Pesticide ban?

[DaveW]

See:-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11 ... gove-says/

[Ali Baba]

Good


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[Asclepiad Stevo]

Hi, I've found that since Malathion was banned some time ago, a product called 'Provardo' is effective against mealy bug.
Rotating your chems is good practice in order to lessen pest resistance.
I won't use any chemicals outside of the glasshouse. The recent German study of insect population I.e. 75% fewer pollinating insects is depressing.
Steve

[Jim_Mercer]

Hi, I've found that since Malathion was banned some time ago, a product called 'Provardo' is effective against mealy bug.
Steve

Provado is just a brand name with various different products e.g. Ultimate bug killer and Vine weevil killer. They even used the same specific name for different formulation depending on delivery method so aerosol spray could be different to concentrate and ready to use.

Their recent changes to active ingredients has resulted in mealy bugs no longer appearing in the list of controlled bugs for some (all?) products.

[Tony R]

Their recent changes to active ingredients has resulted in mealy bugs no longer appearing in the list of controlled bugs for some (all?) products.

The original Bio Provado products contained imidacloprid (a neonicotinoid) which were superseded by Bio Provado II products which contained thiacloprid (another neonicotinoid). The latter have also been withdrawn from the market but you can sometimes find old stock in various outlets.

The current range of products are all labelled as Bio Provado Ultimate in which the active ingredient is now deltamethrin (a synthetic pyrethroid).

FYI, Scott's Bug Clear Ultra currently still contains acetamiprid (another neonicotinoid).

A useful RHS document which gets updated, often annually, is here:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/pdfs/pest ... deners.pdf

[Jim_Mercer]

FYI, Scott's Bug Clear Ultra currently still contains acetamiprid (another neonicotinoid).
]

I do have some Bug Clear having looked at all the sprays in the nearest garden centre to try and find one that claims to control mealy bug. I also have some Westland Resolva which does list mealy bug on the inside of the label but only says can reduce numbers. Fortunately I have a large container of the old Provado so that should last me a while as I do try and rotate the sprays.

I don't think I will be killing many bees with my insecticides as they only get used in the greenhouse and all opening vents are covered with insect screens

[DaveW]

I sometimes wonder if the regulatory authorities get things the wrong way around. I wonder how many desirable insects amateurs kill using these products compared to farmers with acres of crops sprayed with them? Perhaps rather than banning them for amateur use it should be commercial use they are banned for? Obviously with highly toxic chemicals some restrictions need to be put on amateur use to save the irresponsible injuring themselves or others through misuse.

[ragamala]

Surely in this and similar cases it's just a case of economics. It just isn't worth the pharmaceutical industry developing products for limited domestic hobby use, which in any event would be hard legally to define, if exemptions were considered. I would rather have a blanket ban that protected the environment than no ban at all. To my mind it is good that for once the government is coming to its senses and recognising the advance in scientific consensus. If only they would apply a similar precautionary principle for fracking that would be good. And yes, that does indirectly affect this group's interests because of the threat fracking in South Africa and other states poses to the water and desert environment.

[DaveW]

A lot of things despoil the natural environment, house building for one, but people still want somewhere to live and never want bans to apply to them, that's human nature. The main problem is there are far too many people in the world, which is why we have intensive agriculture to feed them, meaning excess use of fertilisers and insecticides. If you cut these down you need to use more unspoilt land to produce the same amount of food.

[ragamala]

You seem to have bought the agrochemical industry propaganda, Dave. I don't agree.