# Malathion



## Don I (Feb 12, 2017)

Does anyone know how long Malathion remains effective after it is mixed with water.
Don


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## abax (Feb 12, 2017)

I used it for lawn spraying for fleas and ticks and I recommend you use it all before mixing any more. I tried
once to use some left over about two or three days and
it burned large brown spots in my lawn. I don't use
malathion anymore. It's dangerous in the environment
and for you as well.


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## Stone (Feb 13, 2017)

Don I said:


> Does anyone know how long Malathion remains effective after it is mixed with water.
> Don



Quote from ''Growing media''..Handreck and Black

The effectiveness of Malathion is halved in 18 weeks at pH 4.5 (mixing water etc) and in 3 days at pH 8.


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## Don I (Feb 13, 2017)

Thanks Mike
Don


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## Don I (Feb 13, 2017)

abax said:


> I used it for lawn spraying for fleas and ticks and I recommend you use it all before mixing any more. I tried
> once to use some left over about two or three days and
> it burned large brown spots in my lawn. I don't use
> malathion anymore. It's dangerous in the environment
> and for you as well.



I might use it for a bad scale problem, but there is a local bylaw that you can't use it on your lawn or garden. In the early 90's I used to reach into a bucket of it with my bare hands. Maybe that's what's wrong with me.
Don


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## NYEric (Feb 13, 2017)

maybe. :evil:


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## Don I (Feb 13, 2017)

In the 4th edition of Home Orchid Growing, Rebecca Tyson Northen said malathion was one of the better pesticides because of it's relatively shorter half life, almost making it sound like a refreshing beverage.


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## SlipperFan (Feb 13, 2017)

Oh, my!!!


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## abax (Feb 13, 2017)

I wore a tyvek suit and still worried myself to death over
using it, but the neighbors got a good laugh out of it. We
used to be pretty stupid with pesticides, didn't we?


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## Don I (Feb 14, 2017)

Yah we did.
Don


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## NYEric (Feb 15, 2017)

Home Orchid Growing was written when we were kids! There are natural and safer materials to use now.


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## Don I (Feb 15, 2017)

NYEric said:


> Home Orchid Growing was written when we were kids! There are natural and safer materials to use now.


When you were kids maybe. oke: I use all the new safer stuff too. Almost everthing else has been delisted. I use nothing on anything on the lawn or garden, because we have a dog and cats and of coarse there are the birds. But if I have a plant that develops a bad case of scale I would mix a small amount of Malathion to treat it. 
Don


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## Kalyke (Feb 19, 2017)

abax said:


> We
> used to be pretty stupid with pesticides, didn't we?



They had that "good living though chemistry" thing going on. My father squirted me in the face accidentally when I was 6 years old and I was in the hospital for quite some time.


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## mrhappyrotter (Feb 20, 2017)

Kalyke said:


> They had that "good living though chemistry" thing going on. My father squirted me in the face accidentally when I was 6 years old and I was in the hospital for quite some time.



What'd you get squirted with?

I had an accident with permethrin once. I was all suited up -- chemical resistant gloves, long sleeve shirt, layered clothes, jeans, and all that to protect my skin while spraying. I started out by mixing it into a large bucket of water, but those gloves just don't have the grip I was expecting, so I ended up dropping the container of permethrin. It landed upright, on its feet so to speak, but the force of it landing caused a jet of pesticide to splash up right into my face.

My memory of it is a little faded, but I think it might've tingled or had a slight "warming" sensation, but it didn't burn or anything. I went straight to the shower and rinsed off for a good long while, then called the number on the back of the container to see if I needed to worry. They said that I might experience some minor redness and burning where the chemical made contact with my skin, but otherwise, as long as I didn't ingest a large amount, there's very little risk of any bad effects from a single exposure.


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