disposal of malathion and neem oil

[Cinderella]

After using products like Malathion and Neem Oil, there is typically some leftover....either in a spray bottle or a gallon container. How do you dispose of the liquid and bottles? Or in the case of Neem, do you just keep it in the spray bottle and shake it when you need to reuse it?

With more toxic pesticides/fungicides like Captan, how do you dispose of these?

Thanks!

[OrchidTraci]

With leftovers, I keep them in bottles clearly labled and shake them when needed and use(neem oil). (I use bottles that Shane is unfamiliar with and tell him they are poison--I use red marker so he sees the difference). I have only used an aresole can for fungicide so far. AS far as the actual containers they come in-- I rinse them well and put them in with the recycle bin. They
(recyclers) always take them.

[Kyle]

Very good thread/question.

This is a link to a fact sheet from the UofU that deals with the life span of Pesticides at varying pHs.

http://extension.usu.edu/files/agpubs/pesti14.pdf

Very useful for those who mix and try to keep for the next application. I'm a believer that people who have have persistent scale and mealybug problems should try mixing a fresh batch of chemicals each application. Some of the pesticides have a half life of only a few hours. If you go to re-treat in 5 to 7 days, you might be spraying a very weak solution....

I usually make sure I use it all. Either by applying a lot to each plant or by treating other, non-orchid, plants wither they are infected or not.

Most chemicals have instructions for mixing up 1 or 10 gallons. Way more then I've ever needed at one time. I break the rations down to the point that I can mix up 500ml. I use a eye droper to measaure tiny amounts of concentrated pesticides.

Hope this helps,
Kyle

[sterling]

I always wondered about the shelf life of malathion.

I assume it isn't long, as the scale I'm trying to get rid of

keeps coming back, but I am using the mixture from the previous week. Maybe I should mix it up fresh each time,and that would work.

Sterling

[LJA]

The oils will keep after mixing--they do most of their work by suffocatiion--so you can mix up a batch and keep using it after shaking until it runs out. Pesticides, however, should be mixed up fresh before each use, and, as Kyle pointed out, should be used up--on other things if necesssary. Their effectiveness diminishes rapidly with age once they've been mixed.

As far as disposing of old chemical, the containers themselves usually have storage and disposal instructions, and most of the time they tell you to keep the bottles tightly closed in a dark, cool location for storage, and not to pour the contents directly into rivers, lakes, or streams when disposing.

[momokev]

I have rose bushes that I spray when I have leftovers. There is always something snacking on them.

Lisa

[Cinderella]

Lisa, that is a great idea. We have several rose bushes with no leaves at the bottom. I guess that is usually a sign of insects or fungus. It can't hurt.