martin wrote:
On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 13:05:30 +0100, "Mike Lyle"
wrote:

Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:

The message
from "Mike Lyle" contains
these
words:

But surely that only means you can't sell it as an insecticide.
You
can put anything you like on your own private non-commercial
plants,
if you can get it; but I don't want some snake-oil salesman
selling

Not if it has been banned by international treaty like DDT, or even if
it hasn't you are committing a technical offence by unlicenced use of a
toxic chemical (and make no mistake the oxalic acid from rhubarb leaves
is nasty stuff and can be absorbed through the skin).

Obviously it is much more serious where food crops are involved.

untested stuff to the public. Hell, it's bad enough that they sell
people shredders, tasteless tomatoes, and sweet peas that don't
smell.

I think you'll find that you are not permitted to use it in your
garden for that purpose.

Blimey! I'd love to read the relevant regs (or maybe I wouldn't!):
have you got a link handy?

It falls under the unlicenced use of chemicals.

The problem is not EU reg.s in UK. It's often the UK legislation & the
pedants, who enforce the regs.

In this instance it isn't such a bad idea. Rhubarb leaf extract sounds
harmless enough and is only moderately bad for you. Though probably a
better poison for mammals than for insects. But do the same to extract
nicotine from cigarettes and you could be seriously injured.

There are plenty of kitchen sink chemistry pesticide recipes on the web
that can get you into serious trouble. Plants make these toxins to kill
things that eat them or suck sap. Nature red in tooth and claw.

Regards,
Martin Brown