Who would have thought?

Researchers at the Seoul National University impregnated the resin used to make laminate flooring with colloidal silver. Not only did the silver inhibit bacterial growth on the floor surface, but surprisingly, cockroaches avoided it.

In the test of cockroach avoidance, for the silver iontreated,
laminate wood flooring, the relative avoidance rate
was 88.2% and 86.0%, before and after environmental
treatment, respectively. With colloidal silver treatment
onto the surface of the laminate flooring, using MF resin
for overlay paper impregnation, we have found an
environmentally friendly, interior material. Under this
framework, our data facilitate further study and insight
into the biological effects of colloidal silver. In particular to
obtain an explanation for cockroach avoidance of colloidal
silver impregnated surfaces.

It makes me wonder how cockroaches could sense silver in the laminate in the first place, and why they would avoid it in the second. Are roaches smarter than people?

You can download the report at www.adhesion.org if you feel so inclined to read about roaches 🙂