Good afternoon Phil, BenFramed.
I believe mite away strips are Formic acid? If so then consider the following.
I look at the msds for Formic Acid, I was trying to determine the evaporation rate; no available info was stated. I did look at the flash point, 122F, or easier said, the kaboom point. That is very low temp, I did not realize Formic acid has so low a temp for flash fire. A hot day and a bee smoker could blow up a hive. So Formic acid in a provap at 340F would blow up.
The issues with Formic acid on a towel are two fold:
1. Auto ignition of an acid on cloth. Acids cause heat as they act, dissolve whatever.
2. Determining the evaporation rate: enough to kill mites but not so much it kills bees. I am sure the company that makes the Formic acid strips are very secrete about the amount of acid per square inch of cloth and type of cloth for that matter.
Let me emphasize Formic acid is the acid formed from oxygenated formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is used in the embalming process because nothing lives in the presence of this chemical, it is so deadly; no molds, no fungus, no bacteria, I mean nothing lives in presence of formaldehyde. Generally speaking, Formic acid is a very close relative of formaldehyde.
Van