Ray wrote:
I would be wary of using a household "bomb" on a collection of plants. They
are designed to kill bugs in structures, not plant collections.
I would use a two-step approach: Orthene WP as a knock-down, immediate
killer (it is also systemic, so will have some residual action), then Enstar
II, an insect growth regulator, which prevents maturation - hence
reproduction - to rid the collection of the critters entirely.
I completely agree. The two step approach seems to do the best for
me as well. For a badly infested plant, I unpot it, dump the whole
plant in a 5 gallon bucket with the appropriate concentration of
orthene, and let it soak for 5 or 10 minutes before repotting. If it is
dear to me, and that is harder and harder to find these days. Usually I
pitch a badly infested plant into the compost.
I'll spray (not soak, that takes too long) the whole collection
after finding more than one plant with mealies (I hate mealies). They
usually come in on new plants. I usually spray at a few times with
orthene at an appropriate interval, and then a few times with enstar or
one of the other growth regulators. I've been accused of overkill in
the past, but since I only spray after I see a problem (very
infrequently, so far) I probably use far less pesticide than if I
sprayed on a schedule.
As for bug bombs, the 'inert ingredients' - 90+% of the 'bomb' are
often far more toxic to plants than the actual active ingredient. It
depends on what is in there, and they don't always have to list that on
the label. I wouldn't count on a formula designed for use on non-living
things (furniture, carpets, etc) to be suitable for plants. Might work,
but I would rather sleep well at night. Besides, some of those bug
bombs are more expensive than greenhouse pesticides.
Rob
--
Rob's Rules:
http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit
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