>From:    Anonymous Poster <[log in to unmask]>
>PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT use Pennyroyal to kill ants, it will kill your
>ferrets. ... The vet said that Pennyroyal is very very toxic.
 
I'm sorry about your rabbit.  Perhaps he was extra sensitive to it.  But
pennyroyal used properly should not be a problem.  Unless your ferret
decides to eat a large quantity of the plant, it won't kill him.
 
There are two different types of pennyroyal, btw.  European pennyroyal is
_Mentha pulegium_.  American pennyroyal is _Hedeoma pulegioides_.  They are
both members of the mint family.
 
The following is paraphrased from Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of
Herbs, 1987.
 
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Pennyroyal has been used for hundreds of years as an insect repellent, with
it being especially noted for repelling fleas.  When Carolus Linneaus was
classifying it, he derived the European variety's Latin name from _pulex_,
meaning "flea".
 
Native Americans found many medicinal uses for the plant, including the
treatment of cramps, pains and colic, breaking fever, and as a relief for
itchy and watery eyes.
 
The toxic compound in pennyroyal oil is pulegone, which can lead to death if
taken in sufficient quantity.  The book notes however that a tea made out of
the leaves won't harm you, but probably won't help you either.
 
The best use of pennyroyal is as an insect repellent.  You can crush the
leaves and rub them into your skin.  It will help to keep away flies,
mosquitoes, gnats, ticks, and chiggers.  Many commercial repellent sprays
and lotions contain pennyroyal oil.
 
Cyrus Hyde of Well-Sweep Herb Farm in NJ recommends using pennyroyal to keep
fleas away from your pets by braiding the plant with string to make a flea
collar or scattering some leaves in the pet's bed.
 
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I guess my opinion (FWIW) on all this is that growing a pot of pennyroyal
isn't going to kill your ferrets.  You should make sure they don't decide to
eat it of course, but if they aren't inclined to devour it, then using it on
yourself by crushing the leaves, or just keeping it around in a pot, as
someone else mentioned to repell insect invaders, should be fine.  I would
be very careful with preparations sold in health food stores however.
Pennyroyal *in concentrated form* is potentially very toxic because of the
pulegone in the oil.  I'm not sure I would always trust what the packaging
tells you.  Just because it's in a health food store doesn't mean it won't
hurt you.
 
Karen
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 Today the wind had a milder range,
 And seems to hint of a secret change,
 For the gossipy breezes bring to me
 The delicate odor of buds to be,
 In the gardens and groves of spring.
                                 -- William Hamilton Hayne
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[Posted in FML issue 1914]