# Shelf life of insecticides and fertilizers. Mine are vintage 1997.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelf-life-of-insecticides-and-fertilizers-mine-are-vintage-1997/339256>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 10, 2006, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelf-life-of-insecticides-and-fertilizers-mine-are-vintage-1997/339256 "2006-01-10T02:21:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelf-life-of-insecticides-and-fertilizers-mine-are-vintage-1997/339256/1 "2006-01-10T02:21:28Z")

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I just discovered a box in my storage room full of insecticidal soaps, fungicides, diazanon, bug killer, and assorted Miracle Grow.

These products were in a climate-controlled location, but by the time I use them, they would be about 9 years old. Combined value = $100.

Keep or toss?

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelf-life-of-insecticides-and-fertilizers-mine-are-vintage-1997/339256/2 "2006-01-10T02:41:14Z")

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Miracle grow is just a mixture of inorganic salts. It should be good til after the rapture.  
If the bug killer is a cholinesterase inhibitor it may have gone off. They’re all reactive chemical compounds.  
The fungicides and diazonon (if powders) are probably still OK.  
Icky things often happen to soaps over the course of a decade.

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**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelf-life-of-insecticides-and-fertilizers-mine-are-vintage-1997/339256/3 "2006-01-10T05:36:58Z")

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Thanks and congratulations on hitting 10,000 posts.

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelf-life-of-insecticides-and-fertilizers-mine-are-vintage-1997/339256/4 "2006-01-10T05:44:38Z")

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My city gave a series of short seminars on gardening, trees, and lawns. The gardening guy from Purdue was asked about the best way to dispose of a no-longer-legal pesticide. He said it was a Catch-22. Technically, you can’t use it, but the safest way to dispose of a dangerous pesticide is to mix and use it according to the original instructions.