Re: CULT:Borers:Murphy's Oil Soap
From: Gullo <tgf@frontiernet.net>
Hi Dan,
I received another inquiry about the use of Murphy's Oil Soap and here
is a copy of my reply giving all the pertinent information.
I first heard about this method of borer control
in the
January 1998 AIS bulletin. The title of this article was "Sand and
Soap" written
by Marie Gebert. In the article she presented the following advice
'use a
mixture of one half cup of Murphy's Oil Soap to one gallon of
water.Spray on the
iris leaves weekly ( or after a rain ) from early May to late July.
This should
be used after any other sprays'. I use the soap that comes in the
refill
bottles not that which comes in the spray bottles which is already
diluted. I
feel that a thorough garden cleanup (very late fall or very early
spring ) is
also very important to make borer control even more effective. I
have been using
this method of borer control for the past 2 seasons with great
success. I only
find a very small number of borers that manage to survive the
spraying, which I
promptly squish. One could probably combine the oil soap treatment
and
beneficial nematodes ( alternate sprayings ) and achieve even more
complete
protection. With just 2 sprayings last season I only found a dozen
or so
borers. Marie, in her article, mentions that she and others in her
area
(northeastern Connecticut) have been using it to great effect for 5
seasons (as
of 1998). I hope that I have explained the process clearly for you.
If you have
further questions please let me know. I know from personal
experience how
damaging those iris borers can be. I don't believe in using harsh
chemical
treatments to control pests or other problems, so Murphy's Oil Soap
has been
quite a help. I hope that the Murphy's is of help to you and good
luck.
Your climate will dictate how early you need to start spraying. Some years
the first of May is early enough, but lately here I have needed to start
even earlier, usually mid to late April. If you wait till the borers hatch
then it will be to late, at least to stop the early ones. I won't use harsh
chemicals, but for those who do I would suggest trying a test plot for the
Murphy's to see if it is as effective as chemical treatments. I know of a
number of people who use chemicals like Cygon only out of desperation.
Michael Gullo
West Walworth, NY
PS- I wrote a rebloom report for the Spring 1999 Reblooming Iris Recorder in
which I discuss this treatment option and others I have used in the past.
Dan & Marilyn Mason wrote:
> From: "Dan & Marilyn Mason" <dmason@rainyriver.lakeheadu.ca>
>
> Jan. 21 - Michael Gullo wrote:
>
> <Murphy's oil soap has helped me get the borers under control
> thus virtually eliminating cases of borer related rot. >
> -----------------
>
> Michael -
>
> How did you use Murphy's Oil Soap on your iris? What
> concentration, method of application, timing, repetitions? What
> kinds of results have you found after using this method for
> controlling borers?
>
> Dan Mason zone 3, NW Ontario
> dmason@rainyriver.lakeheadu.ca
>
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