man i hate these 'i read somewhere once' ... thoughts ... been there.. done that ... crippled me from taking action ... stick your hand in dry liquid fert .. and it will 'burn' any open cuts or hangnails.. just like table salt .. or vinegar properly dilute it .... and stick you hand in the bucket.. nothing.. or at worst.. you have a blue or green hand .. lol .. in my warped world.. its all about proper dilution.. if you care to experiment .. find some slugs.. salt them ... while drooling.. lol ... they will basically slime themselves to dehydration and death trying to get the salt off ... [if you really want to get rid of them.. i would recommend the saute in in garlic butter thingee .. lol] .. now take a plate.. and pour in a little [not to drown them.. but to make them crawl across] some properly diluted liquid fert.. and i would not be surprised that they crawl right out.. and head for you prized plants ... rather than relying on third hand 'things' .. try the 800 number on the package ... growing a lush thick garden .. is going to be better for your wildlife.. than cowering in fear and not maintaining a thriving environment .... that will be conducive to the wildlife you want to attract ... and this of course is all about PROPER application.. you start throwing handfuls of fert around the yard.. sure.. i would not doubt you could create salt mines that are a negative ... but that scenario really isnnt what you are talking about.. and by that time .... your plants will start dying from over-fert'g look at it this way.. under the hypothesis that all salt is bad.. one would expect.. up here in the rust belt ... that there would be no beneficial animals.. anywhere a road/driveway/sidewalk is salted ... and i just dont believe that is the fact ... if you can go organic.. all the power to ya.. i just dont buy that some properly diluted liquid fert is going to be a negative ... ken

Decades ago we were taught in college laboratories that as long as the powder was kept dry it had an indefinite shelf life. We were taught to toss solutions after use. I don't recall anyone ever teaching why do it this way. Now people sell solutions and recommend tossing the powder. I don't recall anyone ever boasting that they knew why. My gut says its marketing. You will buy more if they sell solutions and recommend tossing the powder.

I am allergic to cigarette smoke and used to get bronchitis all the time from second hand smoke despite never smoking myself. At my last job (I left to be self-employed and it was not to make more money but for my health), my boss was a chain smoker and I would lose my voice each day and not function as well at work. I was tested and I am allergic to cigarette smoke as well as it being very bad for my lungs. A few jobs before this job, I was asked how many packs of cigarettes I smoked, and I said I never tried a cigarette. That is how bad my lungs had become from being around second hand smoke. Now that I have been self-employed for over 20 years with NO smoking allowed around me or in my home, I have clear lungs and do not get so sick anymore. I order rescue animal calendars each year from a talented person and love them each year. This year, I ordered a few for gifts and myself and they reeked of cigarette smoke! I had thought the new people at the post office were smoking around the mail but then I found out from her that she retired and started to smoke more. I had to air out the calendars for 2 months in my garage before being able to use them despite them being in envelopes since my nose would turn red and I would feel sick if I hung them up. I had to give other holiday gifts and late calendar gifts when they were aired out. I once hired a part-time worker who was so allergic to fragrance that if I spayed my hair with hair spray she would get flue like symptoms and feel like she was dying just like I get from being around cigarette smoke (as well as post nasal drip and coughing). I had to wash my hair again one day when I accidentally forgot she was coming over. That must be so difficult to have an allergy to fragrance but I know lately I am getting also sensitive to strong fragrance smells and I start to cough so I am finally understand what that is like. For those that smoke, I understand it is your home but I can't visit those that have homes that do not have a separate smoking room or I get sick. I can't drive with friends that have cars that smell like smoke or I get sick and must wash my hair the minute I get home. I wish there was some way that cigarettes would not smell. Sorry to offend but just my point of view. It was not fair to me to have to live around 2nd hand smoke when I could not breath and my dad would get mad at me for complaining and think I was trying to get attention when I was coughing from post nasal drip but when he got congestive heart failure and coughed all the time, I never picked on him. If I was a smoker with my bad allergies, I would have been dead like my smoking friend who died at age 50 from Emphysema. Some people can't handle the cigarette's poisons as well as other people can. We are all built differently.

I am adding an experience because I just went thru an all day nightmare where the AC alarms wired in sequence were going off randomly every 10-15 minutes for several minutes then stopping. My son and I replaced all 8 alarm batteries with new 9 volts - we also used a meter to determine that all removed batteries with one exception all had more than 9 volts remaining. Still no relief. Around midnight, out of sheer frustration, I took a can of pressurized air I used for cleaning my computer keyboard and went to the alarms and blew the air in the little vent hole. Problem solved on second alarm as soon as the burst of air hit it. It was the alarm closest to the kitchen in an adjoining hallway. Hopefully this will help others - I was really at the point of removing the alarms and replacing them. If it beeps once its battery, but the random long bursts is a whole different problem.