DATE:   9/7/00
WRITER: Dr. Robert G. Bellinger, (864) 656-5042,
        Clemson Extension Pesticide Coordinator
EDITOR: Giles Singleton, (864) 656-3876

Don't Gas Up the Bugs

     CLEMSON -- A lot of gasoline gets used at this 
time of year. The family car gets the kids to school 
and their activities and parents to work and shopping. 
Lawn mowers and weed trimmers get weekend workouts. 
     Unfortunately, not all gasoline gets put to good use.
     I recently had a call from a man who told me his wife 
poured gasoline down wasp holes in their yard. She was 
afraid the wasps would sting her children. The husband 
called because he wanted to know what pesticide to use
because there were still a few wasps around.
     When it comes to protecting their children, people 
sometimes stop being rational. Boy, do I wish he had 
called me first.
     Gasoline poured into the ground to kill insects 
will do that. What the gasoline also does, however, is
sterilize the soil, get into groundwater, and evaporate 
into the air we breathe. Gasoline is a mixture of 
materials, some of which are known carcinogens.
     If you spill gasoline on you it is readily absorbed
through the skin, which it can also chemically burn. It 
can permanently damage the eyes and lungs. And it is 
extremely toxic if swallowed.
     Gasoline has become a favorite cure for yellow 
jackets, ground nesting wasps and fire ants. A lot of 
folks think pouring gasoline into a yellow jacket nest 
or fire ant mound is a terrific idea. Actually, it's a 
really dangerous practice. We are not getting good 
mileage from this kind of use.
     Some people pour gasoline into a yellow jacket nest 
or fire ant mound and then light it. It's hard to think 
of a more dangerous thing to do. A gallon of gasoline 
has the explosive force equal to 83 sticks of dynamite.
Please don't test this at home!
     People have been severely burned and homes and 
property have been damaged trying to kill yellow jackets 
or fire ants with the "gas and blow" method of pest 
control.
     If you want to control yellow jackets, ground 
nesting wasps and fire ants, contact your Clemson 
University County Extension Office. They can give
you advice on how to control these pests. If you use 
a pesticide to do this, read and follow the label 
directions exactly.
     Fact sheets on controlling these insects are 
available at 
http://entweb.clemson.edu/cuentres/eiis/index.htm.    
     The advice on controlling pests with gasoline, 
though, is this: Never, ever use gasoline, or other 
fuels or solvents, to kill insects or weeds. Gas
up your car and your mower, but don't gas up the 
bugs!
       *****************************************
     If you have questions or comments on gardening, 
write to PSA Media Relations, A-101 Poole Agricultural
Center, Clemson University, Clemson, S.C. 29634-0129. 
You can find other "Buds and Blooms" columns under 2000 
News Releases at: www.clemson.edu/psamedia .
                           END