(The statements expressed herein are the personal views of author Stephen L. Tvedten, and do not reflect those of Safe Solutions, Inc. and are for informational purposes only)

Pest control expert Stephen Tvedten has patented and documented the process of using enzyme compounds as biological pesticides to achieve safe, nontoxic control of insects. Tvedten's Patented Process has 77 claims on the process of using various surfactant formulas and enzyme compositions to control a broad array of pests such as insects, arachnids, bacteria, viruses, and mold. The patent protects the use of enzyme-based compounds as a nontoxic alternative to pesticide for controlling insects and arachnids.

In The Best Control 2 IPM encyclopedia, Stephen Tvedten outlines how through years of pest control field research he has developed the use of enzyme as a natural source of pest control. He has consistently proven that enzymes make an outstanding alternative to using synthetic pesticide poisons. Pesticides are persistent and pervasively poisonous, harming not only insects, but also people and pets. Agriculture has waged a costly struggle fighting insects by constantly rotating obsolescent pesticides in a desperate strategy of chemical warfare. It is time to discover an alternative. Enzymes offer a non-toxic and safe solution to pest control, making them preferable to the health hazards of pesticides.

· Welcome to the cleaner future of pest control ·

How Enzyme Works

Insects make formidable opponents because they are protected by strong exoskeletons - hardened shells that cover them like a suit of armor and have the locomotion of a tank. It is the exoskeleton that has most challenged pest control - until now. Enzyme is the key.

Because an insect's exoskeleton is a hard shell made of non-living material, it does not grow in size with the insect's development. Therefore it is necessary for all insects to shed their exoskeletons several times during the course of their life. They accomplish this by using enzymes they create naturally to split open their exoskeleton and thus grow larger. It is during this molting phase that an insect is at its most vulnerable - susceptible to drying out or drowning since the hard shell that normally would protect them has been cast off.

The surface of every insect's exoskeleton is covered with a waxy, water-repellant patina known as the cuticle. This outer coating protects the insect from harm, and has long been an obstacle for pesticide's effectiveness - the chemicals must penetrate the cuticle in order to affect the insect, so pesticides employ a variety of volatile solvents, toxic dusts or light oils in order to cut through the cuticle and thus deliver the poison into the insect interior.

The solution to cracking the cuticle of an insect's exoskeleton was discovered through the observation of insect entomology - insects employ enzymes to escape their exoskeletons. By utilizing cultured enzymes that mimic those found in nature, a natural form of biological pesticide can be produced that has the ability to dismantle the armor of an insect instantly.

Enzyme Plant Wash digests insect's waxy cuticle on contact and dismantles their exoskeleton - effectively forcing insects into immediate molting in which the protective shell is stripped.

Using enzyme-based formulas as a form of biological pest control is an ingenious play of engaging the forces of nature to our advantage. Enzymes exist throughout the insect, plant and animal kingdoms to aid in the digestion of organic matter. Arachnids such as spiders and scorpions inject their prey with enzyme; insect larvae (maggots) also rely on enzymes to predigest their food for them. Insectivore plants also use enzymes to digest insect prey. Even cellular organisms such as bacteria, mold, mildew and yeasts all depend on enzymes to aid in the external digestion of food sources. Enzymes play a fundamental role to all life because they are a necessary catalyst to speed up the chemical reaction of metabolism. Enzymes are used by living beings to break down complex structures in food digestion.

Enzymes are used throughout the food industry to pre-digest proteins and starches: baby food manufacturers add enzymes to soften the food, bakers add protease enzyme to flour to lower protein level, and brewers add enzymes to beer during fermentation to help filter and clarify the beer. Cheese makers as well use enzymes in the ripening phase of cheese.

Why Use Enzyme

Enzyme control of insects is preferable to traditional pesticide-based approaches to pest control for several reasons, not least of which is the elimination of chemical exposure risk.

