Coronavirus & Mail-Order Plants

[Ray]

In my newsletter, I recently shared the precautions I take with the products I sell to minimize the chance of spreading the coronavirus. One subscriber asked about dealing with plants we order for delivery by mail, and whether the coronavirus can even live on plants, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to share my response.

I have no knowledge about whether the virus can live on a plant, but let’s assume it can, as if an infected person coughed and sprayed the thing with droplets while packing it. I think the wise actions are as follows:

1) When the package arrives, don’t bring the box into your home.

2) While wearing gloves, open the box, unpack the plant, and dispose of all the packaging materials.

3) Set the plant aside and dispose of the gloves – I would also use hand sanitizer after that, just in case you accidentally came into contact with anything while removing the gloves.

4) Mix up some liquid detergent (I like Dawn) in water and completely spray the plant and pot, wetting all surfaces. A teaspoon per gallon is plenty.

5) Wait 30 seconds or more and rinse it all with plain water.

That should do it, and we have the added bonus of having removed dirt and any insects that may have hitched a ride.

Stay healthy!

 

[littlefrog]

Assuming it takes more than a couple days to reach you, and assuming it isn't being shipped in stainless steel... I think your risks are very minimal from cardboard or packing materials. The NIH study suggests 24 hours on cardboard, 2-3 days on plastic or steel. I wouldn't recommend gloves to unpack a box. I don't recommend gloves in general. When I was teaching sterile technique I learned very quickly that gloves turn otherwise sane people into idiots. They do not protect you like you think they do. People put gloves on and then start touching things, touching their face, etc... That is not helping. Gloves are useful if used correctly, otherwise just wash your hands before you touch your face.

Shippers of plants, if you are reading this... Use paper to wrap. No plastic or styrofoam packing material. Assuming you are using a tape gun, your tape should be OK. Handle your boxes by the cardboard. Don't be an idiot, and don't pack boxes if you aren't feeling well.

I think spraying the plant, etc, is unnecessary to prevent COVID-19, but it is certainly a good idea anyway. We should all get into that habit.

 

[tomkalina]

Well said, Rob. I think this whole thing is becoming ridiculous. Unless you are infected with the virus or can be reasonably sure you are infected with the virus. wash your hand before and after unpacking your plants. Anything else borders on paranoia. We wash our hands before packing and suggest our customers wash their hands before and after unpacking .

 

[Happypaphy7]

I agree with what Rob says.
In the worst case scenario, though, let's say the delivery person was infected and coughed on the box before dropping it off to your door. It would probably be wise to wear gloves to open the box, have someone in the family take the content out (the content had not been touched for at least two days and touching papers inside the box should pose no harm). If there is no one to help, no problem. Take the gloves off and take the contents out.
The inside of the box should be safe to touch.
Throw the box away and remove gloves. Wash hands with soap for at least 20 seconds as recommended. Done!
People normally don't eat their orchids or lick on them, so there is no reason to be afraid of buying plants.

 

[Ray]

For those of you who have it around, I believe Physan is a pretty good disinfectant that is likely to kill the virus.

Physan 20 is of the same class of quaternary ammonium compounds as hospital disinfectants, many of which are listed as affective by the CDC and NIH. It consists of alkyl dimethyl benzyl chlorides and alkyl dimethyl ethyl benzyl chlorides.

Some disinfecting wipes we picked up at the grocery store contain those and octyl- versions, but totaling only 0.31%. A tablespoon-per-gallon is 0.39%, so that seems to be a decent dilution rate.