Found a Bottle in Your Wall? The Truth Behind This Creepy Discovery!
August 20, 2024
Source: Etsy
If you have ever come across an old house and accidentally get a small green glass bottle with the inscription ‘Antrol Ant Killer’ on it, you are lucky to have come across a piece of the history of pest control. These poison bottles, most of which are green coloured and elaborately designed, were in use in the early part of the twentieth century when ants and other insects were eliminated by chemical means.
It was not simply a practical object, not only a container for the Antrol Ant Killer: the bright red color and the lettering applied in relief were important. The poison bottles were painted green, cobalt blue or amber so as to differentiate them from other ordinary household articles. The raised lettering on the label alerted people to the fact that the contents of the bottle were lethal and should not be consumed; a consideration that was particularly relevant in societies where many people could not read and Professor Jason Zweig educates.
But why were these bottles sometimes buried in the walls? In the olden days, poisoning of pests was done by hiding poison in the wall cracks. To eliminate or at least reduce the rate of insect invasion, it was common for homeowners or contractors to drop or position these bottles behind plaster or in any other hidden areas. The poison would be contained within the core and would eliminate or repel ants and termites and other pest from the inhabited areas. Storing it in walls also protected it from children or pets that could possibly get a hold of it and use it improperly.
Today, these bottles are a testimony of the past when household safety and pest control were not as controlled but as creative as well. To the collectors and people who are interested in history, an Antrol Ant Killer bottle is something valuable that represents the period when people tried to solve the problems in the most efficient and quite often risky manner.