Steve- I had flea beetles in my garden the last couple years...seem to like broccoli and potatoes. I think I got them w/ neem the first year and this really awful smelling fish oil stuff (Safers) that I scored for a dollar the next year. Didn't seem like they were difficult to get rid of...sprayed em a couple of times.
Definitely seems like neem cures all in the pest department. I'm looking for a solution from materials I have on-hand. It is in my near-future plans to buy neem. It's funny, they're all over my mustard spinach, but the collards, lettuce, and spinach in the same raised-box are untouched. It seems like garlic does have some effect, after soaking my plants and the area around them I did notice some flea beetles hopping away. \tAlternative PesticidesBotanical pesticides recommended for controlling flea beetles include neem, rotenone, pyrethrin, sabadilla, and formulations of these in some combination. (7) The University of California mentions insecticidal soap as an organic option for flea beetles, but indicates that it "may provide partial control" only. (14, 15) Sprays combining rotenone with insecticidal soap are considered very effective. (12) Other sources suggest that garlic sprays are useful. (16) Research in Colorado showed that garlic extracts are successful in suppressing flea beetles, but efficacy may trail off later in the season. (17) In addition to garlic, the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recommends onion and mint as natural flea-beetle repellants. (18) source: http://www.agrisk.umn.edu/cache/ARL02958.htm
http://www.agrisk.umn.edu/cache/ARL02958.htm "In healthy agroecosystems, there are populations of beneficial predators and parasites that work to control the number of flea beetles and other pests. One example is Microcotonus vittage Muesebeck, a native braconid wasp that kills the adult flea beetle and sterilizes the female flea beetle." Hot damn, that's one fucked up wasp.
The garlic definitely keeps them off my plants but they come back with time. (severely reduced numbers, but still present) Getting neem oil delivered today. If I mix neem oil (1/2 tsp per liter water) and aloe vera (as a surfectant), is there still a need to rinse after spraying?
that Garlic spray is top notch stuff great for in doors ,,not only helps keeps the nasty's away but it really greened up my plants as well,,,,now just gotta make me some,,,,, i'd completely forgot about how good it was till i read this thread,,,,thanks ,,mac
This source doesn't say anything about rinsing, and makes it seem that for neem oil to be effective as a foliar spray it should adhere to the leaves for as long as possible. http://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=132
I pestered Chunk about it, and it seems the best IPM routine w/ neem oil is to foliar spray it 2x a week after the sun sets, continuously. If you then have a problem w/ pests, it's b/c you're slackin. So, from my, "research." Unless I get something specific that neem oil isn't helping, or if I run out of neem oil, my IPM routine will be: 2 tsp neem oil/1 gallon water as much aloe juice as I can spare from my plants, usually just one leaf Shake the shit out of it (and I shake the damn thing while I'm spraying, for good measure.) Sprayed liberally Wednesday and Saturday evenings on all my plants, veggies & herbs. As soon as I hit the centers of my spinach with this, I saw the little, black assholes starting their exodus. Neem 1, Flea Beetles 0
I just saw Dr Brommers castile soap with tea tree oil on Amazon. Has anyone tried this for their ladies?
Hi, I have used tea tree oil before to cure a nasty toenail fungus so it has anti fungal propertys. How much tto is in the soap? Twas Ever Thus!
Sorry, it is Dr Woods castile soap w/tt oil....(water, hemp, coconut, tea tree, olive and vit e oils, sea salt, citric acid and rosemary extract.
Let's look at Sierra Natural Science and two of their concoctions - SNS 217 and SNS 244 SNS 217C (MSDS) Rosemary @ 10% Polyglyceryl Oleate @ 3% (aka Oleic acid polyglyceride) - emulsifier Lauric Acid @ 0.5% (found in palm oil and coconut oil) - surfactant The mixing ratio of water to concentrate is 5:1 so a gallon would make 6 gallons of biopesticide. Price ranges from $240.00 - $360.00 so 1 gallon of spray costs between $40.00 and $60.00 Rosemary extract contains a huge range of terpenes and terpenoids and the ketone camphor. I can buy organic Spanish Rosemary with elevated camphor levels for $40.00 for 16 oz. Therefore 16 oz would make 160 ounces of concentrate which would give you 7.5 gallons of spray. $40.00 for 7.5 gallons vs. $240.00 - $360.00 for 6 gallons. Next up is SNS 244C - fungicide (MSDS) Here's the breakdown... Thyme Oil @ 1.2% Clove Oil 0.2% Rosemary Oil 0.05% Polyglyceryl Oleate 0.5% Cod Liver Oil @ 0.4% Quillaja Saponaria 0.0006% This one also makes 6 gallons at the 5:1 mixing ration with water. Price is around $100.00 but I'll use $102.00 to make the arithmetic easier so 1 gallon of spray is $17.00 Red Thyme also from Spain has elevated levels of thymol vs. culinary thyme varieties. The price for 16 oz. is $98.00 but remember that using their recipe you only use 1.2% (by volume) to make this concentrate. I'll let others figure out the actual cost for the end user. Keep in mind that with the delivered price for 1 gallon of organic, cold-pressed neem oil @ $85.00 which makes 256 gallons of spray giving you a per-gallon cost of less than $.34 plus the cost of the emulsifier (potassium silicate) and my surfactant of choice, aloe vera extract, which added to the $.34 cost of the neem (or karanja) comes to less than $.50 per gallon. The problem besides the insane price of the SNS products is that once you mix any biopesticide with water the compounds begin to degrade and quickly. This is why Parker India and the academic tome, Neem: A Treatise, recommend that neem oil be mixed no more than 30 minutes prior to application. CC
Ok so we have the west coast and middle of the country covered. Let's see if I can find something for the east coast, Clemson or NC State? http://www.clemson.edu/ipm/ http://ipm.ces.ncsu.edu/
stevebomb I've spent more than a few hours at Clemson's website mainly because of Dr. Senn's work there. I had the chance to visit the garden named in his honor - great school indeed! CC
I was so close to going to Clemson, kinda wished I did. I was choosing between them and another school, and I got into the other school's honors program and didn't get in Clemson's...that made my mind up. It was for engineering and not Ag anyway. C'est la vie
The university ipm extensions are awesome, especially because they will have pest information, trends, and solutions specific to that(your) area. So find your local Ag school and use every resource they provide, imo.