Lysol overspray?

[Musicwolf]

OK, my well-meaning wife just sprayed a can of lysol into the AC intake vent because we've all been sick and it spreads through the whole house that way . . . . . but she didn't think about the T collection in the office.

Obviously, this was not a direct spray, and lysol is not necessarily developed to kill spiders . . . . how dangerous do you think this is?

I guess if all my Ts suddenly develop DKS I'll know the cause, but I'm hoping for some reassurances .

 

[webbedone]

it should be alright my wife sprays lysol in the room often i keep my spiders and her chinchillas in the same room needless to say tarantulas smell alot better than chin and eat alot less to boot

 

[hassman789]

It hopefully won't be a problem and would have deteriorated by the time it went through out the house. And I'm not sure if this was the cause but I lost a T due to DKS and that T was kept next to my bed and my bed had occasionaly been sprayed with lysol, thats my theory of what caused it, but just a theory.

 

[Jacobchinarian]

What's dks?

 

[Vespula]

What's dks?

It's a mysterious disease that plagues tarantulas. It's caused a lot of deaths to captive spiders. DKS is short for dyskinetic syndrome.

 

[ArachnoYak]

I'd be more worried about what the Lysol is going to do to you and your family. Spraying it in the air vent so it circulates throughout the whole home? I think your respiratory systems would be better off without it. I know you said you're worried about illness spreading through the home, but in this case I think the treatment is worse than the illness itself. And I'm sure it affects the Ts as well.

 

[curiousme]

It's a mysterious disease that plagues tarantulas. It's caused a lot of deaths to captive spiders. DKS is short for dyskinetic syndrome.

It is not a disease, it is a syndrome. It is a name given to a group of similar symptoms that affects Ts. The most popular guess as to one of the causes, is some sort of pesticides/ poison that has made it into the Ts enclosure. It causes the tarantula to seem to lose control of its nervous system and it twitches and moves funny until it eventually dies; however, there are cases where the T molts out of the problem and returns to good health too. There is no known cause, so the cases our grouped together under the common name of DKS.

 

[bobusboy]

It's a mysterious disease that plagues tarantulas. It's caused a lot of deaths to captive spiders. DKS is short for dyskinetic syndrome.

This is incorrect.

It is not a disease, it is a syndrome. It is a name given to a group of similar symptoms that affects Ts. The most popular guess as to one of the causes, is some sort of pesticides/ poison that has made it into the Ts enclosure. It causes the tarantula to seem to lose control of its nervous system and it twitches and moves funny until it eventually dies; however, there are cases where the T molts out of the problem and returns to good health too. There is no known cause, so the cases our grouped together under the common name of DKS.

Do a search, there are a lot of things pointing toward tic and flee medicine for pets as being the cause.

Not much if any pointing toward anything short of a direct shot of pesticide/acid or base cleaning chemicals.


IME, I use frebreeze and lysol to clean my apartment and I have had no issues with DKS. I ALWAYS wash my hands before handing a T/its enclosure/its food and I ALWAYS wash my hands after (to get rid of Uhairs and anything else that might be along for the ride)

 

[Bill S]

I'd be more worried about what the Lysol is going to do to you and your family. Spraying it in the air vent so it circulates throughout the whole home? I think your respiratory systems would be better off without it. I know you said you're worried about illness spreading through the home, but in this case I think the treatment is worse than the illness itself. And I'm sure it affects the Ts as well.

That was my immediate reaction. I think as a culture we are poisoning ourselves out of fear of "germs" and bugs. People use pesticides, disinfectants, herbicides, etc., way more than is necessary or healthy. Exposure to a few germs will keep your immune system healthy and active. Having a few bugs around won't kill you. Saturating your environment and home with toxins isn't good for you.

I do use pesticides, herbicides and disinfectants - but sparingly and carefully. There are times when it makes sense, and methods/applications that are efficient and safe. And, I admit, sometimes we're stuck with procedures and protocols that do not seem effective or efficient that we need to follow anyway - but even these we can use with reason and caution. (Example that comes to mind right away are the NSS decontamination protocols that I need to follow after exiting a cave and before entering another cave. I've got my doubts about the rationale behind them, but I follow them anyway.)

 

[Arachnos]

There are many theories for the cause of DKS.... It is yet to be proven exactly the main cause but since there is one common practice between almost all cases this is most likely the cause....

These chemicals or insecticides are not airborn , but more likely present in the "substrate material". The insecticides put into materials not designed for tarantulas are systemic and will cause nerve damage and dehydration to spiders. Once injested or exposed ,they will never leave the body. Every person that I have ever talked to about DKS has used a substrate material made for something else besides tarantulas. One example is walnut shell bedding used for reptiles. This stuff can be deadly. Walnut trees are sprayed routinely with systemic insecticides to prevent worms and beetles from eating the nut. After the walnuts are processed and shelled, the meat of the nut is sold as food for human consumption and the shells are sold as pet substrate and for other things. The insect killing poisons will remain to a degree on the shell. And can not be removed. Even though a spider is not an insect ,it can still die from many types of insecticides and therefore it is critical to never use any kind of substrate that is not 100% free from any type of insecticides. "Most" substrate manufactures do not care where thier product ultimately is applied and I have never seen one carry a warning label even though they do in fact and are known by the manufacturer to contain harmful chemicals.

In regards to the OP's question. I do not think a spray that is dispersed throughout the air conditioning system will directly affect your T's. I would not risk it in the future though. If you think your air conditioning is contaminated I would have it professionally cleaned which may be more expensive.. but more thorough than a can of Lysol and less expensive then your T collection if something negative were to happen.

 

[LirvA]

Don't want to derail but I was wondering if there's any info about or mention of DKS in the TKG? I just ordered that book and am gonna get it in about a week imo.