Tina wrote:Compo Bi 58 is available on ebay from Germany.
I have treated two greenhouses with it so will see how it works, I did wonder if it was best as a root drench or spray. What do others do with systemics .
Wow Tina that chemical looks quite toxic... do you use PPE? How about handling the pots after treatment, do you use gloves?
Dimethoate is not considered particularly dangerous to use. It is banned almost entirely because the allowed residue levels on food crops are so low that it cannot practically be used. That means you shouldn't ingest it! Of course the UK decided just to ban it entirely, but it is still available in a number of other countries.
Dimethoate is a systemic and it can be used as a soil drench, although there are varying reports on how effective that is. Think of it as a long-lasting Malathion.
I think it is recommended to rotate all insecticides to prevent immunity build up in the bugs, rather than constantly use the same one. Also use a contact insecticide from time to time too to try and kill those becoming resistant to systemics, even good old soapy water can work at times! Sometimes even other makes containing the same chemical can vary slightly in their composition and so help stop resistance.
Continued regular prophylactic use of the same insecticide when you don't really have a real bug problem can also breed resistant strains. We should all now be aware of how the overuse of antibiotics in the past when not really needed has built up resistance to them, therefore when humans now need them to save lives they often do not work anymore.
Not only rotate between different insecticides, but rotate between different insecticide classes. For example, swapping between two different neonicotinoids is not very effective at preventing resistance to all neonicotinoids. This is increasingly difficult with the UK retail market, with so few different classes of insecticide left on sale. Of course a quick trip to Portugal or the US will soon solve that problem!
I have used Diamethoate and it is by far the best repellent for pests, with long last effect.
I was using provado and other available sprays and they didn't come close to it. Besides they marked the plants , (many astrophytum will mark if sprayed with a wet substance) So root systemic is the way forward. Finding it is the hard part.
Hi
I wore gloves but after some of the old working practices in the lab's I'm not going to worry too much now.
When I received a bottle of malathion from US origin, it actually said you could treat your veg two weeks before harvesting/eating .
I prefer root drench when you spray these treatments I need to go & shower to wash the smell out of my hair, although It might be more effective so maybe a paper suit job.
Tina
varied collection of succulents and cacti but I especially like Euphorbia's, Ariocarpus and variegated agaves.
iann wrote:Of course a quick trip to Portugal or the US will soon solve that problem!
Portugal is still a great destination for food, wine and pleasant climate (if I may say so myself...), but not for whatevercides: you have to be a certified technician to be able to buy them.
There are a few over-the-counter alternatives but often at prohibitive prices. You can buy a spray pistol of readymade abamectin solution for about twice the cost of the concentrated product that will give you 1000x the same solution.
For those seriously considering agro-poison tourism, I've read elsewhere Italy is the place to go...
DaveW wrote:I thought the EU banned anything that killed bees, yet you can freely get insecticides from Portugal with this bee killing warning off EBAY even though Portugal is in the EU?
One wonders if Britain as usual is over interpreting EU regulations (known as "gold plating") if these are still on sale in the rest of the EU?
This is a curious situation: it is forbidden in Portugal to buy any phytopharmaceutical products in concentrated form without a permit, given out following a (paid) course of several hours. Yet, this guy sells them on eBay (with a very nice "won't post to Portugal" notice, though). He is acting against the "spirit of the law", given he cannot sell these products to uncertified buyers; yet, he is not selling them within Portugal.
Be careful with the recommendations here folks; I had gloves on but managed to get two drops of diluted BI 58 solution (18 drops in 1 litre of water) on my hands and it has been tingly since last evening..... Hoping I do not have any permanent damage!
Last edited by FaeLLe on Thu Apr 06, 2017 8:42 am, edited 1 time in total.