Small  doses

Fishy pest control

Using poisons to catch fish around Lake Victoria is rampant and fears are growing for the ecological integrity of the lake.
    Participants from countries bordering the lake, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, met recently to discuss the problem. Many local fisherman use a substance known as Ambush to spray onto the surface of the lake to kill the fish. They are turning to this cheap alternative because the use of fishing tackle is so expensive.
    There is increasing concern about the impact of this practice both for the environment and those consuming the fish.  
Marine Pollution Bulletin, December 1998.

Futile pest control
A US pest control operator in Green Bay, Wisconsin, faces criminal charges for allegedly igniting a nicotine-based pesticide bomb in an apartment in November 1998, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
    The operator, who was trying to kill cockroaches, used a pesticide registered to control whiteflies in glasshouses. The apartment was later found to contain residues equivalent to 37,000 cigarettes. The residents suffered nausea, diarrhoea, coughing and chest pains, while the cockroaches appeared unaffected.  
Agrow, No. 321, 29 January 1999.

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 43, March 1999, page 21]