Re: spider mites was: Gardener's dance routines - Free LEWISIA
- To:
- Subject: Re: spider mites was: Gardener's dance routines - Free LEWISIA
- From: M* T*
- Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1999 01:58:12 -0400
Craig,
As far as I know, neither Safer's nor hort. oil is toxic to pets or
wildlife. They both come with the usual disclaimers ....I wouldn't drink
them....but I've had no ill effects from getting them on my bare skin, tho'
doubt I'd bathe in them, either. Both are contact insecticides in that
they only work when they come in contact with an insect. Both work, I
believe, by basically smothering the bug. Insects "breathe" through their
"skin", so when something clogs up those pores, they die. Safer's is
mostly effective on soft-bodied insects; doesn't do a thing for Japanese
Beetles, for instance, but is effective on various kinds of scale insects,
esp. if you get them at the right stage when they are moving around.
May be some problems with using them around ponds and aquatic life, would
have to check the bottles and they are in the garage...but that would be
the extent of it.
Safer's can cause phototoxic reactions on some plants - if plants you need
to spray are not listed, it is best to test a bit before massive spraying
and then keep an eye out for leaf burning. If that occurs, wash plants
with water right away. Hort. oils should not be applied in hot weather -
bottle instructions are very specific about when and how to apply. With
hort. oil, you want the fine or superfine kind, not the dormant kind and
flower buds shouldn't be sprayed as it can cause browning...think I'm
correct here, but may be mis-remembering...do not trust brain these days:-)
I only pull these out when I have something that a sharp water spray won't
work for - Hemlock Woolly Adelgid comes to mind as well as Boxwood Leaf
Minor...dratted pests. But, generally, I am with you - a sharp spray of
water does wonders to discourage aphids and other stuff.
I have had good success with both products on stuff like scale, the
aforementioned pests, lace bugs....that sort of thing. Houseplants often
get scale because of the dry house conditions in winter, so I wash them off
with Safer's.
And, you're right, you've got to get the underside of the leaf, with water
or Safer's or oil...that's where the bugs hang out, crafty little devils.
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor: Gardening in Shade
current article: Building A Raised Bed Garden
http://suite101.com/welcome.cfm/222
All garden topics welcome page:
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----------
> From: Craig.Wallace@emotors.com
> Date: Tuesday, June 01, 1999 8:16 AM
>
> Marge,
>
> Excellent info! I didn't realize the potency of tobacco. Perhaps, since
> I've never used it, gives me excuse to be ignorant of it's ill effect.
>
> I have a copy of Jerry Baker's 4 hour special on PBS and have used a
couple
> of his ideas. However, when one doesn't have most of the stuff "laying"
> around the house (as he suggests), I can see how expensive the remedies
> could get.
>
> I have never used insecticidal soaps or horticultural oil. However, I
have
> seen them suggested for treatments as this (could you give me some advice
> (how effective, harmful to wildlife, etc.?). I, however, use a sharp
spray
> to keep most harmful insects off my plants. Has worked for me so far.
One
> thing you need to make sure of is to get them "under" the leafs, as well.
> Most people just like to spray the plant and believe the problem is
solved
> when "The Terminator" is hiding just out of plain view.
>
> Hasta La Vista, Baby!
> Craig Wallace
> craig.wallace@emotors.com
> Brighton, Illinois
> Zone 5 (old zone)
>
> "I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose, I would always greet it
in a
> garden." -Ruth Stout
>
>
> > ----------
> > From: Marge Talt[SMTP:mtalt@clark.net]
> > Reply To: perennials@mallorn.com
> > Sent: Saturday, May 29, 1999 10:26 PM
> > To: perennials@mallorn.com
> > Subject: Re: spider mites was: Gardener's dance routines - Free
> > LEWISIA
> >
> > Dot,
> >
> > In my experience, spider mites revel in dry, hot conditions so one of
the
> > ways to fight them is to make sure your plants are not drought
stressed.
> > You can hose them off with a sharp spray of water and you can use
> > insecticidal soap to good effect. Safer's Insecticidal Soap is
available
> > at many garden centers and through mail order from most garden supply
> > houses. It is a proven remedy with no residual effects and is not
harmful
> > to people. It is a contact insecticide.
> >
> > Plants can stand a certain amount of insect predation with no major
damage
> > - they do it all the time. But, an influx of a certain pest can
indicate
> > things about how your plants are doing. Stressed plants are more
> > vulnerable to massive insect attack than happy ones.
> >
> > I would be pretty chary about using heavy duty insecticides like Sevin
on
> > a
> > food crop like tomatoes. In fact this web site (which has detailed
> > information about spider mites and dealing with them) says that Sevin
can
> > actually cause mite populations to increase due to killing off all
their
> > natural predators. You might want to take a look at the site...
> >
> > http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn006.html
> >
> > Practicing IPM (Integrated Pest Management) is generally most effective
> > against insect pests in the long run because it permits the natural
> > balance
> > of pest and predator to occur. It is quite possible that you are
> > increasing the pest population by trying to poison it off because you
are
> > also killing all predator insects....for more information about IPM,
take
> > a
> > look at the National IPM Network site:
> >
> > http://www.reeusda.gov/agsys/nipmn/index.htm
> >
> > IPM is not an instant cure, but then, developing a healthy ecosystem in
> > your garden takes some time to do. However, once you have a good
balance,
> > you will find that you can generally control things with observation,
> > sharp
> > sprays of water, insecticidal soap, horticultural oil sprays, BT,
> > biological controls and other rather benign methods. Key is the health
of
> > your plants, knowing the life cycles of the pests in your area and who
> > their natural predators are.
> >
> > There is no quick fix; no poison you can spray on your soil that will
> > eliminate insect pests from your garden. Insects will always be with
us.
> >
> > And, particularly with food crops, what you put on your crops also goes
> > into your stomach, so you might want to learn which chemicals have what
> > kind of residual effects, etc....just a thought.
> >
> > I would also be very careful using tobacco solution remedies, as
tobacco
> > is
> > one of the most lethal poisons on the planet in liquid form....Jerry
Baker
> > is irresponsible in his advocacy of this treatment, especially since I
> > once
> > read, in one of his flyers, that he suggested storing the solution in
> > empty
> > soda cans. I was appalled....it would be so easy for a child to get
their
> > hands on it and drink it and that would mean death. His homebrew
formulas
> > sound like inexpensive solutions, but if you stop and figure out what
the
> > ingredients actually cost, they turn out to be rather expensive used in
> > the
> > garden and totally scientifically unproved as effective.
Unfortunately,
> > his "master gardener" title is self given and his marketing abilities
> > exceed his horticultural abilities.
> >
> > Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
> > mtalt@clark.net
> > Editor: Gardening in Shade
> > current article: Raised Beds
> > http://suite101.com/welcome.cfm/222
> > All garden topics welcome page:
> > http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/3425#top5
> >
> > ----------
> > > From: dot <cdpierce@intop.net>
> > > To: perennials@mallorn.com
> > > Subject: Re: Gardener's dance routines - Free LEWISIA
> > > Date: Friday, May 28, 1999 2:25 PM
> > >
> > > HELP HELP!!!!! Can anyone tell me what to use to kill spider mites on
> > > tomatoes?have sprayed them with liquid sevin,didn't work,they have
fruit
> > on
> > > them the size of a baseball,but still full of blooms,what can i use
that
> > > won't kill the blooms, but get rid of the mites?
> > > Dot zone7 NE Ms.
> > >
> > >
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