tobacco and pesticides

bigharpoon

Anyone else ever feel a little concerned about the pesticides that have been sprayed all over these delicious leaves we smoke? I mean, we are buying cigars made in countries that haven't outlawed DDT and such.

I try not to think about it...but it's there, like a splinter, doing who knows what. I'm hoping someone will step forward and tell me "no worries, mate. safe as gold." That'd be great.

zoom6zoom

Actually, there is a worldwide ban on the agrcultural use of DDT. The real problem with this pesticide is that it was used at much higher than required concentrations. Millions of malaria deaths in the underdeveloped world are now blamed on the ban.

It's my understanding that tobacco has a lot of natural pesticide qualities, so not a lot of additional pest control is required. A spray made from tobacco is even used as a pesticide.

Garen B

No worries, the pesticides will put hair on your chest. And I second what zoomy said, my Dad has a veggie garden and actually takes my old cigar nubs and soaks them in water and uses that concoction as a pesticide.

j0z3r

Unrelated to the topic, but interesting enough...I was talking to a guy at the B&M I go to who had gone on a tour of the Camacho facility and fields and he was telling me that they would weed the fields with goats (I think it was goats), because they would eat the weeds but wouldn't touch the tobacco.

Hays

j0z3r:

Unrelated to the topic, but interesting enough...I was talking to a guy at the B&M I go to who had gone on a tour of the Camacho facility and fields and he was telling me that they would weed the fields with goats (I think it was goats), because they would eat the weeds but wouldn't touch the tobacco.

Yup. That's actually a very popular "green" method of weed control. Just a day ago I was driving down the road and I saw a sign that said "Goats 4 Rent - $50/hr"... I can only imagine that it's for weed control, but it still gave me a good chuckle..

jeff_connors

Garen B:

No worries, the pesticides will put hair on your chest. And I second what zoomy said, my Dad has a veggie garden and actually takes my old cigar nubs and soaks them in water and uses that concoction as a pesticide.

Yeh I grew some this year, slugs,caterpillars, aphids and locust love tobacco!!. I mean a one caterpillar will climb up a leaf, sit there, eat and poo, become a buttery fly, and leave behind poo and about a dozen inch size holes in a plant,nice guys eh! To get rid of those critter you either need some nasty commercial stuff or the home brew I wiped up; consisting of molasses,garlic,cyan pepper,pepper and ivory dish soap...yummmy! The commercial stuff most likely works better, and I'm sure I smoke(d) my fair share of it.

j0z3r

Hays:

j0z3r:

Unrelated to the topic, but interesting enough...I was talking to a guy at the B&M I go to who had gone on a tour of the Camacho facility and fields and he was telling me that they would weed the fields with goats (I think it was goats), because they would eat the weeds but wouldn't touch the tobacco.

Yup. That's actually a very popular "green" method of weed control. Just a day ago I was driving down the road and I saw a sign that said "Goats 4 Rent - $50/hr"... I can only imagine that it's for weed control, but it still gave me a good chuckle..

Yeah, I've heard of goats being used for that purpose, what I thought was really cool was that the goats wouldn't eat the tobacco. And it goats are going for that much per hour, I think I'm going to change vocations and go eat weeds.

YankeeMan

Hays:

j0z3r:

Unrelated to the topic, but interesting enough...I was talking to a guy at the B&M I go to who had gone on a tour of the Camacho facility and fields and he was telling me that they would weed the fields with goats (I think it was goats), because they would eat the weeds but wouldn't touch the tobacco.

Yup. That's actually a very popular "green" method of weed control. Just a day ago I was driving down the road and I saw a sign that said "Goats 4 Rent - $50/hr"... I can only imagine that it's for weed control, but it still gave me a good chuckle..

I don't know, there's a couple of places in West Virginia...

