Hello,
I'm having a problem with various aphids in the conservatory, in
particular on the new growth of bougainvillaea - in the past I've used
systemic insecticide pins with good success when the aphid quantity has
become too much to treat with soft soap and marigolds have helped but
they're not ready yet.

I've bought some provado concentrate to make a systemic drench but every
time I look at the instructions I'm concerned about safety.

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.

Regards, Colin
--
Colin Brook - Winchester (UK)

Tel:+44(0)1962-714030 Fax:+44(0)8701641293 Mobile:07976258703

In article , Janet Baraclough
writes
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.
Thanks for that = that's really my enthusiasm but, at the moment, the
big problem is a couple of bougainvillaea which are growing up and over
the internal wall/window and spraying is such a hell of a mess if a
thorough job is to be done. I use Naturen which is, I think, very
similar to the Baby Bio you mention.
Colin
--
Colin Brook - Winchester (UK)

Tel:+44(0)1962-714030 Fax:+44(0)8701641293 Mobile:07976258703

In article ,
Janet Baraclough wrote:

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? ...

Yes. Soaps are fatty acids.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

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

In article , Chris Hogg
writes
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!
Exactly, that's why I raised the problem at the beginning
Colin
--
Colin Brook - Winchester (UK)

Tel:+44(0)1962-714030 Fax:+44(0)8701641293 Mobile:07976258703

In article ,
Janet Baraclough wrote:
The message
from Chris Hogg contains these words:

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!

The other good thing about the Bio stuff was, that there wasn't any
messy/sticky fall-out from it at all, walls furniture or floor, and
this in a pale room where you couldn't miss it.

Then almost certainly a soap. I use Savona (available from Green
Gardener or Tuckers, but not most garden centres due to our wonderful
Whitehall), which washes off just like any other liquid soap.

Naturen, on the other hand, leaves a surface film as sticky and as
hard to remove as linseed oil does (i.e. it is another 'drying' oil).
Never again ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article , Nick Maclaren
writes
Then almost certainly a soap. I use Savona (available from Green
Gardener or Tuckers, but not most garden centres due to our wonderful
Whitehall), which washes off just like any other liquid soap.

Naturen, on the other hand, leaves a surface film as sticky and as hard
to remove as linseed oil does (i.e. it is another 'drying' oil). Never
again ....
I had always thought of Naturen as a soap and wasn't aware of the
significant difference between it and Savona - thanks.
I've mainly used Naturen because it was recommended for scale on Citrus
and I've used it for aphids generally.

I'll give one of the lighter soap only solutions a try.

Regards,
--
Colin Brook - Winchester (UK)

Tel:+44(0)1962-714030 Fax:+44(0)8701641293 Mobile:07976258703