I remember him saying that he had seen baby roaches under the cardboard I had on it when he remove it to throw it away to uncover the shoots and so that we can start planting.

And so what does hubby have to say about it? Did he spray raid on there?

Greg
Southern Nevada

I highly doubt everything would be dead if he just squirted a can a few times. But I agree you may want to ask him if he bought two gallons and dumped it all in there out of spite (which is liklely what would be required for the situation you describe).

Dan

We just had 'the talk' and he says he indeed sprayed Raid but only sprayed around the bed and that perhaps it came unto it since the bed is so close to the house wall. I dug up to 8" and could not find any sign of life. Underneath those 8" I had put about 6" of unfinished compost with a layer of cardboard on top. He says he dug all the way to the bottom and there is life... I did not want to go there in case there was life and I would contaminate the lower 6 inches too. I simply cannot imagine a litte squirt of Raid killing all bus to a depth of 8". Or is Raid that strong?

Do you live in a warm zone and was he trying to spray the foundation of the house for bugs? If you live someplace where chemical controls are necessary for bugs that get in the house, then perhaps you should consider moving your garden bed (particularly veggie garden) away from the house or use organic controls along the section of house near your veggie bed.

I don't know the particulars of Raid but personally I wouldn't grow veggies close to where pesticides are being used. (Frankly I wouldn't grow flowers there either, because I wouldn't want beneficial insects to be harmed.)

Re: nothing 'live' in planting bed. Do you mean earthworms?
Those little rascals can scoot away from trouble ... has it been really hot? That makes even my composting worms 'go missing'...but as soon as I water their bed or add especially tasty kitchen scraps, they come a run'n.

What is in the Raid he used? Perhaps it is merely pyrethrins?
That would not be such a tragedy. Pyrethrins are allowed in organic farming, aren't they?

Yeesh! I'd probly have given him what for - pretty boneheaded thing to do. My hubby doesn't spray things, but he's a menace w/ the mower (& chainsaws): "Flowers? What flowers? I didn't see any flowers!"....

Yes, it depends on the specific Raid formulation as to how extensive the collateral damage might be. Raid Ant and Roach Killer (pretty popular product and one that is applied as a spray rather than a bait) has a couple of active ingredients that could pose mortality to various insects and soil organisms if applied heavily enough. Typically, the spray needs to come in contact with the critter and it would have had to have been an extremely heavy spray to soak down into the soil to any significant degree.

I'd suspect that unless hubby emptied the can in this location, the Raid is not the reason insect life seems so slight. Soil dwelling insects are not always readily apparent with cursory digging and temperature, soil moisture and the presence of other natural predators could all have an effect. Did you actually see dead specimens in the soil or just not see much activity at all? There's a big difference.

Personally, I'd not be overly concerned about the fate of your organic garden. Just continue on as intended but suggest hubby keep the sprays well away in the future. Even approved 'organic' pesticides like pyrethrins can have an impact on beneficial, non-target organisms.

Raid Ant and Roach Spray contains, among other things, small amounts of pyrethrins, synthetic pyrethrums, and pyrethroids. More than likely the petroleum distillates are the more serious problem for humans.
That spray probably made a bad environment for the earthworms and they left but will return, eventually, especially if you add more organic matter and further dilute that poison.

All the worms and milipede are definitely dead. I am now thinking that maybe it was not just Raid Ants and Roaches. One theory I have is that the heavy rain we had soaked it all down into my soil, another is that maybe it was the amendment I had done to the soil. My amendment was definitely heavy on nitrogen (using the cheap Ferry Morse kit test), and I also put in some iron. Perhaps the rain melted all those slow release granules:-(

In any case, I am following Carolb's advice as it will probably help either way. I will rake off the top and add more compost and start over.

As far as the hubby goes, well I am keeping him:-) We have agreed to do a long overdue clearup and take out any chemicals/paint/old meds that are still in the house to a hazardous waste site, and we are going to have to figure out how to get rid of roaches in another way.

Thanks everyone for posting replies.