Do you ever worry about using stuff like bat guano, etc?

babice · April 27, 2012

I totally believe in growing organically. I love the idea and am trying to embrace it. I not only would rather do it for the environment but, particularly for anything I'm eating, I want it to have no synthetic chemicals if possible. And, of course, there's always concern about breathing in anything synthetic you're using or getting it on your hands etc.

So - as I've been making my first foray into using Buddha Grow I've started wondering. Should I worry in any way if, say, the liquid form gets on my hands? Or if, say, I have used it as a soil drench in an enclosed room and then has dried on the soil - is there any concern at all with breathing anything in from it?

I just have never really had any reservations at all (except for the smell if I've ever used something like worm poop) - but - is that just naive of me? Do you wear gloves? Or do you wear a mask?

Tracydr · April 28, 2012

I worry about blood meal and bone meal. Nasty diseases like mad cow and heavy metals in bone meal.
I do use fish meal and I have heard similar concerns.

rnewste · April 28, 2012

babice,

I am running some trials this year using two bat guano products. One is a 9-0-0 NPK and the other is a 15-0-0 product:

Too early for any conclusive results - but the plants have never looked healthier at this time of the Season:

Stay tuned............

Raybo

babice · April 28, 2012

Wow! I'm so glad you told me because I am using Roots Organic's Buddha Grow on my seedlings right now and have been trying to decide if I want to use the Buddha Bloom as well while I'm growing them in the EBs and containers. I certainly think the bat guano sounds like a good thing.

By the way - I was looking around at stores today and found something I haven't read about or seen before - buffalo compost! Interesting, eh?

So the first time I used the Buddha Grow my DH got on to me for shaking the gallon jug of it up in the kitchen and I thought he was very silly for that. I kinda still do but it not only made me honor his concerns and do this now only in the garage but also made me think about whether I should be more careful. So, I am careful to wash my hands afterwards and also careful to clean the utility sink afterward.

Do you suppose that because the guano (or any manure) has dried up, that any pathogens are gone? And, therefore, really that wouldn't be a concern any more?

RayR · April 28, 2012

I don't see what there is to worry about, it's not like the guano is fresh. Whatever pathogens might have been in there if any would have been eliminated in the natural composting process by bacteria and the insects that feed on the guano. What you have is not dried bat poop. It's no more dangerous than yard waste compost. Of course with anything that is dusty you should be careful not to breath it in.

Crandrew · April 30, 2012

i wouldn't lick your fingers or touch your eyes after mixing it in

RebelRidin · May 1, 2012

When I was an undergraduate student our mammology class went out for a lab class one night to a nearby cave. It was home to quite a few bats (many thousands) including gray bats. One part of the trip was to climb up into a gray bat nursery chamber. We had to climb/crawl up a very steep slope on our hands and knees in what were basically knee and hand holds worn into wet packed clay.

It wasn't until we got to the top that we came to understand that wasn't clay we were crawling through...

Neohippie · May 1, 2012

The largest bat colony in the world (yes, THE WORLD) is not far from here. Local garden stores sell bat guano from it (that cave has been "mined" for bat guano since at least the Civil War). Proceeds from the sale go towards bat conservation.

Opening up the bag it smells JUST LIKE a bat cave. (or any other place bats roost... not uncommon to get a whiff of guano walking around old buildings or parking garages round here)

I buy it because it's for a good cause, in addition to being a great source of nitrogen. There is a disease you can get from inhaling fresh guano if you go crawling in a bat cave (some kind of fungus that gets in your lungs), but this stuff is supposed to be safe. Besides, it's not like I want to go sticking my face in the bag.

ArcherB · May 1, 2012

Neohippie:

Do you know a local supplier where we can get this stuff cheap? I live just up the road from you.

Thanx.

stormymater · May 1, 2012

here's some info from The Skunk Whisperer -
http://totalwildlifecontrol.com/crit...bats/diseases/

babice · May 1, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neohippie

The largest bat colony in the world (yes, THE WORLD) is not far from here. Local garden stores sell bat guano from it (that cave has been "mined" for bat guano since at least the Civil War). Proceeds from the sale go towards bat conservation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neohippie

There is a disease you can get from inhaling fresh guano if you go crawling in a bat cave (some kind of fungus that gets in your lungs)…

I read about that cave in Texas. As I was researching bat guano I came across this company that sells that specific bat guano. This cave has a population of something like 20 million bats. The way they harvest the bat guano safely there (as opposed to other places in the world where the bats will often literally die while people are harvesting because they are that delicate to being disturbed in their sleep) is that they wait to harvest it every year when these 20 million bats migrate to Mexico. Cool!

BTW, yes, the danger with fresh guano is the same crud you could get from bird droppings - histoplasmosis. Nasty stuff. Only warnings I could find regarding working with bat guano for fertilizer were for anyone going into a cave and mining it or walking around close to it, etc. Or for anyone who has bat houses and wants to harvest the guano for their garden use. Recommendation is for these people to take extreme caution. However, I just wasn't sure about inhaling it once it's dried out and become ready for sale as a compost. I figured at the least I might want to be careful as with anything with any dust.

