestics]

Doesn't sound as simplistic as ethyl acetate.