Enzyme control is non-toxic and safe for people and the environment, pesticides are not. Enzyme is a desirable alternative to pesticide control because it relies on physical biology rather than on toxic substances to achieve success. Enzyme control is universal in range - all insects are affected by enzyme - enzyme works for any pest problem encountered.

Unlike pesticides, enzyme can be adjusted in strength, allowing specific insect species to be targeted or spared according to intent. For example, one can treat an organic garden with a weak concentration in order to eliminate aphids but protect beneficial honey bees.

Unlike pesticides, enzyme control will never become obsolete. Because the biology of insects depends on the creation of enzymes in order for survival, it is impossible for insects to develop a resistance to enzyme as a method of pest control. Insects have an ability to rapidly evolve an immunity or resistance to commercial pesticides within a short time, even within a single crop cycle! This leads to a costly rotation of chemical warfare. Sadly, human beings do not have the biological tolerance to the persistent pollution of pesticides that insects do, and are often the ultimate victims of pesticide. Fortunately a consistently reliable and safe solution to pest control has been discovered - enzyme.

Enzyme control achieves safer, faster and more effective results than pesticide poisons. Replace the health risk of outdated chemical pesticides with a sure-fire and completely non-toxic alternative method for exterminating pests - TweetMint Enzyme Plant Wash.

Pest Control has long sought the perfect pesticide, an idealHoly Grail that is totally safe for humans, yet certain death to insects, and would never become obsolete. Why this had not been found was due to a lack of exploring outside the realm of traditional pesticides - which rely solely on the application of hazardous chemical poisons to kill insects. Enzyme based biological pesticides offer just such a perfect resource for non-toxic pest control.

Enzyme Pest Control

Safe Solutions Enzyme Plant Wash controls pests such as insects, bacteria, mildew and mold. The enzymes used in the formula exhibit the same properties as those that occur naturally in all insect species - causing a digestive disintegration of the exoskeleton. When enzyme makes contact with an insect, it quickly digests its exoskeleton resulting in prompt death. This process does not harm human skin and is 100% safe, non-toxic and hypoallergenic.

The ingredients of Enzyme Plant Wash are recognized as Non-Toxic, Food Grade, or GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) and are pH balanced, hypoallergenic & biodegradable.

Enzyme Plant Wash is a valuable alternative to using pesticide in situations where there are chemically-sensitive people such as those who are pregnant, infants, elderly, ill or MCS.

Typically, a dilution of 2 to 4 oz. Enzyme Plant Wash concentrate per gallon of water will kill most any insect in several seconds. Arachnids such as spiders and ticks have stronger exoskeletons than arthropods and may take several minutes to succumb to the enzyme. When spraying outdoors a dilution of ½to 1 oz. Enzyme Plant Wash per gallon of water is a better solution so that collateral damage to beneficial insects is prevented. This solution works well for organic gardening / farming or as a drench for ant or yellow jacket nests.

The dilution rate of the enzyme concentrate can be calibrated to affect only specific target species but weak enough to protect beneficial insects such as honey bees. For example, a dilution of 1 oz. Enzyme Plant Wash per 5 gallons of water can be used in organic gardening to remove softer-bodied aphids, but will not harm beneficial insects such as honey bees. Start with a weak dilution and increase concentration until the target insect is pinpointed.

Indoors, Enzyme Plant Wash is fantastic for washing floors and furniture, laundry and linens, tub and tile to remove them not only of stubborn stains but also prevent insect invaders.

Outdoors, Enzyme Plant Wash is great for organic gardening, landscaping, and lawn care. It is non-toxic and biodegradable, so it can be fogged or sprayed onto vegetables, fruit trees, orchards, crops and lake or pond water restoration without fear of contamination.

Caution: Safe Solutions Enzyme Plant Wash is a broad-range bio-pesticide and will kill all insects including beneficials, so use them outdoors with great discretion!

