On Wednesday, February 27, 2013 1:25:59 PM UTC, David.WE.Roberts wrote:

We have two lemon trees indoors by the bi-folds.
They are doing well apart from the aphids.
From recent Googling the biological controls are not available yet this
year.
Spraying advice doesn't seem to include Citrus in the UK.
Any recommendations?
More importantly, anything NOT to use?

Spraying water upwards wipes aphids out


NT

On 01/03/2013 19:26, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-03-01 17:13:51 +0000, Spider said:

On 28/02/2013 18:27, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 28/02/2013 13:33, Spider wrote:
On 27/02/2013 22:54, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 27/02/2013 14:00, Spider wrote:
On 27/02/2013 13:25, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
We have two lemon trees indoors by the bi-folds.

They are doing well apart from the aphids.

From recent Googling the biological controls are not available yet
this
year.

Spraying advice doesn't seem to include Citrus in the UK.

Any recommendations?
More importantly, anything NOT to use?

They can be considered ornamental at the moment because they are
showing
no sign of flowering.

Cheers

Dave R



Bayer seem to have the answer:-

http://www.bayeradvanced.com/insects...stions-answers




I have never used this chemical, so this is not a recommendation, but
hope it helps.

You've never used imidacloprid (Provado)? It's the active
ingredient in
that product.

Indeed I have, Jeff, and recommended it to friends. However, I wasn't
aware it was safe for edibles or citrus (which I appreciate is an
edible, but may also be rendered sickly by some chemicals), so I was
erring on the side of caution. If you know it to be safe for both
citrus specifically and edibles generally, then Dave may be happy to
use it.

Fair enough. I wasn't criticising or promoting its use. It's just that
I'd never heard of that particular Bayer product, and it took me some
time to find on the website that imidacloprid was the active ingredient
in it. Many companies have idiotic names for their products; very
similar brand names for different ingredients, or different brand names
for identical ingredients.

As to whether or not it's safe for citrus or other edibles, I've no idea
- I'd follow the manufacturer's guidelines. I must say that although I'd
draw the line at spraying a ripe tomato with nicotine and eating it
without washing, I cannot see an approved systemic insecticide leaving a
toxic level inside a fruit. You might think otherwise. More info he
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/imidacloprid.pdf
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:...l.pone.0005127





No criticism was taken, Jeff, nor could you 'promote' my use of
Provado if my inclination was against it :~). I do use it, but as
little as possible ... becoming less by the minute.

Reading the second link re human poisonings is pretty scary. You only
have to suffer from asthma (as I do) to see how bad it could get. I'm
always careful with chemicals (often ask RG to deal with it!!), but I
shall be even more careful from now on (nag RG to wear gloves and
mask!). No, seriously, it's designed to kill; why would we suppose it
doesn't?!

Thanks for those links.

More thought-provoking reading
http://www.farmersguardian.com/home/.../30774.article




A very brave lady. What an horrific ordeal. Let's hope she lives to a
ripe old age and compaigns to the bitter end. Thanks, Sacha.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:12:54 +0000, Spider wrote:

On 01/03/2013 17:22, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
On Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:10:35 +0000, David Hill wrote:

On 27/02/2013 13:25, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
We have two lemon trees indoors by the bi-folds.

They are doing well apart from the aphids.
snip

Could this centrally heated room be causing the loss of growing tips, as
well as providing ideal conditions for the aphids? Is there nowhere
else cooler (as well as bright enough) where they could be housed until
the weather improves?
snip
Is it possible to put them in the bath while you spray them? An open
window would be essential. Since you're spraying indoors, the safer
soapy spray might be a good first approach. It will reduce the aphids,
allowing you to use less of your chosen noxious spray outdoors in a few
weeks' time.
snip

Just for a bit of context, here are some photos to show the two plants and
their current location.
http://s817.beta.photobucket.com/user/LittleGreyCatUK/library/Citrus

You can see that one tree is growing like a hooligan and the other is
struggling.

You can also (hopefully) see on the smaller tree the major distortion of
the new leaves caused by aphid attack.

As you can see, they are in substantial pots so moving them is not a small
undertaking.
The castors on the base help.
They could be trundled into the downstairs wet room for a soapy shower
(hmmm....just put them under the shower?) but their current location is
not suitable for anything other than misting.

They were brought in at the start of the very hard frosts, and at the time
were pretty much waterlogged from the rain, so they responded quite well
to being brought into a light, airy and warm environment.

I would like to keep them in until late April/early May to avoid too much
of a check on their growth.
Previously they have lived outside all year round and not taken well to
the harsher winters.
I may be able to house them somewhere cool and light in a year or so.

However as they grow all the year round, if I can just check the aphids I
think they will do very well over winter in our living area.

Plenty of warmth and light, they generally don't mind dry conditions, and
if they keep on growing all year round they should gain a lot more growth
than spending most of the summer recovering from the winter.

There is also a picture of new leaves on the rootstock (the vigorous one)
in the hope that someone can identify the variety.

Cheers

Dave R

In article , David.WE.Roberts
writes

So I am really looking for something which can be used indoors without
damaging a laminate floor - small quantities of mist preferred.


SB Plant Invigorator - not cheap, but excellent - at getting rid of bugs
and feeding the plant. You mix it up in your own sprayer, so if you
have one that produces a fine mist, Robert is your father's brother.

I use it a fair bit on most plants. Non-toxic - the anti-bug bit is
supposed to be a physical block

Its pretty much too good to be true - I find it eexcellent. Great for
citrus as it also deals with chlorosis, etc.

http://www.sbproducts.co.uk/


--
regards andyw

In article , news
writes
Its pretty much too good to be true - I find it eexcellent. Great for
citrus as it also deals with chlorosis, etc.

http://www.sbproducts.co.uk/

The post might have implied it, but I meant to specifically say that it
is completely non-toxic (in the sense that it isn't the sort of
pesticide that requires regulatory testing).

Re bees - (from the website)

"Unlike many other pesticides SBPI does not harm birds & bees

Used by professional and amateur growers and gardeners worldwide. Helps
to produce quality fruit, vegetables, flowers, bushes, shrubs and trees.

Controls a wide range of important pest species that include Whitefly,
Aphid, Spider Mite, Mealybug, Scale and Psyllids.

SBPI has a “physical mode of action�. The mode of action is
non-chemical and non-biological. If applied correctly pests will not
become resistant to SBPI.

There is no harvest interval after applying SBPI. The efficacy is
excellent."

Someone will probably turn round and say it is just expensive washing up
liquid with some plant feed in it - but I swear by it (and despite the
gushing praise, I'm nothing to do with the company).

Best to do top and bottom sides of leaves - so even with a fine spray
you might want to put some newspaper on your laminate around the plant.


--
regards andyw

On 04/03/2013 09:35, news wrote:
In article , David.WE.Roberts
writes

So I am really looking for something which can be used indoors without
damaging a laminate floor - small quantities of mist preferred.


SB Plant Invigorator - not cheap, but excellent - at getting rid of bugs
and feeding the plant. You mix it up in your own sprayer, so if you
have one that produces a fine mist, Robert is your father's brother.

I use it a fair bit on most plants. Non-toxic - the anti-bug bit is
supposed to be a physical block

Its pretty much too good to be true - I find it eexcellent. Great for
citrus as it also deals with chlorosis, etc.

http://www.sbproducts.co.uk/

ROTFLMAO.

I had a look at the ingredients, and they seem to have missed the main
one off - Snake Oil.

You said it yourself "It's pretty much too good to be true".

--

Jeff