Would essential oils be dangerous to inverts 3 rooms away

[PeanutButter11]

My mom got a diffuser and I heard that inverts have a sensitivity to the oils. Would this harm them if the diffuser is three rooms away from them and I can’t smell it when I get to the room that they are in?
I am also asking this because my jumping spider died while I was away but since she was old I don’t know if it was from the oils or just because she was old. My isopods and my tarantulas seem to be doing ok

 

[viper69]

Wouldn’t risk it myself

 

[The Snark]

Essential oils is a catch phrase. The oils can be harmless in low concentrations all the way up to will cross the placenta and can cause fetal distress or worse. Essential oils are commonly derived from plants using one of more chemical processes many of which are mildly toxic to outright deadly. These percursor, solvent or reagent chemicals must be ,meticulously removed maintaining very exacting lab procedures sduch as triple distillation..
Since essential oils = $$$ the labs and processes can be anything from certified inspected labs to a bunch of kids playing with chemical in their garage. And certifying purity is easy. Buy some quality oils and send them in for testing.

And if the above isn't enough to make you wary,, concentrations of the oils can vary drastically. and be extremely difficult to control in appropriate concentration. For example, the organic base chemical piperidine in making Fentanyl.

PS Be absolutely certain to add the exact amount of hydrochloric acid to achieve pH neutral. Otherwise your meth customers are shoving a powerful acid up their noses or into their veins.

 

[PhoenixFyre]

I would be very careful with essential oils.

Many of the oils found commonly in stores today contain formaldehyde and other toxic carcinogens.

I work with essential oils in my candle and beauty line business, but all of my oils are of the highest IFRA (International Fragrance Association) certification standards. I know exactly what they are made of and how much should be used in each product. So I can proudly say that my products are pure, natural and 100% non-toxic.

Sadly though, many stores sell cheap products that don't go by these standards and because of this, people have had headaches, body aches, etc. just from candles and room infusers.

All that to say, please be careful around essential oils, they can not only harm your spiders but also humans and pets too.

 

[HooahArmy]

Hey there! I am a chemical, toxin, and poison specialist by trade and I second the suggestion of the posts above.

I will write in detail to aid every reader who might also have questions about essential oils.

Aromatherapy diffusers and essential oils work by entering the air at a molecular level. These oils smell nice because they are 'volatile oils', meaning that they are capable of becoming airborne and reaching your nose. While a dose of oil in the room might smell nice to you, its presence can be very irritating and even harmful to animals. Studies have shown that small mammals exposed to large amounts of airborne essential oils are more likely to develop upper respiratory infections. Why? It's because the critters, like mice, are small, and the buildup of oils in their lungs is more significant per size as compared to a big ol' human. Pets like dogs and cats who can smell vastly better than we do find the scent of the oils annoying. Cats are known to vacate a room where the oils have been used, often for days or even weeks. Some essential oils like peppermint and citrus are even natural repellents for dogs, cats, rats, and mice, due to their pungency.
Now this brings us to the invertebrates! Inverts breathe either through spirochetes (pores on body) or through book lungs like Ts. They do not metabolize toxins out of their bodies like mammals do, nor can thy cough or sneeze when oil buildup from the air begins to gunk their breathing system. Oils are also hydrophobic (does not dissolve in water), and thus takes much more time to break down in the body than something water-based. If a T were to 'inhale' oils in their book lungs, those oils could stay for a very long time, make them ill, or even cover their lungs so much, they are unable to properly take in oxygen.
However, if you still would like to use essential oils for your own benefit, you can always wear it diluted and dabbed on your person or clothing, or on one of those neat bracelets or medallions that keep them close to you without releasing too much into the air. After touching essential oils, always wash your hand with grease-cutting soaps like dish soap, to fully free your skin from their presence before you touch a critter buddy.

Key Points:
- Essential oils work by evaporating and entering the air. If you can smell it in the room with your critter friends, they are being exposed to it too!
- Invertebrates and other creatures with non-vertebrate-like lungs are more sensitive to essential oils.
- Small vertebrates and those with sensitive noses can also be irritated by essential oils.
- If you must use an essential oil opt to dilute an dab on skin, or use a small carrying jewelry piece, versus an atmosphere diffuser.

If anyone is curious about anything regarding toxins, chemicals, or even radiation, feel free to ask an I will do my best to answer!

 

[DevinWyldeheart]

If anyone is curious about anything regarding toxins, chemicals, or even radiation, feel free to ask an I will do my best to answer!

This has me wondering, what about scented wax melters? I have one but am kinda worried now that it might also be possibly harmful to my isopods so not sure if I should plug it in. And I currently have a scent diffuser from bath and body works that I didn't even think about before getting my isopods. Would that be the same issue as essential oils? I don't know what they make their fragrances with. The diffuser is currently on the other side of the room from my pods and its scent doesn't seem to travel across well, maybe cause it's behind my tv and the tv stand.

 

[HooahArmy]

This has me wondering, what about scented wax melters? I have one but am kinda worried now that it might also be possibly harmful to my isopods so not sure if I should plug it in. And I currently have a scent diffuser from bath and body works that I didn't even think about before getting my isopods. Would that be the same issue as essential oils? I don't know what they make their fragrances with. The diffuser is currently on the other side of the room from my pods and its scent doesn't seem to travel across well, maybe cause it's behind my tv and the tv stand.

Ah ha! An excellent question!
Scented wax melts don't use the same oils as essential oil diffusers unless they are high-end. Wax melts tend to use synthetic fragrances and often carry warnings as not to get them on your skin. These scented oil bases tend to be of a lower quality than essential oils and are usually made with scent-volume in mind, versus personal health with essential oils.
Essential oil diffusers work by vaporizing the oils at a very low temperature, since essential oils are naturally volatile (they want to evaporate into the air). Wax warmer tablets, however, need the high temperatures of a bulb or heating element and release when the wax melts, freeing the oils by convection currents (heat rises). As a result, essential oils can travel very far, while scented wax tablets have smells that tend to hover about your room or a location. Once that oil cools in the air, it can form gunk on windows, walls, or furniture. If you're enjoying the scent and breathing it in, it means it is also settling within you as well.
To keep critters safe, it would be best to keep them away from all volatile oils, even the ones you might not be able to smell across the room, or you might think they cannot. They are much smaller and keener than we are, and unlike us, cannot cough to remove things from book lungs. Buildup on tiny bodies can clog spiracles (breathing pores) and suffocate your friends. Mammals like us shed skin cells, bathe, cough, sneeze, and blow our noses, making these things less noticeable and irritating. Tiny buddies are much more prone to irritation, simply stated. It would be best to move your isopods to a location with cleaner, free-flowing air, or move the diffuser itself. A nice smell isn't worth a enclosure of sick friends!

I hope this helps!

 

[DevinWyldeheart]

Thank you! I will probably relocate the diffuser to the bathroom then since there's an always closed door (or two if the bathroom one is also closed) in between that room and my room where my isopods are, or remove it entirely. Don't want the little guys having trouble breathing!

 

[HooahArmy]

Thank you! I will probably relocate the diffuser to the bathroom then since there's an always closed door (or two if the bathroom one is also closed) in between that room and my room where my isopods are, or remove it entirely. Don't want the little guys having trouble breathing!

No worries! I'm always here to help! I learned about the diffusers myself since my family keeps mice.
Our squeaky friends are trained to ring a bell when then need attention from their human servants. When my mum had a wax warmer on, the mice would ring non-stop until we realized what was up and turned the thing off. The mice were also one full floor and several rooms away! Animals and their little senses are marvelous!