* Safe Solutions is currently seeking to register their Enzyme Plant Wash with the EPA as a bio-insecticide. Official pesticidal claims cannot be made until it is registered with EPA.

Because commercial pesticides are comprised of chemicals which are volatile, synthetic and poisonous, the EPA prohibits registered pesticides from claiming they are either safe or non-toxic. However, since Safe Solutions Enzyme Plant Wash is in fact a natural biological pesticide that affects insects based on physical rather than chemical properties, it is better to refer to it as a Pestisafe® rather than as a pesticide.

Be aware that not all enzyme cleaners are safe to use for non-toxic pest control, most are not designed for this purpose and many are toxic such as those purchased at swimming pool supplies or janitorial supplies, e.g. drain openers and septic tank treatment cleaners. Other biological detergents available on the market are not manufactured for pest control. Only Safe Solutions Enzyme Plant Wash is patented for the purpose of non-toxic pest control.

Summary of Patent

Pesticides present risks to human health. Although the rate of post-application degradation may vary widely, almost all pesticides present some direct risk to human health through residual toxicity, i.e. direct human contact with pesticide residues remaining after treatment, whether through inhalation of volatile toxic vapors, skin contact and transdermal absorption, or ingestion. In addition, many pesticides present indirect risks to human health in the form of environmental pollution, most notably pollution with persistent, halide-substituted organics which accumulate in the fat stores of food fish and other animals. These problems have led to complete bans on the use of some pesticides (e.g., DDT, chlordane, heptachlor, aldrin, and dieldrin); while the continued use of the remaining pesticides has produced a new problem: the increasing development of widespread resistance to pesticides in insects.

This resistance yields two results: 1) quick reinfestation by the pest insect; 2) the need and cost of continually engineering new pesticides (e.g., synthetic pyrethroids were developed because of resistance to the less toxic first generation pyrethrins). New pesticide production takes time and the new pesticides that result are almost universally more expensive than those they replace.

In this context, traditional pesticides are applied on a regular, and typically increasing, basis. For example, many schools have come to be sprayed monthly or even biweekly, and with increasing quantities of pesticides to combat endemic roach re-infestations, often to no avail. This intensifies the problem of residual toxicity to people, especially to children who, as a result, may suffer headaches, grogginess, nausea, dizziness, irritability, frenetic behavior, and an impaired readiness to learn.

Because of these effects, it has been recognized that totally new approaches must be discovered and implemented in order to effectively control invertebrate pests without destroying human health and the environment. There is a need for a quick-acting, effective, residually non-toxic method for combating insect, arachnid, and other pests which may be used as a replacement for traditional pesticide treatments and as a supplement to the arsenal of currently available IPM techniques.

Consequently, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for combating invertebrate (i.e. insect and arachnid) and microbe (i.e. bacterial, algal, fungal, and/or viral) pests which is quick-acting, effective, and residually non-toxic and which may be used as a replacement for traditional pesticide treatments and as a supplement to the arsenal of currently available integrated pest management techniques.

It has been surprisingly found that the application of a composition comprising at least one protease enzyme is a method for exterminating pests which achieves these objectives. The enzyme component of the invention may comprise a single protease or a protease-containing mixture of enzymes, whether natural, preformed, or synthetic. In an alternate embodiment, the composition may also comprise a detergent component. This detergent component comprises one or more surfactant(s), detergent builder(s), or mixtures thereof.

(Safe Solutions, Inc. does not make pesticidal claims regarding its Enzyme Plant Wash)

From the FREE IPM GUIDE PDF

4) Then if you still have pest problems - use the ideal pesticide - Safe Solutions Enzyme Cleaners. So, how does the Safe Solutions enzyme cleaner safely and far more effectively control insects, arachnids, mold, fungus, bacteria and viruses? - http://www.theidealpesticide.com Basically, the same way it cleans. The various ingredients are skillfully combined to give a synergistic control of virtually all of your pest problems. The same way a boxer throws different punches/combinations to control his opponent - Safe Solutions, Inc. uses various ingredients that all have different pest control abilities to virtually control all pest problems.

