Aldicarb is a potent insecticide that may now be sold only to farmers to kill eelworms in the soil.
Aldicarb is a potent insecticide that may now be sold only to farmers to kill eelworms in the soil.
"It is so dangerous that a quarter of a teaspoon is toxic enough to kill an adult," says Gerhard Verdoorn, of the Griffon Poison Information Centre in Johannesburg.
Verdoorn says that Bayer CropScience is the only company with a certificate to sell aldicarb in South Africa.
He says some people still import it illegally from Zimbabwe and others steal the black granules from farmers to kill dogs and rats.
Verdoorn says that five years ago, Johannesburg suffered a string of poisoning incidents from aldicarb, but these have dropped with the implementation of tighter controls of the insecticide.
Potent insecticide
Aldicarb is a potent insecticide that may now be sold only to farmers to kill eelworms in the soil.
Aldicarb is a potent insecticide that may now be sold only to farmers to kill eelworms in the soil.
"It is so dangerous that a quarter of a teaspoon is toxic enough to kill an adult," says Gerhard Verdoorn, of the Griffon Poison Information Centre in Johannesburg.
Verdoorn says that Bayer CropScience is the only company with a certificate to sell aldicarb in South Africa.
He says some people still import it illegally from Zimbabwe and others steal the black granules from farmers to kill dogs and rats.
Verdoorn says that five years ago, Johannesburg suffered a string of poisoning incidents from aldicarb, but these have dropped with the implementation of tighter controls of the insecticide.