# Smoke smell



## KevinsWither (Oct 24, 2016)

Is it harmful to mantids if they are exposed to cig smoke or febreeze? Yeah I recieved supplies and stuff and they smell like that. Seller suggested that people at USPS are to blame for cig smoke but the smell was on the items themselves. He then told me to use febreeze on the items.


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## CosbyArt (Oct 24, 2016)

KevinsWither said:


> Is it harmful to mantids if they are exposed to cig smoke or febreeze? Yeah I recieved supplies and stuff and they smell like that. Seller suggested that people at USPS are to blame for cig smoke but the smell was on the items themselves. He then told me to use febreeze on the items.


Haven't had problems yet, and yes.  

As a smoker myself I have never had issues with it and my pets; although, a tarantula book I purchased claims that the smoke/nicotine is a form of pesticide. Either way I avoid smoking near my pets and wash my hands before and after handling, but they are in the same room as me and have been since I started without incident.

Febreze though is a chemical mixture and I would not recommend using it on anything you would put in with any insect - even spraying it in the same room as your pets could adversely affect them.

For the tobacco smell though you can clean "supplies and stuff" with vinegar (white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, etc), or a mix of bleach (one drop of bleach per cup (8 ounces) of water). After cleaning they should be washed well with warm water and allowed to fully dry before using.


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## KevinsWither (Oct 25, 2016)

I don't have bleach nor vinegar. Is washing the items in the laundry an option?


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## LAME (Oct 25, 2016)

Could try water and dawn soap? Make sure you rinse them well.

Just a thought..

Also a smoker, I've never had any issues with tobacco or other type of smokes... lol. However I wouldn't recommend the fabreze, like Cosby said... it is a chemical mix and could possibly affect your pets.

Also, I couldn't see the usps carriers to be the blame, even if they were smoking.. I have a hard time buying into that story.


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## CosbyArt (Oct 25, 2016)

KevinsWither said:


> I don't have bleach nor vinegar. Is washing the items in the laundry an option?


Only way that would be a option is if your "supplies and stuff" are t-shirts or maybe a hat.

Otherwise if the materials are wood, metal, plastic, or such then your other option is using hand soap or dish soap (as LAME suggested). Scrub them with hot soapy water, and be sure to rinse them well with clean hot water and allow the items to dry before using.


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## KevinsWither (Oct 25, 2016)

Yea the smoke smell really pisses me off (excuse my language). Some of the supplies are sponges and grip material and I am scared that the soap might affect the mantids.


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## crabbypatty (Oct 26, 2016)

KevinsWither said:


> Yea the smoke smell really pisses me off (excuse my language). Some of the supplies are sponges and grip material and I am scared that the soap might affect the mantids.


It should be fine, I wash all my old deli cups in hot soapy water, I hot glued tulle on the lids and sides for ventilation so it gets washed too, the lids also have grip material glued on them and that's been washed with dawn as well, all mantids alive and well.


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 26, 2016)

I use dish soap too and bleach.


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## Krissim Klaw (Oct 30, 2016)

You shouldn't have to wash off items you purchased to try and rid them of the stench of cigarettes. If everything is perforated in it I would personally request a refund or the seller to send replacements. Whether the seller is a smoker and lying or it happened during shipping still doesn't change the fact you got bad items and it isn't your responsibility to try and fix the mistake. Smokers should always be upfront that their items are coming from a smoking home _if _they are selling something that will absorb/carry the smell. Meanwhile if it happened on transit is on the sellers to go after the mail carrier.


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## KevinsWither (Oct 30, 2016)

Krissim Klaw said:


> You shouldn't have to wash off items you purchased to try and rid them of the stench of cigarettes. If everything is perforated in it I would personally request a refund or the seller to send replacements. Whether the seller is a smoker and lying or it happened during shipping still doesn't change the fact you got bad items and it isn't your responsibility to try and fix the mistake. Smokers should always be upfront that their items are coming from a smoking home _if _they are selling something that will absorb/carry the smell. Meanwhile if it happened on transit is on the sellers to go after the mail carrier.


Everything has that stench. Even worse, I tried to explain things to him and he got really pissed when he still hasn't made things right, pinning the blame on USPS even though there is a no smoking sign in the post office and in the outside of the building. If you go to reviews, there is a review I made for a seller (Chrisv------) , which tells the full story. 

Even the plastic containers have smoke on them. It has been sitting in my area where I keep mantids, its a small distance away from the enclosures and the smell has migitated a little bit. The sponges and grip material are the worst offenders, as they absorbed most of the smell. But I'll try to get vinegar and hopefully that will absorb the smell.


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## KevinsWither (Nov 12, 2016)

I do have vinegar. So I will see what I can do about it.


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