My neighbor sprayed my garden with TEMPO SC ULTRA HELP

[highdesertgardens]

I have a good friend who said he had some spray hes been using for years. Hes an old man that has lived through just about everything bad thats happened in the world. I generally trsut what he says. This stuff is called Tempo he said. Id never heard of it. He uses it to get rid of hormworms on tomatoes. So i had some hornworms and he said hey ill swing by and spray it with this stuff. Its super safe. you could drink it but i wouldnt reccommend it haha. So i said great! Bring it by. Keep in mind im an organic gardener by practice so i was a little hesitant but i had 1 huge tomato plant infested with green hornworm so if anything i was okay sacrificing the one to save the rest of my garden.
He came by and proceeded to spray my entire garden and reassured me it was a gentle insecticide used in agriculture and home gardens alike. After he left i looked up the product and it says it is not labeled to be applied to edible vegetation! Now im losing it a little. I fear ive lost my entire crop for this year as im not okay taking chances with my familys health. I have spent the last hour spraying off my plants and flushing the soil in hopes maybe im wrong.
Anybody ever heard of this stuff being used in a garden? Ever have a similar story?

Gardener from southern Idaho

 

[Chuck]

I have a good friend who said he had some spray hes been using for years. Hes an old man that has lived through just about everything bad thats happened in the world. I generally trsut what he says. This stuff is called Tempo he said. Id never heard of it. He uses it to get rid of hormworms on tomatoes. So i had some hornworms and he said hey ill swing by and spray it with this stuff. Its super safe. you could drink it but i wouldnt reccommend it haha. So i said great! Bring it by. Keep in mind im an organic gardener by practice so i was a little hesitant but i had 1 huge tomato plant infested with green hornworm so if anything i was okay sacrificing the one to save the rest of my garden.
He came by and proceeded to spray my entire garden and reassured me it was a gentle insecticide used in agriculture and home gardens alike. After he left i looked up the product and it says it is not labeled to be applied to edible vegetation! Now im losing it a little. I fear ive lost my entire crop for this year as im not okay taking chances with my familys health. I have spent the last hour spraying off my plants and flushing the soil in hopes maybe im wrong.
Anybody ever heard of this stuff being used in a garden? Ever have a similar story?

Gardener from southern Idaho

I think you had better read the ENTIRE article. Cyfluthrin is the active ingredient in Tempo

Cyfluthrin Fact Sheet by Caroline Cox.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Commiserations, what more can I say.

 

[Mrsclem]

Terrible!!!! So sorry!

 

[DirtMechanic]

We kill with toxins. You wanna know an upside? We literally are collecting info that can absolutely lead to your progeny understanding the level of sensitivity necessary to not kill themselves whilst redirecting bug traffic. What about the idea of disruption and redirecting? Skankespeare and his "rose by any other name" but what about a smell? I look forward to not using products....screeching halt here. Do not use products you cannot eat.

 

[Tetters]

We're glad to have you on the forums @highdesertgardens, and very sorry to hear about this mishap. I know sympathy doesn't make this any better, but you have it anyway

 

[DirtMechanic]

Ok I had to go on a deep dive to find this but basically spray everything down with baking soda mixed in water because the chemistry of cyfluthrin fails faster in an alkaline environment and is preserved in an acidic environment. Also its washing it down.

 

[highdesertgardens]

Thanks for the replys. Sounds like nasty stuff. Also talked to a friend of mine who has a spray business and was told it should be nowhere near edible vegetation. We've decided to just let the garden die and do raised beds in a new location next year. I read that all soil that was affected must be removed and replaced. That's straight from Bayer the manufacturer. I have also notified my old neighbor farmer friend and told him about it as the garden he grows which is huge he shares with a family of 5. Hopefully he will not eat from his garden either. I learned a valuable lesson that will not be repeated. Always have been an organic gardener and will stay that way. Thanks again for the help.

Kellen from Idaho

 

[Marck]

An organic gardener can just hand pick hornworms of a single tomato plant. With more ecological awareness one might even enjoy their presence. Afterall, Tomato Hornworms are the impressive larvae of the beautiful Five-spotted Sphinx Moth (Manduca quinquemaculata), which is an important pollinator for a number of native plants.