Re: Little black bugs eating Alocasias

---

I use anywhere from 10% to 50%  ZEP Orange to water, depending on what plant I need to kill the buggers . I had a white fly infestation in the greenhouse really bad,  anything that had a leaf had white fly even the weeds , what finally got them gone , was going in a week at a time & soaking every living thing in the greenhouse with a 3 gallon pump up sprayer for 4 weeks (ya need to break their life cycle ).I put about 3 inches of the ZEP in the bottom of the sprayer the 1^st time ,Quickly learned that was a mistake as it foams up some , Then was using about 3 cups into the thing after filling it with WARM water ,then soaking ALL parts of every plant . You’ll quickly find the plants with the ant nests as they will swarm out turning the upper parts of the plant black as they try to escape the spray  .. THIS is important  <that you go back & soak everywhere around the nest as the queens will run to another pot>  (ants are what spread the mealies )  No need to use such a strong % as you use, as I’ve found 10% in a hand sprayer  kills ants just fine. the times I used 50% was when I found a ant nest when watering & that mix was in the kitchen at the time as it’s really important to kill the nest as soon as they swarm out by flooding the whole pot and surrounding area with the ZEP

 

The only time I ever had plant damage from the ZEP was on succulents that have a  natural wax coating as it strips that off .   ask any questions at anytime……. I should get a cut on sales of ZEP from the MFG’er as I talk it up everywhere I go !   

 

 

Dear Michael;

 

Please elaborate on the concentration that you use for insect control.  You say to use 50/25 to on spray bottle.  Are you refering to Zep/water.  Therefor a 2/1 concentrate of Zep/water.  I found that a 1/1 ratio worked well with no plant damage but have only used it on ginnypig plants at this time.  I have a terrrible problem with white fly and meally and would love to hear your experience with this product.

 

Thank you

Emily Colletti

 

From: aroid-l-bounces@gizmoworks.com [mailto:aroid-l-bounces@gizmoworks.com] On Behalf Of Michael Mahan
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2007 1:05 PM
To: 'Discussion of aroids'
Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] Little black bugs eating Alocasias

Try Orange oil in slight concentrations with a small amount of soap added.  I use  Zep Citrus cleaner & degreaser concentrate @ Home Depot . gallon jug $8.00 lasts for a years ( no need for soap with this product) as it has a  surfacent in it  .. use 50/25 to one in a spray bottle ,  I have even sprayed Orchid blooms with the stuff to kill mealies with no damage at all to the blooms .I’ve used it in a garden sprayer to spray every plant in my greenhouse to kill off all the white fly at once …  kills on contact . dissolves the exoskeleton of insects instantly even in slight concentrations . Here in California they are now using it for termite control . Best part it’s Non-toxic in the deluded form . best ant killer I’ve ever found .. flood a pot infected with a nest of ants, no harm at all to the plant, ants/queens are history in short order   THE BEST PART !  Smells great  . the greenhouse smells like oranges after I’m done …  

 

 

Michael Pascall,

Population explosion of these things . They seem to be eating holes in the plants , a nearby Costus is severly affected . All the new growth in the rainforest after the recent Cyclone has upset the natural balance . I am always hesitant to spray , and when I do only use pyretherum or similar contact spray .

 

Listen now! New music from the Rogue Traders.