Victoria Clare wrote in message ...
"anton" wrote in news:bfnr1t$7$1
:

That's not quite making the situation clear, though, is it? He
and you think that 'pests are not enough of a problem to put poisons into
the environment'. So don't do it yourselves.
These measures however, mean _everybody_ is banned from
doing so, regardless of whether they agree or not. That's
a horse of a different colour.

Um. The biggest problems I have ever had gardening organically were when I
had a small garden, surrounded by other small gardens where gardeners were
enthusiastically using (overusing, in my view) pesticides and herbicides,
where the council 'helped out' by going round spraying weedkiller on the
verges. The previous occupants of my garden had also used weedkillers and
pesticides freely.

I believe that I had problems because pest predators could not survive on
my tiny patch, whereas pests could :-(

I think gardening organically is easier in large areas that support healthy
predator numbers, which establish over several years. Where there are many
small gardens, and people move house regularly, if some gardeners have the
choice of using pesticides, the other gardeners may lose their own right to
choose.


To choose- what other people use in their gardens? I
understand the point you're making, but similar considerations
apply to trees blowing leaves into other's gardens; people owning cats;
other people's hedges creating shade or dryness.
Our population densities mean that we all have effects on the
lives of many others, but trying to justify legislation on the basis
that you have the 'right to choose' that my garden is managed
in such a way as to maximise the predator count in your garden
seems pretty far-fetched to me.

This isn't to say I support things being banned, necessarily, but it's a
point that I think is worth considering (the 'passive pesticide' argument?)


Along with the 'passive pollen' argument, or the 'passive lack
of wind shelter' argument? How dare my neighbour allow
cold winds from the North & East to blow unobstructed across
his garden onto mine? There ought to be a law against it!

--
Anton