Let us look at the various ingredients:

Sodium Borate — Works as a dust, liquid and/or foam. Boron in the form of sodium salt has been used as an embalming agent by the ancient Egyptians, and as a flux for welding gold. Boric acid and borax have been used as mild antiseptics, especially for burns and the eyes. For the last 200 years boric acid was used to preserve food, but this use has been stopped because it could be used to “cover up” food unfit for consumption. Boric acid has been used to alleviate burns and stings and as a powder to prevent rash. Patients have been given 10 gm. per day for extended periods, and then excreted boron after 7 weeks. The acute boron dose for an adult is 20 - 60 mg. in a single dose and infants have died with 5 gm. In many countries, boron is given as a food supplement with the claim it heals 80% - 90% of all arthritis, cardiopathiesis have been corrected, vision has improved, balance has been restored, cases of psoriasis have also been improved. Dogs, horses, cattle, deer and goats have all been healed of arthritis. Today western societies (like the U. S. A.) ingest about 2 mg. boron daily; early in the 1900s we ate about 8 mg. boron per day. It is thought 5 - 6 mg. boron per day will prevent arthritis, but a higher dose may be needed for treatment. It is a registered (non-volatile) pesticide and a lumber preservative and as a micronutrient. The disodium octaborate (Na2B8O13.4H2O) product (DOT), e.g., Tim-bor®, has been used by Stroz Services, Inc., Get Set, Inc. and many countries for years as a wood preservative and as a remedial control of wood destroying pests. Boric acid (H3BO3) and its salts, the borates, borax (Na2B4O7.10H2O) and disodium octoborate tetrahydrate (Na2B8O13.4H2O), DOT, have been used for wood protection in Australia and other countries since the 1940s. Liquid borate sprays protect the wood against decay, carpenter ants, wood boring beetles and termites. Sodium borate is currently coming into wide use as a wood preservative here in the U. S. These compounds make wood permanently resistant to fungal decay and insect damage, and also act as fire retardants. Borates are slow-acting stomach poisons to insects and contact poisons to wood destroying fungi. Borates are not directly lethal to an organism. Borates reduce the intestinal flora which allow insects to digest food. Borates deactivate enzymes by cross-linking the enzyme’s hydroxyl groups. Although borates are highly toxic to insects, they are less toxic to mammals because mammals excrete boron faster than insects. Borates are biostats rather than biocides. On fungi borates work on contact, since disrupting the enzymes in fungi stops them from extracting nutrients in the wood. Sodium borates inhibit necessary oxidative metabolic activity at the cellular level - a constant energy-producing process necessary for life. Over time inhibition of fundamental biochemical activity results in death. Tests for termite control in the 1930s had shown promise, but more toxic chemicals were introduced and these naturally-occurring controls were simply ignored by the poison applicators here, in favor of the extremely dangerous and carcinogenic termiticide poisons, e.g., chlordane, aldrin and heptachlor. To apply Tim-bor as an aqueous solution, use two applications of 10% Tim-bor solution or a single application of 15% Tim-bor, the 15% solution is created by mixing 1½ lb. of the insecticide per gallon of water and applying immediately and/or a surfactant/foaming agent can be added to create a dry foam. The Tim-bor foam may be applied directly to wood surfaces or injected into insect galleries or wall voids. Sodium borate may be applied in two ways for general control of roaches, silverfish, ants and other insects: (1) in powder form to insect harborage areas or as a crack and crevice and void treatment, or (2) as an aqueous solution for crack and crevice treatment only. The product is highly toxic to both wood-destroying organisms and general insects but has low acute mammalian toxicity and is normally excreted quite rapidly. It is environmentally sound and can be used around children and pets, with no need for evacuation. It is easy to handle and mix, requiring no harsh chemical solvents. Tim-bor® is not absorbed through unbroken skin and washes off easily with soap and water. It is also odorless and non-flammable. When you use/substitute sodium