CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With Halloween coming up and fall activities in full swing, many people will head to a pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin for their Halloween decorations.
Since it's just the first week of October, any pumpkin that's picked now will need to last several weeks. Some people swear by bleaching their pumpkins so they'll last into November before they begin to rot. Other people skip the bleach by dumping their jack-o'-lanterns in vinegar.
One social media posts says bleaching pumpkins could pose a risk to animals that may try to eat them and get poisoned.
Clorox, probably the most well-known bleach company, says people can preserve a carved pumpkin by using a diluted bleach mixture. The company says to use no more than a tablespoon of bleach per gallon of water and then dunk your pumpkin for a few seconds.
THE QUESTION
Will putting a carved pumpkin in a bleach solution cause harm to wildlife?
OUR SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, as long as you are diluting the bleach properly, you can use it to preserve your carved pumpkins, and it will not harm any wildlife that eats the pumpkin.
WHAT WE FOUND
Bleach is commonly used in agriculture, but the Department of Agriculture (USDA) cautions against its household use to clean raw fruits and vegetables intended for consumption.
But what about pumpkins?
"As long as people are properly diluting the bleach, which should be one tablespoon of bleach to one gallon of water, they just submerge the pumpkin for a minute, there is no harm to the animals," Gordon said.
That's because there isn't a lot of bleach in the solution. Gordon says it will dry up quickly, making the pumpkins safe for animals to eat.
"They are not drinking the bleach when eating the pumpkin later," Gordon said.
She said a bigger concern are decorations like fake spiderwebs. Gordon said her organization gets anywhere from six to 10 calls each year about birds getting stuck in fake webs.
"It's important that if they do put stuff out, they are looking at it every day," Gordon said.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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