An organic pesticide

[Grey_Wolf]

Hearing about the troubles Africa has from crickets I thought perhaps honey sprayed on them would disable these flying pests and at the same time give starving Africans a handy meal already marinaded (if they want to fry them).

What say ye - most esteemed mooters.

[Jonathan]

Wouldn't honey just attract more insects? And even if honey proved to be an effective way to cope with pests, I doubt it would be cost effective - and cost effectiveness would be important if the pesticide is to be used in Africa.

[Earniel]

Honey may prove effective against this one winged plague but undoubtedly be the breedingground for another. Besides the costs of making large honey deposits to use in Africa will be quite huge. Although I suppose it's a lot healthier than all the DDT and other poison bombs we from the west shipped off to Africa...

[Grey_Wolf]

Well, I guess that the smell of honey would attract other insects making the problem worse. Perhaps some none-smelling essance made out of honey and some other organic substance such as eucalyptus would perhaps do.

[Earniel]

But you need much research for it, either to isolate the necesary essance from honey or to make a synthetic form of it. And that takes money. I don't see African countries having the money for it, that's exactly why they still use dangerous pesticides that are banned in Europe, because they don't have the money to buy or make something else.

[Grey_Wolf]

Originally Posted by Eärniel

But you need much research for it, either to isolate the necesary essance from honey or to make a synthetic form of it. And that takes money. I don't see African countries having the money for it, that's exactly why they still use dangerous pesticides that are banned in Europe, because they don't have the money to buy or make something else.

We could use the money we pour into those countries to fund the research and get the project going.

[Jonathan]

Most of that money is and should be used for humanitarian rather than environmental projects. I'm afraid the development countries will have to do with their poisonous pesticides until they are in a position to afford with better solutions to their insect problems. Right now maybe there are more urgent conerns than insects. Like clean water.

[Grey_Wolf]

Originally Posted by Jonathan

Most of that money is and should be used for humanitarian rather than environmental projects. I'm afraid the development countries will have to do with their poisonous pesticides until they are in a position to afford with better solutions to their insect problems. Right now maybe there are more urgent conerns than insects. Like clean water.

Yeah, but unfortunately most if not all of that money is funnelled into coffers of the governments and military of each and one these countries.

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by Grey_Wolf

We could use the money we pour into those countries to fund the research and get the project going.

We don't even pour enough money in them to buy food for the millions who are starving or to get medical help for the millions who have AIDS.

Research for a new pesticide that may or may not even work is just too expensive and very far on the to-do-list of those countries.

The better way would be to have western researchers look for new, less dangerous and less persistant pesticides since that's were all the expertise and money is. The downside of it is that those new pesticides become so bloody expensive that the poor countries can't buy them. It's an endless circle.

[Grey_Wolf]

Perhaps the future will give the honey-pesticide it's due.