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Orthene application instructions?

  • Thread starter Sashoke
  • Start date
Howdy everyone! So my can of Orthene showed up a week early, no complaints here, and the instructions it came with are a bit vague so I just want to make sure Ive got everything right before I begin applying it, Im hoping someone here who is experienced with it can help me out here.


This is the stuff I bought, it comes in little granuals.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008ISRH02/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1L0J6J9ZYHA6P&psc=1




Mixing instructions are anywhere from 1/4 a tea spoon to a gallon all the way to 1 1/2 tea spoon to a gallon, I dont know why it has such a high discrepency, but can anyone confirm or deny that 1 teaspoon a gallon is too much or too little for Nepenthes specifically? For the purpose of this treatment is it entirely neccessary to use distilled water or would tap do?


As for actual application I am only misting this onto leaves right? Top and bottom, good coverage all around. I dont think im supposed to water the soil but thats why Im here asking for advice ??? Its a systematic so I imagine root absorption would distribute the product quicker throughout the plant but I dont know if that would be harmful to the plant or media.


Im going to be doing this outside obviously, this stuff is fairly toxic and smells like road kill. Is there any preferred weather conditions for applying? I know stuff like Neem will burn in full sun but I dont know about Orthene. Should I spray in sunny conditions so it dries off faster or the opposite?(Does anyone know exactly how long it takes to dry and how long it takes for the smell of rotting animals to go away? :-O) I will be very careful not to apply in winds, or around any other plants that could be visited by beneficial insects, birds, or where run off water is prevalent.
 
Info on this is not great, I found a few things, https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...2.html&usg=AFQjCNFdNYbg0DAt3ZGaE8zRQA1Y9o85AA
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...up.pdf&usg=AFQjCNGNrYXy6aaUy5cZ881xxKynThKfqA

The one I have and use very rarely is this: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...ed.Pdf&usg=AFQjCNH5v4UMwz0RTOOFQdatUbsnVge0HA I think it has better info on dilution.

Trouble is there is little info out there (that I can find anyway) specifically about cp's. One thing I have trouble with, say a tank I find I and re-purpose has a temp gauge on it, but that is for water, not air. I have a probe type thing for checking pH and TDS in liquid, and a similar thermometer, but that won't measure air temp. Sometime the wrong tool for the job if you will, and sometimes no one makes the right one or the one you need. I would were I you, go with the low end of the concentration scale, spray only the foliage (might want to spray only one leaf and wait a day or so and see if damage occurs) if the bugs don't die, up the dose a bit at a time. Better yet, if you have a "sacrificial lamb" you would not particularly mind losing, hit that one kind of hard and see what happens. That stuff smells horrible, but it does eventually go away. Good luck!
 
Info on this is not great, I found a few things, https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...2.html&usg=AFQjCNFdNYbg0DAt3ZGaE8zRQA1Y9o85AA
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...up.pdf&usg=AFQjCNGNrYXy6aaUy5cZ881xxKynThKfqA

The one I have and use very rarely is this: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...ed.Pdf&usg=AFQjCNH5v4UMwz0RTOOFQdatUbsnVge0HA I think it has better info on dilution.

Trouble is there is little info out there (that I can find anyway) specifically about cp's. One thing I have trouble with, say a tank I find I and re-purpose has a temp gauge on it, but that is for water, not air. I have a probe type thing for checking pH and TDS in liquid, and a similar thermometer, but that won't measure air temp. Sometime the wrong tool for the job if you will, and sometimes no one makes the right one or the one you need. I would were I you, go with the low end of the concentration scale, spray only the foliage (might want to spray only one leaf and wait a day or so and see if damage occurs) if the bugs don't die, up the dose a bit at a time. Better yet, if you have a "sacrificial lamb" you would not particularly mind losing, hit that one kind of hard and see what happens. That stuff smells horrible, but it does eventually go away. Good luck!


Thanks for the response! I managed to find someone in Savagegarden who has experience with the stuff and says in his personal experience 1 teaspoon to 1 gallon is the appropriate dillution for Nepenthes. I think Ill give that a try on one plant alone before treating the rest to, like you said, see if it damages it at all. If not I'll go ahead and treat the whole collection.


And yeah it really does stink bad. Slightly better than a dead rat. Which is unfortunate because this collection stays in my bedroom :0o: guess ill be sleeping on the couch if the smell doesnt resolve in a few days. Heck I havent even opened the can it came in and it already reeks. I currently have the unopened, sealed can inside of two scented trashbags tied up and stuffed in the back of a drawer and I can still smell it. It is a horrible penetrating smell, I cant imagine how bad its going to be when I open it up. My game plan is to put vanilla extract on the inside of a medical mask. Though Im not sure where Im going to store the can afterwards. I imagine it has to be temperature controlled...
 
If you apply it in a closed environment, the smell will likely stick around for up to a week; it fades rapidly in open air though. As for application, just about any strength is not going to harm the plants as the active chemicals in Orthene don't affect them. Personally, I'm always mixing in one of those 1L spray bottles, don't really measure but I'd guess about 1/4 teaspoon in one of those.
Avoid getting it on you or breathing in spray/mist/ even the aroma as much as possible though.
 
If you apply it in a closed environment, the smell will likely stick around for up to a week; it fades rapidly in open air though. As for application, just about any strength is not going to harm the plants as the active chemicals in Orthene don't affect them. Personally, I'm always mixing in one of those 1L spray bottles, don't really measure but I'd guess about 1/4 teaspoon in one of those.
Avoid getting it on you or breathing in spray/mist/ even the aroma as much as possible though.

Thanks for the response! Im definitely going to be applying it outdoors, early in the morning preferably to let it air out as long as possible. Also, 1/4 tsp to a liter is almost exactly 1tsp to a gallon, so yeah thats about right. Ill probably do that as well to save water and product.


Any tip on storing this stuff? Even inside the sealed can it reeks and Im having to leave it outside in our gazebo so my house doesnt smell like rotting meat.
 
There is no removing the smell, it is aromatic completely dry so won't matter where you put it; mine sits out in the garage all the time (and it doesn't make a stink if you don't move it around much), temperatures swing a lot, but no issues with losing viability as far as I can tell. I'm thinking it's pretty stable when dry.
 
There is no removing the smell, it is aromatic completely dry so won't matter where you put it; mine sits out in the garage all the time (and it doesn't make a stink if you don't move it around much), temperatures swing a lot, but no issues with losing viability as far as I can tell. I'm thinking it's pretty stable when dry.

Okay, good to know it doesnt need to be heavily temperature controlled as long as it stays dry. I should be good leaving it in the gazebo then, rain nevers get in there but just to be safe ive wrapped it up in plastic.
 
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