This is certainly not scientific evidence and obviously you should wear googles when using most any chemical spray. But I must confess that I’ve gotten captan (mixed with water as instructed) in my eyes more than once, and honestly it wasn’t that painful. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t damaging and dangerous and so on, I just wanted you to know that it isn’t one of those things than send you running and screaming to try and wash it out.
Again, I don’t want anyone to take this as me saying its no big deal or doesn’t harm your eyes or anything like that. And certainly eye protection is always a good idea. But it sounded like you were asking if was excruciating and immediately painful and irritating and in my experience it isn’t. I’ve had many things much more painful- captan really doesn’t hurt (meaning pain, not meaning it doesn’t harm in terms of damage to the eyes which I don’t know about). So be careful, of course, but if you fear it will be some horrific eye searing pain it just isn’t. I use 50% Wettable Powder, fyi.
I wonder why if getting it in ones eyes is such a danger they don’t sell in only in the granular form, especially when sold to hobby gardeners. All I use is granular Captan and it can be purchased in relatively small bags of it that probably wouldn’t go bad in 30 years. What I like about this and the Captan Gold formula is that it doesn’t leave a lot of visible residue on the trees like most powders do.
The reason I ask is that the label for Captan has a stern warning about how dangerous this is to your eyes. Is this an irritant, so if you don’t feel anything you are OK? Or is it harmful in some indirect way, that if you get a droplet on your face from spraying it, there is some silent, long-term effect?
I wear a half-mask respirator for pesticide application, and I adjust the spray nozzle for coarse droplets so with a hand-pump sprayer, I can reach upper branches. I have embarked on a pruning program to reduce the height of my trees and get them to spread outward, but still, I have some high branches.
I could wear snug-fitting goggles, but between the goggles and the respirator, one has to carefully check the fit so the goggles don’t fog .
If anyone else has any insight, please comment. A lot of us are spraying with this agent.
I rely on captan quite heavily for a fungicide spray. I use exclusively the 80% formula. Sometimes I spray at the half rate, sometimes the max rate. I did manage to get a granule in my eye once. It hurt, and I flushed it out. It still hurt for a little bit, but I never noticed any eye damage (I have pretty good vision for my age and have passed the driver’s license eye exam without glasses.)
I do wear eye protection when spraying, but I get a lot of captan residue all over my body. My tractor gets a heavy film of captan on it after spraying. So much so, that if I touch my tractor a lot then rub my eyes, it burns.
The biggest issue I have with captan is that I breathe a lot of the fog. That makes my sinuses really irritated. A respirator isn’t required for application, but I may start wearing one.
I’ve never felt like I got any eye damage beyond some minor irritation at the times I got it in my eyes. The reason I made the comments about not knowing if it did any damage is just me trying to make sure I didn’t suggest that its perfectly safe to get in your eyes or that it won’t do damage. I’m not expert and that would be a reckless claim so I didn’t want to be misunderstood. But no, personally I’ve never experienced anything but minor irritation at the time of contact with my eyes and it clears up within 30 minutes or so.
I was glad @Olpea confessed to getting it all over him and his tractor. By the time I finish spraying my whole orchard I’m usually pretty well soaked in whatever I’m spraying. I’m sure that horrifies some people and it not a smart thing, I’m sure. But putting on a full coverage suit, respirator, goggles, hat, etc is so miserable in the summer that I just don’t do it. I always take a shower the minute I finish spraying but I’m still exposed for the 2-3 hours it takes me to spray. I’ve never felt ill or had any other detectable symptoms, but once again I’m not suggesting that means its safe or a good idea or that it doesn’t have somer long term health problems. So I don’t suggest people do it for sure, just saying that I do and I’m not proud of it but so far it hasn’t been a problem that I know of. Its just a few times a year. As for my tractor…it definitely gets a new coating every time! ha
Everyone has to make their own risk assessment regarding the agents they are spraying and the level of protective equipment to use.