Krieg

The weeds/pesticides probably aren't the biggest problem they face, I would have to say Blue Mold is one of the (if not) the biggest problem they have. Which is the reason Ecuador's tobacco market has grown like crazy, because their soil is actually immune to it.

jsnake

Hays:

j0z3r:

Unrelated to the topic, but interesting enough...I was talking to a guy at the B&M I go to who had gone on a tour of the Camacho facility and fields and he was telling me that they would weed the fields with goats (I think it was goats), because they would eat the weeds but wouldn't touch the tobacco.

Yup. That's actually a very popular "green" method of weed control. Just a day ago I was driving down the road and I saw a sign that said "Goats 4 Rent - $50/hr"... I can only imagine that it's for weed control, but it still gave me a good chuckle..

The purpose for the goats really does depend on what part of the country you are from. I didn't know that about goats though. Very interesting that they would eat the weeds and not the tobacco plants.

bacon.jay

This is one of those questions that I wish Alex would pop in and answer for us.

blacklight

i doesnt matter if there are pesticides and are poured into these leaves in the processing they are cleaned and the manufacturers has a certain procedure in cleaning it up before manufacturing it into our beloved cigar.

bforrester

jsnake:

Hays:

j0z3r:

Unrelated to the topic, but interesting enough...I was talking to a guy at the B&M I go to who had gone on a tour of the Camacho facility and fields and he was telling me that they would weed the fields with goats (I think it was goats), because they would eat the weeds but wouldn't touch the tobacco.

Yup. That's actually a very popular "green" method of weed control. Just a day ago I was driving down the road and I saw a sign that said "Goats 4 Rent - $50/hr"... I can only imagine that it's for weed control, but it still gave me a good chuckle..

The purpose for the goats really does depend on what part of the country you are from. I didn't know that about goats though. Very interesting that they would eat the weeds and not the tobacco plants.

Goats are regularly used here for brush clearance. Somebody is making some money on it too. I drop my goats on your land and you pay me to feed my goats. How is that a fair deal?

ironhorse

blacklight:

i doesnt matter if there are pesticides and are poured into these leaves in the processing they are cleaned and the manufacturers has a certain procedure in cleaning it up before manufacturing it into our beloved cigar.

yeah, obviously the blender doesn't want any hint of chemicals in the taste of the leaves. Plus, if they were really dangrous pesticides still on them, there wouldn't be so many beetle issues.

nightmaremike31

ironhorse:

blacklight:

i doesnt matter if there are pesticides and are poured into these leaves in the processing they are cleaned and the manufacturers has a certain procedure in cleaning it up before manufacturing it into our beloved cigar.

yeah, obviously the blender doesn't want any hint of chemicals in the taste of the leaves. Plus, if they were really dangrous pesticides still on them, there wouldn't be so many beetle issues.

I've read that there are government regulations and limitations on how much pesticide a tobacco farmer (and produce farmers) can use on their crops. It's bad PR to kill off your customers...

j0z3r

nightmaremike31:

It's bad PR to kill off your customers...

I don't know, the cigarette companies are doing pretty well off of it.

nightmaremike31

j0z3r:

nightmaremike31:

It's bad PR to kill off your customers...

I don't know, the cigarette companies are doing pretty well off of it.

Precisely... cigarette companies must have some kind of hidden marketing strategy...

Their customer buys the product, consumes it, and then it kills them...

... damn. I just can't figure it out. My Sherlock skills just can't make the connection...

If I owned a hardware store, and a customer bought a hammer from me, and then I hit them in the head with it... How (and why would they if they survive) will they come back and buy another one?

BStayer

nightmaremike31:

j0z3r:

nightmaremike31:

It's bad PR to kill off your customers...

I don't know, the cigarette companies are doing pretty well off of it.

Precisely... cigarette companies must have some kind of hidden marketing strategy...

Their customer buys the product, consumes it, and then it kills them...

... damn. I just can't figure it out. My Sherlock skills just can't make the connection...

