Permetharin - Is it Safe

[JonnyAlpha]

Hi;

Probably completely the wrong place to ask this question but here goes.

I had a Wasp Nest inside the cavity on the wall of my house. Wasps were flying in and out of an Air Brick in the wall on the back of the house.

I called the Landlord who sent a company around "MITE". They did the job while I was out and left a note to say they had treated the Wasps Nest with Permetharin however, below the Air Brick are all my Tomato plants that I have been nurturing for 6 months or so and now they are spattered in Permetharin. Permetharin has also come in through an Air Vent directly opposite the Air Brick into the bedroom where we occasional have our 6 month old Grand Daughter stop over. I also have a pet dog.

Does anyone know how dangerous this stuff is, I.E. Are my Tomatoes unedible now or can I hose them down. Is my Daughter and dog safe?

Many thanks

[Paul mabbott]

Permethrin is one of the so-called safer derivatives of pyrethrin. With excessive use it can have nasty neurotoxic effects e.g.:
PERMETHRIN - Insecticide Fact Sheet.. Read before using this poison

Your wasp-killers seem to have gone in for overkill. I had to kill off a wasp's nest some time back and it took a couple of small puffs into a ventilation grid!

I wouldn't like to say what level of poison will have got into/on your tomatoes: certainly a good hosing down will be useful! I don't think it is absorbed into plants BUT this is worth checking out (sorry, I'm busy at the moment). The link above says that it has a half-life (i.e. half of it will disuntegrate within the time .... ) of 17 days ..... The people who used it ought to have more detail and they ought to make this available to you ....