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Insecticide Question

It's a pyrethroid (Pyrethrin like chemical). It's not a systemic insecticide and will wash off your plants.

Pyrethroids are generally okay to use with CPs, but try a few test sprayings before a larger or wide application. Use with extreme caution on Drosera.

http://pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC35463
 
alright I think that my mom has some of that stuff but I was worried about the Rose part of it so I didn't use it but I'll definently give it a try...
 
I've been using a lot of Neem oil lately.

I mainly use it to combat fungus but have noticed that fungus gnats and mites detest the stuff. They jump and squirm and scurry about trying to get outta the stuff.

Neem oil is all organic and have not seen it damage any VFT, Nep or Sarr.
 
I've been using a lot of Neem oil lately.

I mainly use it to combat fungus but have noticed that fungus gnats and mites detest the stuff. They jump and squirm and scurry about trying to get outta the stuff.

Neem oil is all organic and have not seen it damage any VFT, Nep or Sarr.
Where can you get Neem oil? As one site suggests, is it safe to use dish soap with it to allow mixing with water?
 
I just went to target yesterday and found a systematic insecticide called Triazicide. It says that it will control pests for up to 2 months and that it won't harm plants. Does anyone know if it works and/or if there is any reason not to use it. It comes in one of those little spray bottles. And here is the link to the website: http://www.spectracide.com/ProductCategories/OutdoorInsecticide/TriazicideBrandLawnGardenRTU/

thanks

One word. Orthenex. I have used it on a number of different genera with no ill effects whatsoever. Use the pre-mixed spray. It's a systemic insecticide and it lasts for months in my experience and I have had the same can for two years. Neem oil I have found to have little lasting effect, though others swear by it. I simply do not have the luxury of time for constant reapplication.

Nuke the pests from orbit . . .
 
I can't seem to locate Orthenex in the stores here (I'm in Canada).

Has anyone used the "Fungus Gnat Spray" made by Wilson? The active ingredients are: Resmethrin 0.25%, Tetramethrin 0.25%...

Thanks!
 
I can't seem to locate Orthenex in the stores here (I'm in Canada).

Has anyone used the "Fungus Gnat Spray" made by Wilson? The active ingredients are: Resmethrin 0.25%, Tetramethrin 0.25%...

Thanks!

How's it goin', eh? Resmethrin @ 0.25% is also in Orthenex, along with another charmer, Triforine @ 0.100%. The stuff you have on hand should do the trick. Systemic is the way to go -- burn everything, salt their fields . . .
 
  • #10
I'm just hoping it leaves no mineral-like deposit on the roots...
 
  • #11
I'm just hoping it leaves no mineral-like deposit on the roots...

There are no minerals to leave on the roots; it's simply a systemic insecticide which will control pests for months at a time. I have used Orthenex (which has the same chief ingredient as the Canadian brand) on Dionaea, Cephalotus, Nepenthes, Heliamphora, Sarracenia -- most everything that I can recall -- without any ill effects (2007 was a bad year for aphids). Drosera, according to some growers, may be another issue.

If you are concerned about accumulation in the pot, spray the plants and then flush the pots with fresh water . . .
 
  • #12
I can see the tiny (REALLY tiny) black round mites come out onto the leaves when the sun starts to get low in the sky. My thinking is that these little guys feed on the roots or a fungus that may be growing down there. This was a bad super-market rescue where the plants were on their last legs. They have made a good recovery but there are occasional deformed traps coming up (like a trap with one half of the leaf smaller than the other and brown spots on a leaf). The infestation started in the store, I'm sure. And I stupidly repotted the whole tiny pot's contents into a bigger pot with new mix to make up for the extra space.

So the question is, should I bother applying the pesticide to the actual leaves or just do the top of the media?

Thanks for your help so far!
 
  • #13
little black mites? are you sure? ive seen springtails that look like mites. if they drop or hop when you go to touch em, they are springtails and harmless. if they are mites, my guess would be a soil mite of some kind that eats dead or decaying plant matter as the usual and most common mite to infest plants are spider mites.
 
  • #14
They are round and very tiny. Black or very dark brown. I'm hoping that's what it is. But given the problems that this plant has, if the spray also is a fungiside, I'd like to take the precaution...
 
  • #15
Are you certain they are mites and not springtails?

Mites have 8 legs. Springtails have six. You need a good magnifier 10-20x to ID them.

Springtails eat decaying matter and it's a waste of time trying to kill them with insecticides as they'll just be back in a couple weeks unless you so poison the medium that nothing will live in it.
 
  • #18
Wow. I'm glad I didn't apply any of the pesticides. That little critter is probably what I have. Although you need some microscopic photography to confirm for sure. I did take one on the end of a dry pine needle and saw that it "hopped" when provoked.

So now I have to stay put and see if the VFT continues to produce misshapen traps and spotty leaves... If so, I'll repot after soaking it in distilled water for a couple of days to drown any critters that may be on the bulb. I'll apply some antifungal stuff too.

Good idea?
 
  • #19
btw, those TINY springtails are no bigger than the period on your screen.
 
  • #20
The other things in the pot are what seem to be worm-like caterpillars. They greyish yellow in colour and seem to be among the dead leaves.

Should they be a concern? Would they nibble on the bulb?
 
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