Today’s Maayanei Hayeshua magazine published an article about a lady that distributes etrog peels as a segula for various problems.
Last year, I was thinking of making etrog jam and giving it out to women as a segula for easy delivery. However, someone pointed out to me that etrog growers use a huge amount of pesticides to keep the bugs away and preserve the etrogs’ appearances. Apparently, since etrogs are not usually eaten, the authorities do not regulate the amount of pesticides used on them.
We set out to check the facts. After contacting one of the leading etrog growers in Israel we were told that they do use large amounts of very strong pesticides to keep the etrog trees free of infestation. The grower thought that if using an etrog that had been picked months ago and had since turned very yellow, it was possible to wash the insecticide on the superficial surface of the etrog skin, since it would probably wear off by then. However, he said that he could not vouch for how deep the insecticide sinks into the fruit.
I would suggest that before consuming etrogs or etrog jam, you may want to weigh the segula against the possible dangerous effects of the insecticide (especially if you are expecting).