borate to create baits, use about 1/2 the amount you would with boric acid. If you mix a tablespoon of sodium borate, 1/8 teaspoon of tea tree oil or emu oil and 1/2 teaspoon of fish oil with a capsule of Not Nice to Arthritis in a cup of body lotion. Stir and heat ingredients in a microwave oven for 25 - 30 seconds until thoroughly mixed; this mix will greatly help as a topical treatment for arthritis. Caution: While borates are not known to bio-accumulate in humans or pets, and are not absorbed through intact skin, all dusts should be applied using adequate personal safety protective gear. A dust mask should be worn to protect the applicator from inhaling dust, especially in areas of poor ventilation. Rubber gloves and long sleeves are also recommended to prevent skin abrasion and dermatitis. When applying a dust, care should be taken to apply only a thin layer of the material on the surfaces being treated. When completed, the areas treated should look as if they are in need of a dusting. Dust applications should be done only in wall voids, under cabinets and shelving units and in other dead air spaces where it will not be contacted by people or animals. If you can get any insect to ingest DOT you will kill them. The dead sea will always be the dead sea - salts do not break down but they keep on killing - Death Valley is death to all because of the borax. So use sodium borates to permanently control wood-destroying insects, fungi, termites and molds. Caution: Sodium borate’s LD50 is more toxic than boric acid, but remember boron (as sodium borate) is also a food supplement, e.g., in Chroma Trim Gum®. The Author, like many people, believes that baits 1853 made with 3% or less sodium borate work better than baits made with boric acid. Sodium borate can be used for “pretreatment” baits to pretreat or control termites. In order to ensure the best control, make them at ½% to 3% and monitor them yearly. When sprayed on concrete, the Author believes DOT becomes calcium boron and will not leach - killing many pest, e.g., roaches, termites and fungi permanently. The same sodium borate formula is also sold as Solu-bor®, a fertilizer (or as an essential micronutrient to plants) and as Poly-bor®, a fire retardant. DOT also will “microencapsulate” some pesticides, e.g., pyrethrum, and keep them around in crystals for generations. When any insect rests on them it quickly dies. The Author knows of route men in Florida who routinely added sodium borate to their sprayers, that already contained (several) volatile, synthetic pesticide poisons, and have all reduced the use of volatile, synthetic pesticide poisons up to 75% the first year and up to 90% the second year. See Caution in Chapter 36. U. S. borates were being tested for termite control at least since Cel Cure® was patented to protect wood in 1933, but research was shelved in favor of more toxic substances like the cyclodiene chlorinated hydrocarbons, e.g., chlordane, heptachlor, aldrin and dieldrin. Already in the 1940s borax and boric acid and sodium borate were routinely being used to protect wood in Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Lumber was protected on a commercial scale by the dip-diffusion method in Australia in the mid-1940s and sodium borates with greater water solubility were being used in Australia and New Zealand in the 1950s. By the 1970s hundreds of research papers noted how great borates protected wood. Only after aldrin, dieldirn, chlordane, heptachlor and mirex were banned or removed in the U. S. in the 1980s did the U. S. allow these wonderful U. S. Pestisafes® to be used here. As of this writing, several states still will not allow them to be legally used to protect wood safely; these regulators still insist that the maximum rate of far more volatile and, therefore, more dangerous/toxic termiticide poisons, that do not last any where as long, or work as well (even when they are contaminating us), be “used” to protect people and their property - no matter what the people want! It is a sad fact that most U. S. homes treated with volatile, synthetic termiticide poisons or fumigants have to be routinely monitored and retreated. Not only do the volatile termiticide poisons not work, they are killing us. These regulators did not learn anything about safe termite control -

Use 1/2 ounce per gallon of water as prevention and up to 1 ounce per gallon for eradication