Toxic--the Poison is in the dose--A thought about Bt and other natural products

**i*@thisgardencooks.com**

Many garden communicators tell their audiences about the benefits of using "natural" pesticides in the home garden.  But even these products are problematic.  
There's a resource that you may find helpful -- the National Library of Medicine's ToxNet.http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/a?dbs+hsdb:@term+@DOCNO+7823  ;
Many of the
"natural" products like Bt can be harmful to gardeners and may pose very serious respiratory problems.  And to other creatures.  So "natural" doesn't necessarily mean safe.  Since B. thuringiensis subsp. galleriae was mentioned in a recent post on
this site, you may be interested in this from ToxNet:
Ingestion of foods contaminated with Btg (Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies galleriae) at
concentrations of 10(5) to 10(9) cells/g caused nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and tenesmus, colic-like pains in the abdomen, and fever in three of the four volunteers studied.
The poison is
in the dose. If you're going to use any of these products, it's critical that users follow the manufacturer's instructions for use. 
Diatomaceous earth is poses another problem: inhaling the
crystals can cause respiratory problems.  Health symptoms according to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control include: irritation eyes, pneumoconiosis   So, buyer/user beware.  
Nina Koziol
www.thisgardencooks.com 