Yet a further update...

The ivermectin spray solution does not appear to by phytotoxic as I have
sprayed it on my brug and the other plants that were in contact with it
including a phylodendron and umbrella plant. Sorry I do not know the latin
for those or even if I spelled them right. Anyway, the mites appear to be
no more and my brug which had lost many leaves to mite damage and Cygon
spraying (before I thought to use ivomectin) is leafing out again.

A very effective solution to my mite problems for $3. If you try this at
home remember to spray a few leaves first to test phytotoxicity, and of
course insecticides are poisonous so take some basic precautions. This
spray is less poisonous that some organic sprays out there and less than
most conventional insecticides without the nasty smell, so I think it will
become a important part of my IPM (Integrated Pest Management) program.

Joe


"quest" wrote in message
...
Interesting, if it works, and doesn't kill the brugs.
Avid is also sold in 8 oz containers for $99, if you look up Avid and 8
ounce. It's used 4 drops to a 32 oz sprayer (average spray window cleaner
bottle) and will last a very long time. I went ahead and bought it, since
mites all but destroyed my dozens of roses before they attempted the
greenhouse coup.
It was to late for the roses, but it cleared them out of the GH without
damage to the brug babies, and I'll soon mix up a gallon batch for all the
outdoor roses. Good luck with the ivermectin experiment, and please let us
know what comes of it.


"Widdups" wrote in message
...
Update:

Fortunalty the ivermectin is in a solution that facilitates its
dispersion
in water. Ivermectin by itself is a non polar compound and does not
disperse or dissolve in water. Merge cannot be used as a surfactant /
solvent mix because it causes the Ivomec injectible fluid to coagulate.
Perhaps it contains an incompatible adjuvunct or preservative agent.

As of yet the spray does not appear to be phytotoxic. I have sprayed a
few
leaves with no measured ill effect on the plant yet. In a few more
days,
I
will try to spray the whole plant to test the effectiveness of the
chemical
against the spider mites.

-Joe

"Widdups" wrote in message
...
Having found no newsgroups for ornamental plants, agriculture
chemicals,
or
house plants, I hope someone here can provide some advice. I have a
few
houseplants (Brugmansia hybrids) under attack from spider mites. The
best
treatment I have found for spider mites is a miticide called Avid.
However,
Avid is only sold in large quantities for large amounts of money ($300
US
per container). But I note from reading the Lable and MSDS online
(something more people should do) that the active ingredient in Avid
is
abamectin. When searching for abamectin on the internet, I find that
it
is
chemically very similar to ivermectin, differing only by a double bond
vs
single bond in one location. For a chemical diagram see
http://www.alanwood.net/pesticides/abamectin.html and
http://www.alanwood.net/pesticides/ivermectin.html Now ivermectin is
readily available in smaller quantities from the local veterinarian
where
it
is used to control internal and external parasites in livestock. I
use
it
for pets too, a practice that is very effective against flea
outbreaks,
but
off lable. So I plan on aquiring 1.5 ml of Ivomec injectible from my
vet,
adding an emusifier (likely a ml or 2 of the premium ag chemical
surfactant
blend Merge by BASF) and bringing the volume up to 1 litre with RO
water.
This mixture will have an active ingredient level between the lable
rates
given for Avid. I can then pour into hand sprayer and apply in
accordance
with the Avid lable.

Any comments in regards to my idea would be greatly appreciated.

-Joe