[elas]

i've been told that it's possible to make a pesticide from potato fruit by expressing the solamine and chacomine glycoalkoloids. anyone ever tried this or have any thoughts on it's feesability ,benefits/dangers ?

[mumofstig]

Any substance obtained would not be legal to use, so will not be discussed on this forum, sorry.

[hamstergbert]

The only legal way would be to use a catapult and fire 'em at the pests....

[AndyRVTR]

or put them in a spud gun.... 

[Aidy]

Any substance obtained would not be legal to use, so will not be discussed on this forum, sorry.

Mumsie, please explain for us less educated.
What is the difference between making a nasty, stinky mix from rhubarb leaves containing oxalic acid which we spray on our Broad Beans etc and the above suggestion.

[mumofstig]

The rhubarb spray is also illegal, Aidy 
Any substance that has not been thoroughly tested and licensed by the EU is illegal to use, so cannot be recommended by the forum.

It is of course up to you what you decide to do...we just prefer not to talk about it here   

[Aidy]

Thank you

[elas]

ok thanks for the replies guys

[Terrier]

So, on another thread where making your own compost from raw garden materials is being discussed, does the fact that it's not been tested by the EU mean we shouldn't discuss it? I can't see any difference in using material from the garden / veg beds used to further the success of growing plants whether the substance is used to spray on, dig in or grow in.

[Yorkie]

The difference is that compost does not fall within the legal definition of a pesticide.  A pesticide includes anything used to control pests, funguses, weeds etc.

Anything used as a pesticide must have a licence (issued in UK, not the EU).  It is illegal to use anything not licensed, and thus we can't discuss unlicensed stuff on the forum.  What you choose to do at home is up to you but we can't endorse or condone stuff which is illegal.

[andy135]

It is illegal to use anything not licensed, and thus we can't discuss unlicensed stuff on the forum.  What you choose to do at home is up to you but we can't endorse or condone stuff which is illegal.

Yorkie, where does it say that it is illegal to use anything which is unlicensed?
I thought it was illegal to sell anything which is unlicensed.
Home made medicines, treatment, remedies and cures for whatever are certainly not outlawed. What you prepare for your own use, and which has not been deemed to be a banned substance is not breaking the law.
I can't see a problem discusing home made solutions to a problem unless you were plotting bomb making. 

[sunshineband]

Yorkie is totally correct in what she says

... it is illegal to use unlicensed products as pesticides

therefore the use of such home made products is not a topic for discussion on this reputable forum.

[Aunt Sally]

Quote from RHS

"It is illegal to sell or use a non-approved substance as a pesticide, to repackage a pesticide in non-approved packaging or to use an approved pesticide for a non-approved purpose."

This would include washing up liquid, nicotine, rhubarb extract and anything else that is not included in the "approved" list.

[andy135]

Thank you. I must be headed for jail then as I washed my garden tools in washing up liquid and dettol as I have blight on my plot. 

[JayG]

Any pesticide or herbicide without an EU licence is illegal for use in the UK and throughout the EU. They are illegal not because they are dangerous (although they could be!) but simply because they don't have a licence.

Obviously this applies mainly to the retailing of such products, and I doubt whether any private gardener has been prosecuted for spraying his broad beans with diluted Fairy liquid, but the fact remains that because they are unlicensed for use as garden pesticides/insecticides they are technically illegal!

What an individual chooses to do in his/her garden, or what anyone thinks of the law is entirely up to them, but Andy, please put yourself in (site owner) John's and the Mod's position before pushing it further!