Now that the cheapest and most effective path weedkiller (sodium chlorate) and the cheapest and most effective external wood treatment (creosote) have both been banned, I see in the papers that the EU are talking about banning anticoagulant rodenticides.
It seems to me that if something works, it will inevitably be banned.
You can still buy ammonium sulphamate - but as a "compost accelerator".
You can buy cresote in large quanities for "pro use" - or make your own (you do have coal and used sump oil, don't you!!??)
And you can still buy paint and varnish that works - but not in B&Q (well not much range).
But I agree - the tendency is to dissuade people from using teh good stuff in favour of a mediocre product.
I saw a forum post somewhere last year warning of the dangers of having large wood bonfires near parked cars; something about the ash being alakine (well, yes) landing on parked cars, getting wet in the dew overnight and eating into the modern water based paint (= large household insurance claim). Don't recall that happening with cellulose paints. And what's the point? The vast majority of modern paint spraying is done in the factory by machines where the air can be filtered and solvents removed.
I's forgotten about that. I note that the reason for the "ban" as a herbicide is (according to Wrongipedia) because the Irish refused to permit it without further animal testing, not for any reason of toxicity. Sigh.
True, but what a right royal PITA.
I suspect the mediocrity is a by-product of insistence by the regulators that it must be possible to bathe in whatever it is without harm.
Huge wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:
We used to have controllable aerosols, but since they've banned CFC propellants it's just all or nothing. And the hole in the ozone layer still isn't getting any smaller ...
Arfa
what have you got in mind there?
NT
Diesel + sump oil, and leave some small lumps of coal (or dust, better) in the mix so the coal tars leech out.
Utterly and completely illegal[1] but allegedly quite close to real creosote (including being carcinogenic).
[1] As would using real creosote anywhere where the public or kids can get to it, IIRC. But only if they catch you... And seeing as fake creosote looks similar, "they" would have to be quite astute to notice...
On an aside, I have a "concreting" book written by americans that recommends diesel/paraffin + old sump oil as a release agent for formwork. In fact they even have a picture of a bloke applying it to the plywood with a souped up all metal garden sprayer.
I wonder how well that works. A tin of coal dust & paraffin's easy enough, strain and add oil at use time.
NT
The CFCs already up there will be consuming ozone for some time yet. I forget the details but there was a good writeup in Bill Bryson's Brief History of Everything.
BT still uses creosote on telegraph poles, quite within the reach of Joe Public...
Alkali strips the old cellulose stuff very effectively. I used to deal with a firm that supplied soda in bulk, and the paintwork on their truck was in a sorry state. OTOH modern acrylics shouldn't be affected at all.
Found it...
====
(a) inside any building;
(b) in toys;
(c) in playgrounds;
(d) in parks, gardens and outdoor recreational and leisure facilities where there is a risk of frequent skin contact;
(e) in the manufacture of garden furniture (such as picnic tables); or
(f) for the manufacture of -
(i) containers intended for growing purposes;
(ii) packaging which may come into contact with raw materials, intermediate or finished products intended for human or animal consumption; or
(iii) any other materials which may contaminate the products mentioned in this sub-paragraph ====
So I presume they can use it, but not if the pole is in a playground?
BTW - the minimum quantity allowed for sale is 20 litres.
That was still in use in the UK in the 1970s.
Which isn't really all that great a quantity if you're to do your fences and shed :-)
So if I treat my fence and then plant a Berberis hedge either side I'm OK. Little risk of skin contact then.
MBQ
I don't suppose the risk of getting caught is very high ;-> Or that anyone gives a fig...
That was my first thought, too. I thought it would be closer to 100 litres, meaning you'd have to find a couple of mates to share!
Probably not, but bear in mind it does whiff, in case someone does have figs to give
NT
"It's so convincing this fake creosote isn't it, they've even captured the smell"
Owain
The obvious solution is to ban figs, then nobody would have grounds to complain about anything (well, other than the lack of figs).
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