I shared the ant killer with my sister and she said it was toxic to many things besides ants. Here is a bit about the toxicity from Wikipedia:
Drinking water contamination[edit]
In 2021, the US EPA put fipronil on the Draft Fifth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 5) which can lead to future regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.[19]
Detection in body fluids[edit]
Fipronil may be quantitated in plasma by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to confirm a diagnosis of poisoning in hospitalised patients or to provide evidence in a medicolegal death investigation.[20]
Ecological toxicity[edit]
Further information: Pesticide toxicity to bees
Fipronil is highly toxic for crustaceans, insects (including bees and termites) and zooplankton, as well as rabbits, the fringe-toed lizard, and certain groups of gallinaceous birds. It appears to reduce the longevity and fecundity of female braconid parasitoids. It is also highly toxic to many fish, though its toxicity varies with species. Conversely, the substance is relatively innocuous to passerines, wildfowl, and earthworms.
Its half-life in soil is four months to one year, but much less on soil surface because it is more sensitive to light (photolysis) than water (hydrolysis).[21]
Few studies of effects on wildlife have been conducted, but studies of the nontarget impact from emergency applications of fipronil as barrier sprays for locust control in Madagascar showed adverse impacts of fipronil on termites, which appear to be very severe and long-lived.[22] Also, adverse effects were indicated in the short term on several other invertebrate groups, one species of lizard (Trachylepis elegans), and several species of birds (including the Madagascar bee-eater).
Nontarget effects on some insects (predatory and detritivorous beetles, some parasitic wasps and bees) were also found in field trials of fipronil for desert locust control in Mauritania, and very low doses (0.6-2.0 g a.i./ha) used against grasshoppers in Niger caused impacts on nontarget insects comparable to those found with other insecticides used in grasshopper control. The implications of this for other wildlife and ecology of the habitat remain unknown, but appear unlikely to be severe.[5] Unfortunately, this lack of severity was not observed in bee species in South America. Fipronil is also used in Brazil and studies on the stingless bee Scaptotrigona postica have shown adverse reactions to the pesticide, including seizures, paralysis, and death with a lethal dose of .54 ng a.i./bee and a lethal concentration of .24 ng a.i./μl diet. These values are highly toxic in Scaptotrigona postica and bees in general.[23] Toxic baiting with fipronil has been shown to be effective in locally eliminating German wasps. All colonies within foraging range were completely eliminated within one week.[24][25][9]
In May 2003, the French Directorate-General of Food at the Ministry of Agriculture determined that a case of mass bee mortality observed in southern France was related to acute fipronil toxicity. Toxicity was linked to defective seed treatment, which generated dust. In February 2003, the ministry decided to temporarily suspend the sale of BASF crop protection products containing fipronil in France.[26] The seed treatment involved has since been banned.[citation needed]
Notable results from wildlife studies include:
- Fipronil is highly toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates. Its tendency to bind to sediments and its low water solubility may reduce the potential hazard to aquatic wildlife.[27]
- Fipronil is toxic to bees and should not be applied to vegetation when bees are foraging.[27]
- Based on ecological effects, fipronil is highly toxic to upland game birds on an acute oral basis and very highly toxic on a subacute dietary basis, but is practically nontoxic to waterfowl on both acute and subacute bases.[28]
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