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Post by Michael on Feb 21, 2010 7:33:34 GMT
Hi -- a possible idea on an alternative to a duster for the diatomaceous earth. A while back I was talking to someone who used a large eye-dropper/medicine-dropper to suck up the diatomaceous earth and then 'spray' or dust with the eye-dropper on some small delicate tropical plants. I haven't tried it, but it sounded like a novel way to apply... Mike
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Post by Not a Number on Feb 21, 2010 8:57:41 GMT
Diatomaceous earth for pest control is sold in large squeeze bottles. The sort of bottle with the nozzle with a little red cap on it that you may have used in school to dispense white glue or tempra paints. Or mustard or ketchup at a fast food stand. You can buy them any decent arts and craft or food service supply store.
Just fill the bottle up 1/2 - 1/3, shake and "puff" away. Wear a mask.
You don't need to dust the insects as long as surface that they will walk on is dusted.
The particles get into the joints and spiracles of the insects and pierce the exoskeleton so the insects desiccate.
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Post by tommyr on Feb 21, 2010 18:24:03 GMT
Bayer Rose and flower spray. Use a directed. "Green" solutions don't always work and often take longer to archive the same goal. IMHO!
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tonge50
Full Member
Akai Ryu
Posts: 81
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Post by tonge50 on Feb 22, 2010 21:40:47 GMT
I had started my first tray of VFTs over a year ago. I used a long leaf sphagnum top dressing on each of those pots. Since then then the moss has started to grow. Of the three trays of potted flytraps, the tray with pots that have the top dressing and live moss is the least affected by aphids. I suspect that the moss dressing provides habitat for predatory insects. I have seen several different tiny critters moving around in the moss. I was able to capture an image of a tiny spider hunting on a dead trap (about center of the upper right quadrent). Click on thumbnail to view high res image [/URL][/ul] The moss looks like a tiny primeval forest ;D [/URL][/ul] My collection is still small enough to controll the aphids manually. I plan to dress all the rest of my pots with sphagnum top dressing. Nature knows best
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Post by Not a Number on Feb 22, 2010 22:05:10 GMT
I have live Sphagnum moss as a top almost all my Sarracenia pots. A couple have a mulch of 1/4-1/2 inch of horticultural sand.
I've been besieged by mealybugs mainly in the rhizomes for over a year - systemic insecticides do not seem to be doing the trick.
I noticed that the plants with the sand mulch are not infested. I suspect that the Sphagnum moss provides a safe haven for the mealybugs from the systemic insecticides. I have been removing the top dressing to test this theory.
Since I need to replace the media in all my pots this year I'm going to try flushing out the mealybugs with a stream of water from the garden hose. I realize it is tap water but the plants will be repotted and flushed with purified water afterwards.
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tonge50
Full Member
Akai Ryu
Posts: 81
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Post by tonge50 on Feb 22, 2010 22:35:50 GMT
And I was all worried about aphids. Mealy bugs look like they are way worse [/URL][/ul] I was hoping that I had found a natural alternative to using pesticides. I guess the sphagnum can hide the bad bugs as well as the good
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Post by Aidan on Feb 23, 2010 16:38:42 GMT
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Post by RL7836 on Feb 23, 2010 21:08:49 GMT
Another alternative that CP-philes have been apparently avoiding is outlined over here. Given the lack of toxicity (& other benefits), I'm quite surprised by the reluctance I've seen.... While there are questions on its effectiveness with mites, I can vouch for it's 100% kill rate w/ aphids. ;D NaN - I'd love to hear if it works w/ mealybugs .... Good luck with the diatomaceous earth. I purchased 5 lbs years ago and whether it's due to my poor application methods or some other personal fault, mine never killed anything of which I was aware (but may have chopped some years off my life by finding its way into my breathing passages ...)
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tonge50
Full Member
Akai Ryu
Posts: 81
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Post by tonge50 on Feb 28, 2010 22:56:58 GMT
Absolutely amazing! Not only is it effective, it sounds like a lot of fun too
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Post by mmlr38 on Mar 1, 2010 2:59:49 GMT
That's awesome RL7836!
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Post by jdallas on Mar 1, 2010 6:20:31 GMT
The dry ice/CO2 technique looks great for a terrarium, or a few plants you can put in an enclosure. Not sure if I can gas a 24' greenhouse or a half acre of Sarracenia, however.
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tonge50
Full Member
Akai Ryu
Posts: 81
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Post by tonge50 on Mar 18, 2010 20:21:44 GMT
I haven't tried the CO2/Dry-ice method yet. I am still performing re-cons and search-and-destroy missions with a magnifier and tweezers. If you too are trying to control aphids manually, remember to check inside the traps. It seems like the ultimate insult upon injury that these little buggers can feed on a trap without getting eaten themselves I have been thinking of buying a Celestron Handheld Digital Microscope Model # 44302. It can take digital video and still images. [/URL][/ul] This would make hunting aphids a lot more fun ;D
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Post by kulamauiman on Mar 18, 2010 22:43:33 GMT
Another alternative that CP-philes have been apparently avoiding is outlined over here. Given the lack of toxicity (& other benefits), I'm quite surprised by the reluctance I've seen.... While there are questions on its effectiveness with mites, I can vouch for it's 100% kill rate w/ aphids. ;D NaN - I'd love to hear if it works w/ mealybugs .... Good luck with the diatomaceous earth. I purchased 5 lbs years ago and whether it's due to my poor application methods or some other personal fault, mine never killed anything of which I was aware (but may have chopped some years off my life by finding its way into my breathing passages ...) CO2 is getting a second look for fumigation of plant materials to kill insect pests. Most of the fumigants that have been used in the past are fairly nasty for people and the environment. Might be something worthwhile to use on new plants before they are placed on benches or into terrarium .
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