In article , lgb
wrote:

In article ,
says...
In article , lgb
wrote:


For example, Sevin, which is quite toxic, is the only thing I've found
that will knock out elm beetle grubs before they deleaf my elm trees. I
wear coveralls and a respirator when I use it, usually once a year.

You posit a worst-case scenario of thrips stripping
elms, yet you can't kill elm thrips without also killing a whole array of
beneficial insects thus making the environment MORE inviting to thrips for
the next cycle.

I say beetles, you say thrips - IOW, you didn't read my post very
well before your knee jerk response. Figures.

Eh, not that you even care. The elm leaf beetle is controlled by Bacillus
thuringiensis ssp tenebrionis, beneficial insects, & even with seaweed
spray. You elect instead a method that kills the natural controlling
agents, thus harming the entire localized ecosystem, in the long run
worsening the condition you misguidedly assaulted, because harmful pests
re-establish theiur populations MUCH faster than do predatory insects
which will only return after their prey re-establishes itself. So its no
wonder you have these problems. Whether for thrips or beetles, the reality
is the same: chemical dependency breeds chemical dependency -- in stressed
& unhealthy gardens.

The bacillus can permanently retard beetle populations keeping their
populations indefinitely in decline so that the need to fight them becomes
lessoned year by year, & the temptation to use toxins eventually reduced
to none.

It can take three years to stop the problem entirely then it may never
need to be done again. The impatient might in the meantime want to use
organic approved pyrethrum & isopropyl alcohol, or a fish emulsion or
seaweed spray or horticultural oil for added boost without killing off all
the beneficial insect population. When you insist your only choice is a
moon-suit, respirator, & toxins that kill everything in their path, you
only guarantee that the problems you admit to having recur year after year
will continue to recur year after year.

The bacillus HAS to be the subspecies tenebrionis which targets elm
beetles especially well; the caterpilar Bt doesn't do it. Btt kills elm
beetles without harming the natural predetors of elm beetles. For so long
as you insist in YOUR kneejerk way that your only option is to use methods
that simultaneously kill the beneficial insect population, the beetles
win.

But you've made it clear you couldn't care less.

-paggers
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