Re: CULT: Re:Fall moth eggs

From: HIPSource@aol.com

In a message dated 98-10-26 05:13:54 EST, you write:

<<  Another control that Marilyn Harlow told me about was using MURPHY'S OIL
SOAP.  Now... I don't remember the concentration, and she was unclear about
how this  was a control for borers.  She said that a customer had sent them a
letter and
she was intrigued.  I wonder if anyone else had heard this.>>

No, but it sounds like support of my theory. 

Murphy's is an oil-based wood wash. I use it on my floors. It is applied in
water and not rinsed. It leaves a thin film of oil on the surfaces. Dormant
oil spray is applied in water and dries to leave a thin film on the
overwintering insect eggs which is said to "smother" them. My theory is that
if you can "smother" the borer eggs before they hatch, they won't. People use
dormant oil--and its ultra-refined forms such as Sunspray which are lighter
and safer to use in hot weather--to kill scale eggs, eggs of some insects
which attack fruit trees, and  also some insects which attack roses, including
aphids. I don't know what criteria make it effective on what eggs.
Presumptively, the size of the eggs might be a factor, and possibly where they
are deposited and when they are deposited. But I don't see any harm in trying
this out. If we found that the eggs could be smothered and killed by a benign
and harmless physical means rather than a vile and nasty chemical  which had
to be repeatedly applied we would all be a lot better off in the long run, and
so would be the environment.

Kathy, next time you speak with Marilyn would you kindly ask her for
particulars on the Murphey's matter? In the meantime the best thing anyone can
do to keep their iris patch healthy--whether from the standpoint of borers or
disease-- is to clean up all dead foliage and so forth around the plants. No
garden irises in borer country should be allowed to self-mulch.

Anner Whitehead
HIPSource@aol.com

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