Talk:Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis

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Mosquito Bits and Mosquito Dunks are marketed by Summit, a company located in Baltimore, MD. Summit advises that its products can be used in all types of standing water, including bird baths, water gardens, animal watering troughs, and abandoned or unused swimming pools. One can reasonablely assume that Bti is harmless to fish, birds, other animals, and possibly humans. However, the safety information on the labels reads as if Bti is a very toxic chemical insecticide. What gives? Is this product safe to use or not? Does Summit or anyone else know of any side effects to birds, fish, or mammels caused by the application of Bti to standing water used by these animals? Does anyone have any information on this? Maryevelyn 11:26pm CDT, 6/13/04

The labeling on individual Bti products appears to overstate the risks. A detailed review of the EPA website for regarding the hazards of Bti can be found at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/ingredients/factsheets/factsheet_006476.htm

I believe Bti holds great potential to improve living conditions in malaria prone locations. A Bti production facility is under construction in Kenya. As the threat of West Nile Virus spreads across the US, perhaps more people will take an interest in a potential solution to a problem (malaria) that kills 1,000,000 children a year.

For poor countries, research has been conducted using coconuts as the medium to culture Bti for use in remote locations that have access to coconuts. More information about this ground-breaking research can be found at: http://idrinfo.idrc.ca/archive/corpdocs/102386/ventosil.html Max 3:13pm MDT, 7/11/05