Warrior test results on SVB !!
Group,
Well the test is over and the end result is the same as last year. The SVB is DEAD !! After catching a live Squash Vine Borer in my patch today, I decided to run another experiment. Last year however, I made the mistake of putting the borer in a container with a wet application of Warrior. A friend told me and I agree that if I wanted accurate results I should let the warrior dry on the container before I put the moth in. That is exactly what I did for this experiment. Not only did I let the container with the warrior inside dry but I wiped the inside out with a towel just to make sure. After the container was ready I placed the SVB inside. For the first 2 minutes the SVB could fly at will. However by the time it had been in the container 5 minutes I couldn't even get it to fly by nugging it. At this point I decided to try something new. I took the moth out of the container and set it on the counter in my kitchen. I wanted to know for sure that after contact in a!
n open environment the moth woul
d continue to die. It did. However, it was a much slower death than with the previous experiment I conducted. It took the moth more than an 2 hours to be offically declared dead. This is still fine with me. In fact, I think I prefer the slow and painful death for such a diabolical insect as the SVB.
Final note : I noticed in the lab, (My kitchen), that shortly after contact(approx. 3 to 5 min) with the warrior something happens rather quickly to the moths nervous system that prevents it from flying. This may explain in the field why I have seen more than once moths laying on the leafs that are still alive but not moving. You can literally flip them off the leaf with you finger. So if you have treated with Warrior and still see a moth or 2 on your leaves, don't panic and trample your plants to kill the little bugger. Just let the the Warrior do the work.
Hope this helps,
Brad Walters
Vine Borers 2 (1998,1999 w/o Warrior)
Brad 1 ( 2000 with Warrior)
We will see who wins this year !! Won't we !!
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