RayR · May 1, 2012

The Bracken Cave

http://www.malcolmbeck.com/articles/...ngBatGuano.htm

RebelRidin · May 2, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by babice

... However, I just wasn't sure about inhaling it once it's dried out and become ready for sale as a compost. I figured at the least I might want to be careful as with anything with any dust.

The histoplasmosis potential, from what I read through the link stormymater posted, stems from a fungus? Fungus often seem to like warm and moist or cool and moist. They key being, "moist". I would not be surprised if spores might remain that once inhaled into our moist lungs... Of course I wouldn't want to inhale dust from anything if I could avoid it. That includes rabbit poo, cow poo, horse poo, bat poo, heck any kind of poo!

There are plenty of molds around that can be really nasty if inhaled. I suspect that just handling a bale of hay or straw can expose us to a good number. I think reasonable precaution to avoid inhaling the dust would be prudent.

stormymater · May 2, 2012

Alas it's not just the poop that can get you -
http://www.peatmoss.com/sporo.php

now even a nice walk about in pristine areas can knock you off -
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ryId=126198896
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...040700698.html

We knew about this way back in 2000 - the cryptococcus in the BC woods - funny how it took so long to get into the press.

babice · May 2, 2012

Found an MSDS sheet for the RO Buddha Grow: http://www.sunlightsupply.com/docs/A...BuddhaGrow.pdf

April 27, 2012	#1
babice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Alabama Posts: 643	Do you ever worry about using stuff like bat guano, etc? I totally believe in growing organically. I love the idea and am trying to embrace it. I not only would rather do it for the environment but, particularly for anything I'm eating, I want it to have no synthetic chemicals if possible. And, of course, there's always concern about breathing in anything synthetic you're using or getting it on your hands etc. So - as I've been making my first foray into using Buddha Grow I've started wondering. Should I worry in any way if, say, the liquid form gets on my hands? Or if, say, I have used it as a soil drench in an enclosed room and then has dried on the soil - is there any concern at all with breathing anything in from it? I just have never really had any reservations at all (except for the smell if I've ever used something like worm poop) - but - is that just naive of me? Do you wear gloves? Or do you wear a mask?

May 1, 2012	#7
RebelRidin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Maryland's Eastern Shore Posts: 993	When I was an undergraduate student our mammology class went out for a lab class one night to a nearby cave. It was home to quite a few bats (many thousands) including gray bats. One part of the trip was to climb up into a gray bat nursery chamber. We had to climb/crawl up a very steep slope on our hands and knees in what were basically knee and hand holds worn into wet packed clay. It wasn't until we got to the top that we came to understand that wasn't clay we were crawling through... __________________ George _____________________________ "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure." Thomas Jefferson, 1787

April 28, 2012	#2
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I worry about blood meal and bone meal. Nasty diseases like mad cow and heavy metals in bone meal. I do use fish meal and I have heard similar concerns.

April 28, 2012	#3
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	babice, I am running some trials this year using two bat guano products. One is a 9-0-0 NPK and the other is a 15-0-0 product: Too early for any conclusive results - but the plants have never looked healthier at this time of the Season: Stay tuned............ Raybo

April 28, 2012	#5
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,466	I don't see what there is to worry about, it's not like the guano is fresh. Whatever pathogens might have been in there if any would have been eliminated in the natural composting process by bacteria and the insects that feed on the guano. What you have is not dried bat poop. It's no more dangerous than yard waste compost. Of course with anything that is dusty you should be careful not to breath it in.

April 30, 2012	#6
Crandrew Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: asdf Posts: 1,202	i wouldn't lick your fingers or touch your eyes after mixing it in

May 1, 2012	#8
Neohippie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: San Marcos, Texas Posts: 77	The largest bat colony in the world (yes, THE WORLD) is not far from here. Local garden stores sell bat guano from it (that cave has been "mined" for bat guano since at least the Civil War). Proceeds from the sale go towards bat conservation. Opening up the bag it smells JUST LIKE a bat cave. (or any other place bats roost... not uncommon to get a whiff of guano walking around old buildings or parking garages round here) I buy it because it's for a good cause, in addition to being a great source of nitrogen. There is a disease you can get from inhaling fresh guano if you go crawling in a bat cave (some kind of fungus that gets in your lungs), but this stuff is supposed to be safe. Besides, it's not like I want to go sticking my face in the bag.

May 1, 2012	#9
ArcherB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Austin TX Posts: 200	Neohippie: Do you know a local supplier where we can get this stuff cheap? I live just up the road from you. Thanx.

May 1, 2012	#10
stormymater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pleasure Island, NC 8a Posts: 1,162	here's some info from The Skunk Whisperer - http://totalwildlifecontrol.com/crit...bats/diseases/

May 2, 2012	#14
stormymater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pleasure Island, NC 8a Posts: 1,162	Alas it's not just the poop that can get you - http://www.peatmoss.com/sporo.php now even a nice walk about in pristine areas can knock you off - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ryId=126198896 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...040700698.html We knew about this way back in 2000 - the cryptococcus in the BC woods - funny how it took so long to get into the press.