Hello everyone, so I messed up today. I wanted to spray my garden for mites and beetles and someone had recommended using sevin. What I didn’t realize is they had recommended the dust and not the spray. I accidentally bought the 3 in 1 spray and went and sprayed my garden in the 5 minutes I had that my kids were resting. There is no information on how long to wait before harvesting due to the fungicide that it contains. I went back outside and rinsed off all of my vegetable plants with water. I plan on throwing away any squash and cucumbers that were already growing. What would you do? I’m hoping I have not ruined my garden. I have 36 tomato plants that are just beginning to fruit.
What is the active ingredients listed in Sevin you sprayed ? Zeta -cypermethrin or cabaryl?
These are synthetic chemicals. There is a period of time you need to wait before you can enter the area sprayed (it is called Re-entry interval-REI).
There is also a period of time before you can safely consume the fruit/veggies after sprayed (it is called pre harvest interval-PHI).
Each chemical may have different REI and PHI.
Let us know the active ingredient. Don’t panic.
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Thank you! Lambda-cyhalothrin and Propiconazole. I did go outside and douse all of my plants in a heavy spray of water after I realized what was in it.
Sevin is a brand, not a specific formula. The commercial formula (requires license to purchase and permit to spray) has active ingredient carbaryl. The consumer formulas use low dosage pyrethroids which vary over time and region.
If you applied the consumer-grade Sevin according to directions, there is little to be concerned about in terms of health. However, in the case of mites, it will only kill a portion of their eggs and never adults. Regardless of labeling on any retail product, there is little you can do as a consumer about the adult mites, except to encourage predators of mites.
In the future, I recommend you switch to Ortho Tree & Shrub Fruit Tree Spray. It has far less to be concerned about health-wise and overall is a better choice for common insect control.
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Thanks so much for the info! I feel a lot better now.
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