How dangerous is beta-cyfluthrin bug spray for humans and pets?
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How dangerous is beta-cyfluthrin bug spray for humans and pets?
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05-30-2010, 07:17 AM
My Mom got a big bottle of it because she saw a waterbug and a few millipede-looking bugs. I tried to tell her how dangerous insecticides can be, but it just doesn't register with her. Is there a "smoking gun" website that says for sure it's either bad stuff or safe? I didn't find one with google because all the big words made my eyes glaze over.
05-30-2010, 11:58 AM
The pyrethrin-related insecticides like this are chemically related to what occurs in chrysanthemums. They replaced much more toxic (to humans) insecticides over the years. One of them is the active ingredient in NIX, a head lice treatment, that has been approved for sale by the FDA, not an easy approval to obtain. If she doesn't drink it she ought not come to any harm.
05-30-2010, 04:06 PM
Dennis S wrote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyfluthrin "Like most pyrethroids, it is highly toxic to fish...Cyfluthrin is a skin and eye irritant in humans, but overall poisonings from pyrethroid chemicals are rare...Cyfluthrin may cause itching, burning, or stinging if it comes in contact with human skin which may least up-to 24 hours"
05-30-2010, 04:17 PM
It looks to me like the bottom line is that if it's used carefully and according to directions, you're overreacting. Now whether or not it will kill the bugs is a different issue.
05-30-2010, 06:08 PM
I tried using that to keep aphids away from my dill.
It didn't work very well. I had to spray every couple of days. Dill is the only herb I've had trouble growing.
05-30-2010, 06:41 PM
freeradical wrote: You reminded me of something about companion planting. Do you have room for catnip?! "Catnip - I think that this plant repels just about everything, except for cats of course! Use it to keep away flea beetles, aphids, Japanese beetles, squash bugs, ants, and weevils. I use sachets of dried catnip to deter the annual parade of ants that invade my kitchen. My favorite variety of catnip is 'Six Hills Giant' because of its proliferation of sky blue blooms." It came from this site.
05-30-2010, 07:03 PM
That site said dill repels aphids.
They feasted on my dill!
05-30-2010, 07:12 PM
freeradical wrote: Well, maybe what they mean is that the aphids will go feast on the dill and not bother the other stuff?! Technically, that would mean dill keeps aphids away, and saying something keeps something else away is kinda the same as "repel." No?  Hey, I just supply the links! I do really like dill, though.
05-31-2010, 02:17 AM
It's pretty much the only pesticide I use, and it's mostly to keep ants from using the crawlspace vents to gain access to the crawlspace and house. I also spray it around the bases of a scale-prone eugenia and berry vines to keep ants from farming the scale. It does last 3 or 4 months. Makes my nose run, though. The next step up might be deltamethrin. Most people would trade a little risk of toxicity to have a house free of creepy bugs.
The previous owners of this house left me a shed full of herbicides, miticides, fungicides, and pesticides. I tried to keep up with their regimen because if I didn't, the insects got out of control. When we had a baby, I stopped using them, and it took a year and a half but now the pests are kept in check by beneficials. Whiteflies and mealybugs are nearly gone. I have aphids on the roses, but not as many, because there are plenty of ladybug larvae too. I've got lizards and frogs in the yard now. As for aphids on dill, I would think maybe the plants are getting too much nitrogen. I'd go hunt down some ladybug larvae and move them onto the plants (adults aren't much help). If that didn't work, I'd try some neem oil or soap. I'd be wary of using any pesticide that provides long-lasting protection on anything I planned to harvest and eat. |
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