1. MYTH: Pesticides are poisonous

FACT: Any chemical, be it natural or man made, is potentially poisonous. As the old saying goes: "Too much of anything is bad for you". Take salt for example. A little is essential for life but too much in a single dose can be fatal. Just because pesticides are designed to make them poisonous to target insects and diseases does not make them automatically harmful to man.  After all, the biology of insects, plants and fungi are very different to mammals.

2. MYTH: It is safer to use Fairy liquid, boiled nettles  etc than garden chemical products.

FACT: The UK and Europe have some of the strictest pesticide regulations in the world to ensure that all plant protection products are safe and effective. The MAFF/ MAPP/HHSE symbol is your guarantee that a product has been specially developed and approved for the uses stated on the label. Products like detergents etc were never tested or designed for use on plants and may actually be harmful.

3. MYTH: Garden chemical products cause harm to the environment.

FACT: Modern garden products are specially designed to used on certain target  pests and to have a minimal impact on the environment. Conditions of use/labels  are designed to ensure they have little or no direct effect on birds, wild animals and fish and the majority break down naturally in the soil.  Ensuring that its use does not cause harm to the environment is part of the conditions of approval set for a product.

4. MYTH: Many garden products are being banned by the EU for safety reasons

FACT: A number of older pesticides have not been supported through EU Directive 91/414 mainly for economic reasons due to the fact that they are no longer competitive compared to more modern products. All pesticides for use in Europe will be reviewed as part of the EU harmonization process. Any product considered unsafe by the regulatory authority will be withdrawn immediately.

5. MYTH: Man-made products are more harmful than organic products.

FACT: The origin of a chemical does not have any influence on its potential toxicity, and many natural toxins are far more lethal than those used in garden products. For instance plants contain naturally occurring chemicals which can be more toxic than synthetic chemicals used in garden products. A common example is rotenone found in the roots of the Derris plant. This material is obtained from the root of a plant. It is used to control a range of pests like greenfly, but is toxic to bees and must be applied away from bees. In addition, it is highly toxic to fish and has long been used as a fish poison in some countries.

6. MYTH: Gardeners don't need to use pesticides as nature will take care of pests for you.

FACT: In nature there is a balance between pests and controls but there is always a certain level of damage to plants or plant loss. This level of loss is often unacceptable in a garden environment.  Where plants are grown for ornamental value, even a few holes can mar a display for a season, or where only one specimen is grown, plant loss cannot be tolerated. Often plant diseases and introduced pests have no natural controls and in these instances a garden chemical product may be the only way of saving your plant. Remember that a garden is not  natural environment, it is man made, and left alone will disappear as the natural flora take over.

7. MYTH: Garden chemical products are dangerous to our health.

FACT: All chemical products may pose a potential risk. However, when used correctly according to the label garden chemical products  are safe.  Garden chemical products for amateur use are formulated to be of a very low risk to nature and can be used without any protective clothing. In fact the regulations governing these products are so strict that there is no more risk from these products than most cleaners and similar chemicals used in the home which often carry risk warnings but aren't considered dangerous.

8. MYTH: Chemicals are bad for you.

FACT: A chemical is another term for the building blocks from which all substances are made. All life on earth consists of chemicals. All the food we eat is chemical. The air we breathe, water we drink  consist of chemicals and without them we would not exist. Well known chemicals are: oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen. From basic chemistry we know that water is composed of molecules  of both hydrogen and oxygen. There is nothing scary about the idea that pesticides are chemicals. 'Pesticide' is actually a generic term for chemical treatments which are designed to kill specific organisms - either insects, moulds, weeds or similar which damage our plants, homes, food or health. However some chemicals are bad for you and that is why they need to be tested to guarantee their safety.

9. MYTH: Chemical residues in food are highly dangerous.