Root mealy bug

[gerald]

Not much use to the rest of us...

Useful to me as I have a licence too. As an amateur grower, pests & disease are by far the #1 problem in growing cacti.

Growing cacti & other plants means everything to me, it's my obsession so I've found the time and expense acquiring the licence is well worth it.

[JonNo]

But does Acetamiprid destroy eggs?

[gerald]

But does Acetamiprid destroy eggs?

If it's systemic then it will be drawn up into the plant, so when the eggs hatch and start feeding on the plant, they'll get a dose of poison which will kill them

So the theory goes anyway

[ralphrmartin]

I’m fortunate to have a professional pesticide applicators licence, so have access to some products the general public does not.

Or not as the case may be ...

I believe the key to eliminating the root mealies was a product called Gazelle which contains acetamprid.

Not much use to the rest of us...

...unless you know how to use eBay search

Don't try this at home, and don't even think of suing me if you use this information and it all ends in tears...

[JonNo]

But does Acetamiprid destroy eggs?

If it's systemic then it will be drawn up into the plant, so when the eggs hatch and start feeding on the plant, they'll get a dose of poison which will kill them

So the theory goes anyway

...but sadly by then they've probably laid more eggs?!

[Tina]

Slightly off topic but I managed to buy some abamectin, does anyone recommend as good mask with suitable filter I was looking at the screwfix catalogue & there masks are more for solvents.

Why would using Acetamiprid end in tears ??

[Ernie]

30 odd years ago I used a sprinkle on powder called root guard that worked very well killing the nasties. Can anyone remember what the active chemical was. I recall Roy Mottram advising me to exercise caution when using it, something to do with it being an organo phosphate? The garden centres used to sell it then suddenly stopped.
Today I use vine weevil killer as a drench.

[ralphrmartin]

Why would using Acetamiprid end in tears ??

Well, if you did yourself in, in some way, you or your loved ones might regret it. I didn't mean to imply it was an alternative to onions.

[Pattock]

I seem to remember 1 part of 3% hydrogen peroxide (a concentration available from any pharmacy) to 2 parts water being recommended against mealy bugs and sciarid flies. At that concentration it will do no harm to plants, except by killing their symbiotic bacteria and fungi.

Or so I thought. This paper says you get significant leaf damage above 0.01% (perhaps lower than that in some plant species) with lettuce, rocket and radish seedlings. When foliar sprayed every day, sufficient to water the plants as well. Sunflower seedlings were unaffected even at 0.02%.

https://journals.ashs.org/horttech/view ... e-p283.xml

I imagine waxier plants (and insects) are less likely to be damaged.

For nutrient solutions that only circulate around the roots, the manufacturers of hydrogen peroxide solutions for hydroponics recommend a daily addition of 1ml per litre of 11.9%. Resulting in a solution of about 0.012%. That would be about 4ml per litre of the 3%.

I know horseradish has massive amounts of peroxidase enzyme in its roots, so it could probably take a much higher concentration.

By the way, if you ever wanted to get all your vitamin C from a green vegetable, horseradish leaf is the one to go for. Fresh horseradish leaf can contain between 280 and 350mg of vitamin C in every 100 grammes.

[JonNo]

So the one part 3% hydrogen peroxide to two parts water previously mentioned would damage the plants after all then?