If I owned a hardware store, and a customer bought a hammer from me, and then I hit them in the head with it... How (and why would they if they survive) will they come back and buy another one?

My brother hit himself in the head with the claw portion of a hammer while nailing a board once. It was hilarious...try explaining those marks to someone!! "Uhhh...the other day...I uhhh...was swinging a hammer...and uhhh...I swung too far up and wacked myself in the noggin." Makes me laugh just thinking about it.

kaspera79

nightmaremike31:

j0z3r:

nightmaremike31:

It's bad PR to kill off your customers...

I don't know, the cigarette companies are doing pretty well off of it.

Precisely... cigarette companies must have some kind of hidden marketing strategy...

Their customer buys the product, consumes it, and then it kills them...

... damn. I just can't figure it out. My Sherlock skills just can't make the connection...

If I owned a hardware store, and a customer bought a hammer from me, and then I hit them in the head with it... How (and why would they if they survive) will they come back and buy another one?

I love the comparison Mike, just hit them hard enough to knock them out, and when they wake up and say " what the he-ll happened", sell the a screwdriver too.

T. Gervais

j0z3r:

Hays:

j0z3r:

Unrelated to the topic, but interesting enough...I was talking to a guy at the B&M I go to who had gone on a tour of the Camacho facility and fields and he was telling me that they would weed the fields with goats (I think it was goats), because they would eat the weeds but wouldn't touch the tobacco.

Yup. That's actually a very popular "green" method of weed control. Just a day ago I was driving down the road and I saw a sign that said "Goats 4 Rent - $50/hr"... I can only imagine that it's for weed control, but it still gave me a good chuckle..

Yeah, I've heard of goats being used for that purpose, what I thought was really cool was that the goats wouldn't eat the tobacco. And it goats are going for that much per hour, I think I'm going to change vocations and go eat weeds.

Ha! Someday soon Joe is going to dissapear to Honduras and join those goats in Camacho's fields, making 50 an hour. Maybe even free cigars too.

j0z3r

T. Gervais:

j0z3r:

Hays:

j0z3r:

Unrelated to the topic, but interesting enough...I was talking to a guy at the B&M I go to who had gone on a tour of the Camacho facility and fields and he was telling me that they would weed the fields with goats (I think it was goats), because they would eat the weeds but wouldn't touch the tobacco.

Yup. That's actually a very popular "green" method of weed control. Just a day ago I was driving down the road and I saw a sign that said "Goats 4 Rent - $50/hr"... I can only imagine that it's for weed control, but it still gave me a good chuckle..

Yeah, I've heard of goats being used for that purpose, what I thought was really cool was that the goats wouldn't eat the tobacco. And it goats are going for that much per hour, I think I'm going to change vocations and go eat weeds.

Ha! Someday soon Joe is going to dissapear to Honduras and join those goats in Camacho's fields, making 50 an hour. Maybe even free cigars too.

I've already got my flight booked.

bigharpoon

So far I've learned that:

1. The hair on my chest is toxic.
2. Cigar nubs actually MAKE good pest control.
3. Goats eat everything EXCEPT tobacco.
4. Pesticides taste bad.
5. Goats make more money than I do.

Thanks fellas, I'm feeling better already!

Garen B

bigharpoon:

So far I've learned that:

1. The hair on my chest is toxic.
2. Cigar nubs actually MAKE good pest control.
3. Goats eat everything EXCEPT tobacco.
4. Pesticides taste bad.
5. Goats make more money than I do.

Thanks fellas, I'm feeling better already!

Just another day at the C.com boards.

kaspera79

bigharpoon:

So far I've learned that:

1. The hair on my chest is toxic.
2. Cigar nubs actually MAKE good pest control.
3. Goats eat everything EXCEPT tobacco.
4. Pesticides taste bad.
5. Goats make more money than I do.

Thanks fellas, I'm feeling better already!

Line 5 is the one I found most upsetting.. Crap, five years of college down the drain !