From what I've read it says it realitivly low toxicity to humans. Don't go by me though I am not totally sure.

http://extoxnet.orst.edu/pips/imidaclo.htm

Imadocloprid is commonly used on grains and vegetables, so it is not the imadocloprid that is a problem, but Bayer's not wanting to pay the money to have that specific formula-trademark name tested/certified for use on vegetables. That way if you used it wrong they can't be sued. It is common to have the a pesticide labeled for different uses for legal reasons. They may even charge more for a vegetable formula than a lawn care formula.

For future reference, your first line of defense against insects should be your hose - a good spray of water (top & bottom side of the leaves) every couple days can be effective.

Thanks for the replies. Since our flat is on the top floor of a four story building in the city centre, we don't have the hose option, but we do have a spray bottle. I read that adding a tiny amount of soap to the spray bottle and spraying these little creatures can be as effective as anything. I'll definitely stick to these sorts of methods in the future. I think we slightly panicked and just took the advice of the garden shop people a little too quickly.

The more I read about that pesticide that they sold us, the more I wonder why it is even legal. I read that the base ingredient is, in part, highly suspected of being responsible for the bee colony collapse phenomenon that is occurring. I am no scientist, but it sounds rather unsavory.

Anyway, we have learned our lesson. Thank you for the advice.

It's a systemic pesticide which is what makes it problematic. Pesticides sold for edibles by home gardeners are generally not systemics. Systemic means the toxins work their way into the plant and make the entire plant toxic to anything feeding on it. This is why it does a number on bees. The pollen also becomes toxic.

I would agree that it's acute affect on humans doesn't appear that awful, but I personally wouldn't eat any plant using it. I am aware there is likely far worse being used on commercial food crops, but the idea that the toxins are inside the plant and can't be washed off or the affected portion discarded leaves me uncomfortable.

It's what I was thinking, too, justaguy2. Since I did dig out the pills from the soil, would it be best to pluck all of the fruits growing on the plant now and throw them away so as to encourage new flowers and fruits with the substance removed from the system or is it best to let the ones on the plants mature and then throw them away? I don't know much about the plant cycles these go through and which would encourage new growth the most. It would seem logical to think to remove them now and thus let the plant spend its resources on new fruits, but I could be wrong.

I too used pesticide on my peppers, back in April or May, and long story short I ended up throwing most of them out. I started over and have since used only insecticidal soap. It's completely non-toxic - you can use it on the fruit up to the day of harvest. I really like having something to use for pest control that doesn't require quarantined pets, latex gloves, and all that nonsense. The soap is not as effective as a true insecticide and requires more of an ongoing commitment - you kind of gradually whittle down the pest population, versus the satisfaction that comes with eradicating them all at once. It has to be done once a week for 3-4 weeks, or more, but you can eventually get rid of most of the pests in what I understand to be a totally non-toxic manner. I would never use insecticide on a pepper again after my experience this year.

I don't know how long the pesticide remain in the plant, Ondakatt. You can probably find this info on the net or by calling the manufacturer of the product. In other words perhaps removing the existing fruit would result in new fruit free of it, but perhaps it wouldn't. I simply don't know, sorry.

Pepper growing is great fun and many of us take it seriously but there is no way it is worth the risk/mental discomfort to eat possibly tainted peppers. I would highly suggest not eating any peppers from these plants. Toss them out, chalk it up to experience and have a talk with the people that sold you the product in the first place. You could say it is a case of buyer beware, but I've worked in nurseries before and even when I was a rookie I knew the first thing you check with pesticides is whether it can be used on edible plants!

P.S. If you hate to part with the plants you could continue to grow them just for the practice and the beauty of the fruit, but you may end up being tempted to eat them if you keep them around. I'm sorry you had this problem, it must be really dissapointing.

Pepperdude, it is quite disappointing! But, we have 7 plants indoors that didn't get the treatment, so it's not a full loss. It is just sad for the 15 on the patio that are wasted. But, I will continue to grow them for the experience.

We have a good idea for what to do next year now, though. Hopefully, we will have better luck. We grew all jalapenos this year since we really like them and they are not available in our market. We might try to branch out next year, even with our limited space. At the market we go to, there are only spanish peppers sold in bulk and an occasional habanero bundled into a little plastic box with spanish peppers and a few other varieties. It's a sad, sad state of peppers here!

What kind of insect problem did you have on your peppers? Worms, flies, what? If it is worms we pick them off and if it is the dreaded fly from the larvae the moth laid or flying insects we use "Don't Bug Me".Home and Garden Spray. It kills on contact and can be used up to the day of harvest. It is by FoxFarm. (www.foxfarmfertilizer.com) or we got ours at a Hydroponic store. Hope this helps.
Dusty

I guess digging the pills out worked. We have mites all over some of the plants now and ladybirds happily eating them. Since there are ladybirds around, should I still spray with that soap and water mix or just let the ladybirds take care of things? (We still won't eat the peppers, but since this is the first time to do this, it is good to know which plant varieties to buy again next year and how to keep them happy.)

One thing we don't have is sun, though! The summer never got going here. It was two weeks of warm weather and the rest has been cold and rain.