Pest control

[MatDz]

On a separate note I was going to buy a bottle of the Bug Clear Ultra Vine Weevil killer to use as a soak for root mealies but I'm wondering if its now just the same as a bottle of Bug Clear Ultra 1 but relabelled.

I have asked Evergreen (the manufacturer I think) and that's exactly what they said: "it's the same product, but applied in different ways and different dilutions". I do not know if the highlighted part means anything really.

[Mark07]

I thought that might be the case. Thanks MatDz.

So in that case I may as well purchase a bottle of the Vine Weevil killer next and use it for both applications since that is 480ml and is actually a little cheaper than the 200ml bottle of the same stuff - Bug Clear Ultra 1!

[habanerocat]

Has anybody ever used an air-compressor to blow off insects from plants?

Sounds like a plan, but where do you blow them off to?
Does this work in practice or just help to spread them around?

I've using this over the winter when the plants are dry at the root.
I de-pot them, take them outside to the compost heap and the air jet seems to do a fairly good job.

It's easy enough handle Rebutia types. It's important to get the top grit off and check around the neck of the plant.
It also capable of blowing in-between the heads with some success.

Like everything else I know mealy bugs grow. But lately I'm seeing two types. The normal sized and a newer tiny version that are harder to spot.
I'm convinced it's the 'crawler' stage that you need to be most wary of. At this stage they are very mobile and can travel large distances.
Stop them reaching this stage and you have some hope of success.

I just hope they can't make it all the way back in from the compost heap.
I'm finding some Tiger Worms' this Spring on the staging. That's the only place they could have come from.
.
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[SimonT]

I've seen the odd tiny mealy adult as well. I assumed this was that they were just under stress.

[Tina]

Possibly odd q, I applied compo bi 58. Its A systemic, should you wait a while before watering so its absorbed & spread thru the plant to hopefully kill the bugs or does watering a few days later make no difference or even help spread it around the plant or we haven't a clue.

[edds]

Possibly odd q, I applied compo bi 58. Its A systemic, should you wait a while before watering so its absorbed & spread thru the plant to hopefully kill the bugs or does watering a few days later make no difference or even help spread it around the plant or we haven't a clue.

I'd say the answer would depend on how heavily you are watering - if you are flushing lots of water through the medium (unlikely at this point in the year!) then you could wash unabsorbed treatment out of the pot. If you're just watering a small amount then, at worst, you won't wash anything out of the pot so no difference. At best, if the compound is still active, it could redissolve some allowing the plant to absorb more of it. The plant absorbing more water can't hurt it move the treatment around the plant either from what I know of plant biology. I don't have any evidence to back this up though, just rusty knowledge from a biology degree!

[el48tel]

Having read the small print on some treatments, I'd be more worried about marking the plants by over spraying or too many treatments.

[habanerocat]

I'd imagine the fibrous root hairs would be lost on most plants over the winter and the first light watering would spur these back into action.
So the second watering would be best for absorbing insecticide.

Same with feeding. We've always been advised not to feed on the first and last watering.

[Tina]

Its my hot greenhouse with Euphorbia & others, which gets a splash here & there, they don't like bone dry roots like the cactus house.

[Paul D]

Possibly odd q, I applied compo bi 58. Its A systemic, should you wait a while before watering so its absorbed & spread thru the plant to hopefully kill the bugs or does watering a few days later make no difference or even help spread it around the plant or we haven't a clue.

Note that Compo Bi58 N is not the same as Compo Bi58, which is no longer produced. The newer product is not a systemic but is based on the active ingredient Lambda-Cyhalothrin, a pyrethroid. The old product was based on Dimethoate, a systemic. Lambda-Cyhalothrin is a contact and ingestion pesticide but breaks down quickly after spraying. I've not found it to be very effective against mealy bugs in my greenhouse.
In my opinion, very underhand of the manufacturer to put this in almost exactly the same packaging!