organic gardening...fighting the bugs!

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Re: organic gardening...fighting the bugs!
« Reply #30 on: May 21, 2009, 05:14:13 PM » by ladyhen

Quote from: lovingmomof2 on May 21, 2009, 04:05:25 PM

I have tried corn meal with no luck several times. I was out looking at my sunflowers and noticed that they are covered in fireants. I think I am going to go to the store and get the most toxic fire ant killer I can find, we just won't be able to play in our sunflower house, but at least if we bump into a flower we won't get eaten alive either.

I have to admit that I have resorted to poisoning ants out of desperation myself a couple of times. Sad

We were real impressed with a product called "Amdro". It looks like crumbled corn flakes and is quite toxic. (We lost half of our flock of laying hens once when they were let out by a child unaware of the danger.) You sprinkle it on the ground (it gives the amount needed in the directions) and they take it underground where it is consumed and kills off the entire hill.

I like that it didn't leave a residue on the surface where my children, pets, and the remainder of my hens would have contact with it.

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Re: organic gardening...fighting the bugs!
« Reply #31 on: May 21, 2009, 06:11:21 PM » by Whiterock

There are organic ant poisons you can buy. We sometimes use one and it works great every time.

WR

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Re: organic gardening...fighting the bugs!
« Reply #32 on: May 22, 2009, 10:31:08 AM » by mhoward1999

Quote from: Whiterock on May 21, 2009, 06:11:21 PM

There are organic ant poisons you can buy. We sometimes use one and it works great every time.

WR

Which one do you use?

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Re: organic gardening...fighting the bugs!
« Reply #33 on: May 23, 2009, 06:45:22 PM » by Whiterock

Quote from: mhoward1999 on May 22, 2009, 10:31:08 AM

Quote from: Whiterock on May 21, 2009, 06:11:21 PM

There are organic ant poisons you can buy. We sometimes use one and it works great every time.

WR

Which one do you use?

We use Green Light Fire Ant Control w/Conserve, but there are lots of them out there. DE works on ants, the orange oil and molasses, talked about earlier in this thread, works (it just takes a few applications), and there are name brand organic ant killers.

WR

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Re: organic gardening...fighting the bugs!
« Reply #34 on: May 25, 2009, 03:14:06 PM » by mhoward1999

Quote from: Whiterock on May 23, 2009, 06:45:22 PM

Quote from: mhoward1999 on May 22, 2009, 10:31:08 AM

Quote from: Whiterock on May 21, 2009, 06:11:21 PM

There are organic ant poisons you can buy. We sometimes use one and it works great every time.

WR

Which one do you use?

Thanks! I'll be watching for that product.

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Re: organic gardening...fighting the bugs!
« Reply #35 on: May 28, 2009, 09:39:25 PM » by orcuttranch

Has anyone ever tried making their own organic bug spray for the garden? I've heard of stuff like garlic and onions and hot peppers blended up, strained in a spray bottle. Has anyone tried these remedies and what are the results?

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Re: organic gardening...fighting the bugs!
« Reply #36 on: May 29, 2009, 01:35:25 PM » by orcuttranch

Never mind - I found some good information under the gardening tips thread.

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Re: organic gardening...fighting the bugs!
« Reply #37 on: July 29, 2009, 07:24:18 PM » by orcuttranch

I need some advice. I have white flies on my green beans. I don't want them to spread. So I read that I can make a really strong tea out of eucalyptus leaves and spray that on the plants to get rid of any white flies. The problem is that the site I was reading didn't differentiate between plants you look at and plants that you eat. We have tons of eucalyptus right in our backyard. So I made the tea. But then I got to thinking - I don't think we're supposed to take eucalyptus internally, right? So then would it not be safe to spray my green beans with it either because then we would be eating the eucalyptus spray? Anybody know?

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Re: organic gardening...fighting the bugs!
« Reply #38 on: July 30, 2009, 04:23:06 PM » by orcuttranch

Quote from: orcuttranch on July 29, 2009, 07:24:18 PM

Bump - Any thoughts? I really need to do something.

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Re: organic gardening...fighting the bugs!
« Reply #39 on: July 31, 2009, 07:54:04 AM » by Mama Sita

Quote from: orcuttranch on July 30, 2009, 04:23:06 PM

Quote from: orcuttranch on July 29, 2009, 07:24:18 PM

Bump - Any thoughts? I really need to do something.

I did some research on the net and several sites seem to indicate that eucalyptus oil is safe internally in very small amounts, and always diluted. I'm not sure I would use eucalyptus--the oil from this plant is very strong, and you might not be able to wash it off your beans once you pick them.

Another thought--I might try a little different approach. I would spray your eucalyptus tea right on the ground underneath the bean plants, not directly on them. The fragance of the eucalyptus radiating up to the plants might just be enough to get rid of your little guests. I dunno, just thinkin', I guess.

Just a little FYI, my dad just recently had a total invasion of his squash plants with squash bugs. We are not fortunate enough to have eucalyptus growing up here in the cold north, but he did have some food grade hydrogen peroxide handy, which he diluted and sprayed liberally all over his squash plants. Voila! THAT did the trick! The little buggers were gone AND his squash plants literally took off--they are big, beautiful plants now growing like crazy!!! I'm gonna try that too.....

Don't know if you can get any of this H2O2, but it's great stuff.

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Re: organic gardening...fighting the bugs!
« Reply #40 on: July 31, 2009, 12:27:46 PM » by orcuttranch

Quote from: Mama Sita on July 31, 2009, 07:54:04 AM

Quote from: orcuttranch on July 30, 2009, 04:23:06 PM

Quote from: orcuttranch on July 29, 2009, 07:24:18 PM

Just a little FYI, my dad just recently had a total invasion of his squash plants with squash bugs. We are not fortunate enough to have eucalyptus growing up here in the cold north, but he did have some food grade hydrogen peroxide handy, which he diluted and sprayed liberally all over his squash plants. Voila! THAT did the trick! The little buggers were gone AND his squash plants literally took off--they are big, beautiful plants now growing like crazy!!! I'm gonna try that too.....

Don't know if you can get any of this H2O2, but it's great stuff.

Thanks a ton! My other option was going to be a garlic spray, too but I kept hearing that the garlic is really to keep pests away, not stop them once they're there. I didn't even know there was a food grade hydrogen peroxide. Do you know where he got it? I would definitely give that a try!

And I don't know about the fortunate part of having eucalyptus growing in my backyard. It is really messy and makes the soil very acidic. I am having problems with my garden right now. I tested the soil and nitrogen was off the charts and potasium and calcium were very low. The landscapers that are working right now said that the eucalyptus is not good for the soil (except for my asparagus. It is doing great and apparently loves nitrogen Cheesy

). Maybe though I haven't learned how to fully appreciate all the benefits I could get from having the euc in my yard? I'll have to research even more on what it is good for. But I don't think I could get my own oil out of it. It seems like the distilling process is complicated.

« Last Edit: July 31, 2009, 12:32:58 PM by orcuttranch »
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