Be thee VERY careful if using Whink.......it is extremely caustic and can cause bad things to happen to you. It contains hydroflouric acid - and here is just one medical abstract: A previously healthy 26-year-old woman developed hemorrhagic alveolitis and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) following use of a hydrofluoric acid-containing household cleaning agent. Exposure was inhalational in nature. The circumstances and possible mechanism of chemical pneumonitis from low-dose inhalational exposure to hydrofluoric acid are discussed (in the column). Another source describes it thus: Hydrofluoric Acid Cleaners What kinds of products contain hydrofluoric acid? Especially difficult stains, such as rust and water stains on glass and tar on car wheel covers, pose difficult cleaning problems. Many of the agents used to remove these tough stains contain hydrofluoric acid (HF). Hydrofluoric acid is also used in glass etching, dry cleaning (to remove very resistant stains) and in computer component manufacturing. How dangerous is HF? Hydrofluoric acid is extremely potent and dangerous. It can penetrate thick, calloused skin and even fingernails, causing extensive skin burns and scarring. A major exposure to concentrated HF can bind the body's calcium stores from the bones, causing seizures, bone destruction and death. Inhaling HF fumes can lead to pneumonia. A splash of HF in the eyes can cause destruction of the eye tissues and blindness. What symptoms does hydrofluoric acid cause? Pain is the major symptom. The onset of symptoms and the severity of the damage depend on the amount of exposure and the concentration of the HF. The stronger the concentration, the faster the symptoms appear. Strong solutions of the acid cause a quick onset of burning, redness and tissue damage. Symptoms may be delayed up to 24 hours after exposure to a less concentrated HF solution. People using HF products while wearing leaking gloves can develop symptoms many hours later or even the next day. They have red, painful fingers with severe burning under the fingernails. The pain from the burn may be intense and treatment is difficult. Major exposures require treatment in an emergency room. How can exposure be prevented? Before you have a problem, check your supply of cleaning products for any rust removers, water spot stain removers, tar removers or mag wheel cleaners. Read these product labels carefully to see if they contain either hydrofluoric acid or ammonium bifluoride. Ammonium bifluoride is converted to hydrofluoric acid and can cause the same kind of problems.

That's great, KC! My last SBST cat pupated yesterday, so now I've got 4 chrysalides waiting to emerge, 3 brown ones and 1 green one. I released two females a couple of weeks ago. I found a spicebush egg on some sassafras late this afternoon, so I guess I'll scour the property for eggs and cats tomorrow - somebody was out laying, don't know if it was one of the two females I released or not. I'd like to make pictures of the life cycle of a barred sulphur. I saw a female laying an egg on a pencil flower plant this afternoon, but I don't know if I'd be able to find it again. There's a large area of pencil flower plants up by the main road - maybe if I find it, I'll find more. Anyway, I finally solved the ID mystery of the rusty colored leps I see in very early spring each year - they're the winter form of barred sulphurs! I've never raised any of these little ones, but I have raised little yellows and pearl crescents, so I could probably do it. It would be nice to have pictures of the various stages, like I did last year with my first pearl crescents. Speaking of PCs, I saw what looked like a newly emerged pearl crescent the other day. 'Wish I'd had my camera, the colors were so vivid! Sherry P.S. I'm waiting for the prometheas to emerge in the cage - 'can't wait!

greg In the future, don't use soap. Regardless what ppl tell you and what you find on net, it is not the best to use it on plants. Soap will dissolve cuticular wax on the leaves, not helping the plant. Castile soap is made of olive oil, so it is safer to use on plants (but if purchasing, make sure it is vegetable-based soap, as Castile name is used, unfortunately, loosly...) Rubbing alcohol is enough for scale - but if you had to rub/scrub hard & also use nail, I doubt it is scale. Scale come off quite easy. Next time you see similar spots, test first if it is scale - take a cotton ball or tissue, moisten it and wipe off the 'spot' - should come off easy and if squished, you'll see blood...maybe gross, but at least you know what you need to do. BTW, were there any marks-damage left after scrubbing? (Edied to add: I just re-read posts and noticed that Crenda already mentioned possible damage on the leaves - that's what I was asking for).

Thanks, but i have some really good stuff from the vet. It is a pink salve that is thick and you pat it on and then wrap it in Saran wrap so it doesn't absorb into the outer wrap, and wrap it with vetwrap. We haven't even listed this place yet. It is such a godawful mess. Have had several people come look at it anyway. A lot of people like it but haven't got the money and we can't finance it for them because we need the money out of it to buy another place. If Jody would come home and help me, I might be able to get it cleaned up better. Two areas still have a lot of hurricane debris. We are on a big curve in the bayou and the water came straight across our place, carrying everything you can imagine. The first two months we worked on fixing a fence down one side of the property, which gave the horses a place so they could come home from down the road. Then it has rained so much, and that was a small pasture, so turned them out and it rained some more, and then it rained more night before last and it is a horrible muddy mess. The "regular" horses are out together. The two fillies were in with the donkeys, but got out, so went to the round pen...and now with all the mud, they are in the barn. Emery is in the barn, and Snoop is in about an acre sized lot that is around the barn. Snoop isn't standing in mud and he has a stall he can run in out of the weather. But the mud around the barn is awful. I hurt my back day before yesterday from trying to pull my foot (boot) out of the mud. It's not like you can quickly walk anywhere around this place. We need some dirt work done. We had the guy with the bulldozer here for three or four days but he had another job he had to get to. He said he isn't busy in January, so Jody said he would have him out then to do some more work. However, it is much too muddy to do anything. So.....I am more or less marking time....waiting for the weather to get better. I am so cold natured, and I have a very hard time walking in the mud....and carrying everything I have to carry to the barn, because I don't have a good place to store my feed and hay....which is why I go to the feed store every day. January is always our worst month...so just waiting for it to pass.