How to Safely Spray Pesticide
Pesticides certainly have positive and negative aspects. On one
hand,
they keep plants alive by killing insects that would injure
the plant or the
plants fruit. On the other hand, if used
improperly, they can kill more than
just the insects by polluting
the environment. By carefully applying the
chemicals, you can
avoid infecting the plant itself.
You will most likely be using a handheld pump or a hose-end
sprayer to
apply the pesticide. The pump sprayers help you mix
the chemicals more
accurately, but it won't spray very far. The
only way to reach the tops of
trees is with the hose end
sprayers, which mixes less accurately since water
pressure is not
consistent. You need to make sure you dilute the chemicals a
lot
before they are applied, since they are very strong in their
concentrated forms.
Follow the directions - the label - carefully and exactly when you are mixing
chemicals. The chemicals are dangerous, so be careful with
them and wear
protective gear. Rubber gloves should always be
worn. Make sure you measure
the portions exactly as the
label says. It's not like cooking where
estimation can work. A
miscalculation can either kill the tree and
surrounding plants or
not control any bugs at all. You should put the
pesticide into the
container first, and add the water on top of that.
After it is properly mixed, you can apply it. Ideally, you will
spray
evenly over the whole area. Don't spray so much that the
chemicals are
dripping off of leaves in any area. Using a ladder
will help to control how
much you are spraying towards the top of
trees. Just like you are painting,
the pesticide should be
applied in even, full sweeps. Only spray each part
once, never
twice.
If you are spraying a large tree, you should spray from the
inside of the
tree to the outside, while standing on a ladder
under the base of the trunk.
Once the outer canopy is sprayed,
you can move out from under and spray the
rest.
After you are done spraying, you should clean everything
thoroughly,
including all of the equipment you used and your
clothes. Don't mix the
clothes you used to spray with the
regular loads of laundry.
It is very important that you make sure not to drip the chemicals
onto
the ground. If you do this, the pesticides will be absorbed
into the roots
of the tree and go into the fruit itself. If you
keep this from happening
and wash the fruit before you eat it,
you will surely not be ingesting
pesticides.