miracle grow

[dopamine]

Hey guys just a quickie. I bought some peat moss that i failed to notice had miracle grow mixed in with it. Will this harm my spider(P. lugardi), or promote mold? thanx

 

[Xian]

Personally, I wouldn't use anything that says 'Miracle Grow' on it. They may make organic products, but most of their stuff has fertilizer in it.

Here's a similar Thread...

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=147915

 

[dopamine]

Anyone else have bad experiences with miracle grow-containing substrate? I just don't want to have to re-do her enclosure over a false alarm.

 

[curiousme]

Hey guys just a quickie. I bought some peat moss that i failed to notice had miracle grow mixed in with it. Will this harm my spider(P. lugardi), or promote mold? thanx

The amount of fertilizer mixed into the peat will be pretty small, but it is up to you whether you want to take that small chance that it will be harmful to your T. I have read of people on this board that use what you have and have no problems to report, but I would never use it for a T personally.(or a plant) I wouldn't want to take the risk, because in my opinion there is a small risk of harm.

 

[the nature boy]

You can always buy another if it croaks. I'm experimenting with artificial rock salt as we speak. Doodie dries out, clumps up, and can be removed easily.

 

[Exo]

Hey guys just a quickie. I bought some peat moss that i failed to notice had miracle grow mixed in with it. Will this harm my spider(P. lugardi), or promote mold? thanx

I wouldn't use it, fertilizer is toxic to most animals and I'm pretty sure tarantulas are no exeption.

 

[Xian]

Here's a little more information on the subject for you, referring to the organic side of potting soil. Recently posted by Stan Schultz.....

And, almost all commercial potting soils now contain composted wood or lumber "byproducts." Basically, these are simply the garbage left over from lumber mills that was thrown in huge piles and allowed to rot. Eventually, someone clears away the dry outer layer, sifts, and repackages the partly rotted (aka, composted) inner stuff as potting soil. And, for plants it usually doesn't work too badly.

But, because we never know for sure what woods were used, we're never entirely sure that it's safe for arachnids. Some woods (e.g., most coniferous woods, but especially red cedar) are definitely harmful. So, we urge you to not use anything called "potting soil." Instead, use common, unadulterated, horticultural peat from a garden/landscape supply. Or, use shredded coconut husk from a pet shop.

 

[jeff1962]

I just use cocco fiber always have as long as I have had T.s . That way I don't have to worry about " what if ". Some folks like peat or a mix of peat and cocco fiber. Just make sure when you buy peat is just peat, read the label.

 

[shanebp]

Yeah, I wouldn't take a chance with it as someone else said above. Coco fiber is your best bet..

 

[Travis K]

You can always buy another if it croaks. I'm experimenting with artificial rock salt as we speak. Doodie dries out, clumps up, and can be removed easily.

Seriously Matt,

Can't you save this kinda crap for the Watering Hole? It has no place in this section of the forum.

 

[dopamine]

The miracle-gro peat moss is labeled as 'Sphagnum Peat-Moss'. I've heard there is no fertilizer in this stuff. but idk

 

[Travis K]

The miracle-gro peat moss is labeled as 'Sphagnum Peat-Moss'. I've heard there is no fertilizer in this stuff. but idk

If it is just Peat Moss that is packaged and sold under the miracle grow label then it likely does not have fertilizers present. The packaging would specify whether it did or did not.

If fertilizers are present than it is a bad idea to use it for animals/inverts although I suspect it would just be some phosphates and I am not sure if there is a biological downside to those. Perhaps Martin could chime in on that since he is our resident Bio-chemist.

Regards,

 

[scottyk]

Here is a link that may interest you:

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=114343&highlight=miracle-gro+peat+moss

My two cents-

If "Go Terps" used the stuff for four plus years (six years by now), that works for me. Eric is one of the more knowledgeable members here...

I picked up a bag after getting his input, and have had no problems with it....

Scott

 

[mickey66]

Personally, I wouldn't use anything that says 'Miracle Grow' on it. They may make organic products, but most of their stuff has fertilizer in it.

Here's a similar Thread...

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=147915

They make peat moss with no fertilizer in it..... I use it for all my spiders with no ill FX.

 

[Dago]

I have been using fertilized peat moss for my spiders with no ill effects so far (I've just had a couple of genics for a few months though). Couldn't find any non-fertilized stuff in the winter in here. The dude I bought the spiders from said don't use fertilized substrate and the lady in the petstore (mind you, not the usual pet store manager -kind, she really seems to know her stuff) said it doesn't matter and that they even use fertilized peat moss for their cricket breeding (and crickets lay their eggs in the substrate). So uh, I don't know who's right, but so far my spiders have molted and been fine and dandy.

 

[curiousme]

..... So uh, I don't know who's right, but so far my spiders have molted and been fine and dandy.

There is no right or wrong answer to this question, there are only opinions. The OP will have to decide if they want to go ahead and use it, or err on the side of caution. We don't use fertilized substrate because we don't want to take even a small risk of harming our Ts. Is it proven that the fertilizers in Miracle Grow products will harm a T? No, it isn't, but fertilizer is poisonous. So logically in our eyes, it is risk and we don't want to take that risk. There is anecdotal evidence that it doesn't harm tarantulas, but it is anecdotal and not a proven fact. Who knows maybe the fertilizers have to build up and several years down the road you will have problems with the T, but at that point there is no way to 'prove' that it was the fertilizer.

 

[thevez2]

Front of Bag:
Miracle-Gro Sphagnum Peat Moss
Enriched with Miracle-Gro Liquid Plant Food

Back of Bag:
Sphagnum Peat Moss, 0.05-0.02-0.04
Guaranteed Analysis
Total nitrogen (N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.05%
0.005% ammoniacal nitrogen
0.035% nitrate nitrogen
0.010% urea nitrogen
Available phosphate (P2O5) . . . . . . . . . . . 0.02%
Soluble potash (K2O) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04%
Derived from urea, monoammonium phosphate, and potassium nitrate.

Bag labels:
http://www.scotts.com/smg/products/...plants/pdf/Miracle-Gro Sphagnum Peat Moss.pdf

 

[Red Beard]

Not much fertilizer there. Pretty gimmicky, really.

 

[TalonAWD]

Now I'm interested in this. I have been using the 2.2 cu ft bag of Sphagnum peat moss from Lowes for 5-6 years now and wonder about this Miracle grow stuff. Is it softer, holds more humidity longer?

 

[curiousme]

Not much fertilizer there. Pretty gimmicky, really.

That's why we wouldn't even use it for plants. You are paying for the name brand and why do that when regular peat is so cheap?

Buying it at a nursery/ greenhouse is usually cheaper, IME.