On Sat, 16 Apr 2005 16:31:59 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

The message
from Colin Brook contains these words:


Is there any other product that I could use? I'm reluctant to spray with
other than soft soap solution, hence the enthusiasm for drenching the
compost.

My large houseplants all spent last summer outdoors decorating a
sheltered sitting area. In September I brought them back in to the
warmth of the house. Within a couple of weeks they were all very badly
infested with whitefly and scale insect which must have got onto the
plants in the garden and had a breeding frenzy indoors:-(


I used Baby Bio House Plant Insecticide, £4 from a GC, comes ready
mixed in a yellow spray applicator, labelled "suitable for use in
organic gardening". The only ingredients clue is "natural fatty
acids"..soft soap? . Any way, two applications killed all the insects,
and no harm to the plants. After the first application, the plants were
still covered in corpses so I put them outside, gave them a good blast
with the hosepipe, and brought them back in.

Janet.

Most fats, and cooking oils such as olive oil, sunflower, rapeseed
canola etc. are "natural fatty acids". I strongly suspect that these
preparations are no more than an emulsion of, say, olive oil in water.
You could probably make your own using a tablespoon or two of oil and
a really generous squirt of washing-up liquid, whizzed up with half a
cup of water in a liquidiser and then diluted to fill a sprayer. It
makes me wonder whether the oil does anything, or whether it's all
down to the detergent, i.e. back to soft soap.

A disadvantage of these insecticides for conservatory or indoor use is
that they cover everything they come into contact with (floors,
windows, shelves etc.) with a film of oil. Messy, especially if using
them as a drench!


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net