"Matthew Donadio" wrote in message ...

I am curious as to what people do for preemptive plant maintianence for_
indoor_ growing. I could fog my den with a combo of Orthene, Dianazin, and
Malthalion and water with 100% Physan, but that is a bit overkill. My
primary concerns are human/cat health (ie, non-death) and preventing
breeding super bugs / super mold), but I would like to do my best to prevent
future problems.

"Preventative" treatment with pesticides is just asking for the bugs
to evolve resistance. Carefully screen all new plants and only treat
if you actually see pests.

Since you grow indoors, you have a couple of choices:

1. If the temperature is above 50 F (10 C), take the plants outside
and spray them with whatever pesticide appeals to you. Those with low
toxicity to mammals include pyrethrins and imidicloprid, but you can
use nastier stuff if you wait until the plants are dry and don't let
the cat chew on the leaves. Always follow the manufacturer's
directions regarding protective equipment.

2. If you absolutely cannot put the plants outside, use horticultural
soap, neem oil, or isopropyl rubbing alcohol (don't use ethyl
alcohol).

Spray the same plant several times at intervals of a week or so.
Non-systemics will probably not affect eggs or any bugs that aren't
physically covered. Your previous battle against mealies may have
failed because you gave the few survivors a chance to reproduce. If
you have lots of affected plants, treat the entire collection at the
same time.

Alternate pesticides to minimize evolution of resistance. Bugs are
less likely to become resistant to pesticides with more general
smothering or dessicating action (e.g. alcohol, oils, and soaps).
Pyrethrins can often be rendered useless by a single mutation in the
insects' voltage-gated sodium channel gene.

Mold in the potting mix suggests it may be starting to decay. Instead
of mucking around with physan, repot. I can't remember the last time I
used physan. The occasional patch of mold or little brown mushrooms
just doesn't bother me.

Hope this helps.

Nick