Tobacco water
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please discuss this issue on the talk page or replace this tag with a more specific message. This article has been tagged since January 2007. |
Tobacco water or tobacco dust juice is a traditional organic insecticide used in domestic gardening. In The English Physician Enlarged of 1681, Nicholas Culpeper recommends tobacco juice to kill lice on children's heads, referencing it as an insecticide poison. Farmers have been using nicotine sulfate insecticide since the early 1800s.
Tobacco water is produced by boiling strong tobacco in water, or by steeping the tobacco in water for a longer period. When cool, the mixture can be applied with a spray, or 'painted' on to the leaves of garden plants, where it will prove deadly to insects.
Tobacco dust juice has a similar use but is produced by mixing water with tobacco dust and black pepper.
Basque angulero fishermen kill immature eels (elvers) in an infusion of tobacco leaves before parboiling them in salty water for transportation to market as angulas, a seasonal delicacy.[2]
[edit] See also
- Tobacco as Insecticide: A Classroom Activity, Purdue University
