Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

My son's project is "Can dog drool kill germs?", the project calls for staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria. I have tried to order it online, talked to two high schools and two universities, and have yet to be able to get ahold of some. Is there something else I can use as a replacement? He needs to make 5 petri dishes, 1) with Staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria and agar, 2) with dog saliva and agar 3) with staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria, agar and dog saliva, 4) with germs from hands and agar and 5) germs from hands, agar and dog drool. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hello. I am surprised you have trouble finding this. Usually Carolina will ship to your school for a science project, and both of these say it is in stock ready to ship (and I found it on other websites, too):
http://www.carolina.com/bacteria/staphy ... 155556A.pr
http://www.carolina.com/bacteria/staphy ... /155556.pr

Alternatively, you should be able to use the E. coli shown in this similar project:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #materials

Also, before you begin, make sure to check out the microorganism safety guide:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... fety.shtml

Let me know if I can help you further.
Tonya

I tried ordering from a few sources online and each time it was denied because I was not a member or not a school employee. I live in California and a professor said it's not accessible to the public. He also mentioned schools can no longer provide it to the public because of procedures and laws that are in place.