Carol, you can still buy Vapam legally but not in small containers - 55 gal drums only. I guess they figure that only pros will be using it in those quantities. But a drum only fumigates an acre or two. It doesn't have a lot of negative environmental impact, but they claim it's dangerous for the personnel working with it. For years they sold it retail in garden shops in small containers and I never heard of anyone getting hurt with it! I think our techie should have let us use it under his supervision - he's young and he's been brainwashed. LOL
The one that the Florida growers depended on so much was Methyl Bromide gas - really extremely dangerous to work with. We use to buy it over the counter!! at the feed store in cans like auto a/c fluid comes in and used it to gas colonies of leafcutter ants. We were told a single whiff can kill you. But the reason EPA banned it was that it damaged the ozone layer and contributes to global warming.
There's a new organic on the market - it's called Melocon - a living fungus, recently discoverd in Africa, that devours nematodes. It comes frozen and must be applied immediately. It turns the ground purple. Hope they know what they're doing - they may have created the Fungus from Hell that will devour whole cities. LOL
Jack
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