This morning I went into the kitchen and realised they were spraying the outside of the neighbouring house with insect pesticides. I don't even want to think about the chemicals that drifted into the house while I was unaware. There's something rather special about standing in the kitchen watching them literally hose off the gutters to the stage of dripping with something toxic. I shut all the windows, for whatever good that will do.
And now, here's something further to think about... all those vegies and herbs I've planted on that side of the yard. What kind of withholding period, what do I do about toxic soil, do I uproot all of the plants that are short term crops? There are just so many parameters for growing your own edible garden that you can't control. Guess I won't be making basil pesto today after all, let alone working in the garden. Had I been at work I may have come home and picked a nice bowl of vegie insecticide to munch on. Then again, how many times have I done that already.
In some parts of the world there is legislation that means that you have to provide notice to your neighbours before applying sprays... and even put up signposts so that people who are passing by are aware. Now that's the kind of legislation that should be everywhere. The whole issue on "drift" is a difficult one, things can spread within a kilometre radius and how would you ever know in many cases and there is very little you can do about it.