Soil Moist=Cricket Quencher?

[Buspirone]

I have 3 pounds of Soil Moist brand water polymer crystals(its been in my basement kept completely dry for two years). The label says 99.7% crosslinked polyacrylamide and 0.3% inert ingredients. The bottle of Cricket Quencher says polyacrylamide copolymer. I'm primarily asking because the dry soilmoist crystals have a slight chemical/ammonia odor and I'm wondering if this is normal. I want to try using this as a water source for my roaches but don't want to kill them off by accident. I guess I'm basically looking for clarification that it will be safe to use this product as a cheaper alternative to the more expensive cricket quencher. I'm 98% sure that they are the same material and just want to be sure its safe. Thanks!

 

[Code Monkey]

That's the stuff. I'm using WaterSavers with my roaches and crickets.

After the sun explodes and you run out, www.watersorb.com has the stuff even cheaper than you can find in the gardening section.

EDIT: For the record, about a well rounded teaspoon makes about a quart of saturated gel in my experience.

 

[Buspirone]

I swear by the stuff for gardening, especially potted plants, and had forgot that I had ordered a large quanity of it a couple seasons ago. I'm considering trying to hydrate some with orange juice to see what happens. Thanks for the reply. I was pretty sure it was OK but the odor of the dry crystals had me doubting myself.

I want to try using it in the resevoir of the gravity feeder I have instead of the stones. That way the crystals will be constantly hydrated and the water/crystals only needs to be changed ever week to 10 days.

 

[Code Monkey]

Originally posted by Buspirone
I was pretty sure it was OK but the odor of the dry crystals had me doubting myself.

Out of curiosity, I went and sniffed mine and I smell the odor you're describing (never occurred to me to sniff it before this )
I've been using the stuff with my roaches for more than a year without issue so there's nothing obvious to worry about.