The reason I asked about eye risk is that I use a respirator, and it is hard to use both a respirator and goggles without the goggles fogging up. I think I have been able to tighten down the straps enough to minimize this, but you have to see what you are spraying.
That said, your idea of showering down after spraying is an excellent suggestion.
Remember after 9-11 there were those anthrax attacks that the authorities identified as the work of a disgruntled Federal scientist who worked with that stuff? Everybody was worried that the next mass terrorist attack would be nerve gas or biological? Cabinet Secretary Tom Ridge told everyone to go out and buy plastic film if needed to seal up their house in the case of an attack.
Even in my household, I wouldn’t put mail on the kitchen table. But ever since then, I call that roll of plastic I from which I cut tarps for everything from the air conditioner over winter to painting the deck, “Tom Ridge plastic.”
In “mil-blog” Web sites at the time, Army sergeants (these are the military guys who instruct the troops how to “take care of business” that they don’t get sick, how much water to chug down so they don’t dehydrated – they are your Mom when you no longer have Mom around to tell you what to do and not do) that chemical and biological agents are overrated, and that the best protection is hygiene and showering if you are exposed.
Since then, I have taken to showering after exposure to anything – it has helped me a lot with my allergies to everything from pollen to sawdust in being able to work outside and care for an orchard without sneezing my head off.
There’s a reason orcharding is an old-folks’ hobby. We don’t face the reproductive difficulties caused by chemical exposure that someone of child-bearing age does.
A powered pesticide helmet is the best farm investment I have made so far. It was suggested to me as a good way of avoiding a respirator health and fit test which can not be performed on folks with a beard in my state.
An enclosed cab would be better but I can’t afford one of those. A pesticide helmet combined with a Tyvek suit is a good compromise and I feel a lot safer when spraying. Both are overkill for a small backyard orchard but may be just right for folks growing commercial fruit on a small scale
I really like what you said about everyone making their own risk assessment. I’ve had people really just get angry because I choose not to fully suit up when spraying. I certainly respect their decision to do that if they wish, but I would like to be afforded the right to make my own choices about the level of risk I’m willing to accept- but I’d never recommend it for others which is why I’ve been so careful here. I suppose one could make the argument that if society had to pay for my health care if I eventually get sick from spraying then its everyone’s business and I could even agree to that. But that’s not the case with me. And I’m certainly not trying to start a personal freedoms debate here.
And yes, I’ve always felt that an immediate shower, and a thorough one, is my best defense. As for the Tom Ridge Plastic rolls…that is just funny!!! I still vividly remember watching the news and seeing local reporters teach people how to make a home emergency kit with canned food, plastic and duck tape and so on! haha. I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but it seemed absurd to imagine my grandparents using plastic sheeting and duck tape to form any kind of worthwhile barrier to chemical/bio weapons! Meanwhile they’d almost certainly be running their AC and pumping in outside air, and have whirly bird air vents on the roof, even if they somehow were able to effectively seal a house up with duck tape and plastic! haha Its still hard to believe that our government seriously proposed that plan! haha @CRhode that was just plain funny about the reproductive difficulties that can be caused by chemical exposure…maybe I WILL rethink this protective equipment thing! ha
The brand is Kasco and its battery powered. Not sure about the model number. Bought mine directly from the distributor in Canada. It does not fog up like goggles or a regular full face respirator
For goggles fogging is a problem. Anti-fog coatings help and you can get goggles that have them. But I find if the fogging is really bad I need to take them off and clean the inside of the goggles. And then I need to take a break and cool off until I stop sweating on my face. If your wearing a half mask respirator while you have goggles on it can be hard to get both to seal properly- some brands of goggles have less of a problem with this. You might try a different brand (or style) of goggles and see if that helps.
Another option is to go to a full face respirator which eliminates this problem. Main disadvantages of a full face are cost and if you wear glasses you may need glasses inserts or special framed glasses to fit under the mask.
After using Captan, for a few sprays,on a Carmine Jewel, before and during bloom,I found only one small branch end,that had damage from Blossom Blight.
Immunox was tried last year and there were a number of affected areas.
