Bayer Rose & Flower Insect Killer

[K-Sci]

I bought some Bayer Rose and Flower insect spray recently that is different - it doesn't include imidacloprid. The product label now claims only 14 days vs. 30 days protection and doesn't claim to be rainproof in 1 hour. Without imidacloprid it no longer has a systemic effect.

I use this Bayer product occasionally for scale because it is so easy to use with one or two plants. I guess I'll have to find something else. The product I purchased a year ago is on the right in the attached photo. The product I received recently is on the left.

-Keith

[Roberta]

Imidacloprid has been removed from pretty much all the sprayable pesticide formulations, due to its very damaging effects on honeybees. (No bees, no crops, no food)

Actually, I think that you can get imidacloprid in a different form, a lawn treatment (Merit) Then you'd have to figure out the correct dilution, probably have to leach it into water, because I think it is incorporated into granules.

[Leafmite]

I just bought the granular 3-in-1 version for the roses. It is systemic for six weeks and has a fungicide and fertilizer as well (It does take about a month to begin working, though, based on experience with roses and other plants. I set an alarm on my phone to apply it again in six weeks so I get steady coverage for the roses). You can buy little bonsai slow-release fertilizer baskets and load them with the granular systemic. Another option is slow release plant spikes with systemic. You break them in half for orchids and put a half on each side of the pot for six inch or eight inch pots of orchids or just a half for the smaller pots of orchids.

[K-Sci]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

I just bought the granular 3-in-1 version for the roses.... You can buy little bonsai slow-release fertilizer baskets and load them with the granular systemic.

Thanks for the tips.

-Keith

[RJSquirrel]

Acephate, imidacloprid and dinotefuran are three commonly used systemic insecticides that are effective against scale. I use acephate marked as Ortho "Orthene" Fire Ant Killer. First Rays sells it also simply marked as 'Acephate.' It stinks.

"If you can stand the smale you wont have any scale "

[Leafmite]

Here is a link to the hazardous substance list for acephate:

https://www.nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb...ts/fs/3140.pdf

I always think it is a good idea to read through them before using the chemical.

I will have to see what they are currently using in the granular rose systemic. The last bottle I bought was for eight weeks but this one is for six weeks....

[K-Sci]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

I just bought the granular 3-in-1 version for the roses.

Leafmite, I'm just getting around to looking into your suggestions. I have the following to pass along.

I had my first encounter with mites last fall and this winter I did a trial application of Bioadvanced Insect disease and mite control containing Imidacloprid (systemic insecticide) 0.47%, Tau-fluvalinate (effective against mites) 0.61%, and the triazole fungicide Tebuconazole 0.65% on one cattleya seedling. Though one plant is far from enough to draw any sort of conclusion, the seedling was defoliated almost died.

Owing to the orchid-fungi symbiotic relationship, I'm very wary of fungicides. I haven't found a trustworthy source stating that triazoles are safe for orchid so I set it aside and haven't used it as a treatment for mites using other treatments for mites in a three application rotation instead.

I'd be interested to know what is in the product you suggest, if others here have been successful treating orchids with triazoles or the Bioadvanced product containing a triazole.

-K

[Leafmite]

Get a passiflora. Mites love them and you can definitely treat that with the systemic. My orchids rarely have issues with pests as each type of pest has a favorite (or group of favorites) in the collection.

Oil also works as it suffocates mites. We used Neem Oil on our fruit trees as an emergent spray to get rid of mites and any other insects that might winter over on the tree. You can buy cold-pressed Neem Oil concentrate and mix according to the instructions (if not on the bottle, you can look online). Olive oil works really well but it needs to be washed off after twelve/sixteen hours which is a pain. Ray does have a Neem product for mites, I believe.

Good luck!

[K-Sci]

Last year I had my first encounter with mites in ~40 years raising orchids - courtesy of Normans Orchids. A phaleanopsis I purchased came with Phalaenopsis Mites (a webless red red mite aka Tenuipalpus pacificus). I noticed the silver scars and pits they produce on the bottom of a leaf when I purchased the plant, but not seeing the very microscopic mites I didn't realize it was an active infection - until it spread to about 25% of my greenhouse orchids. I treated with avimectin followed by azadirachin, which knocked them down, but I want to fully eradicate them now so they don't return with the Mississippi summer's heat.

Ray sells OrganaShield, a sucrose octanoate esters miticide formerly called SucraShield. I don't know how effective it is (most organic treatments are iffy), but I'm going to add it to a 2 rotation regime avimectin -> azadirachin -> eschiton -> sucrose octanoate in an attempt to completely eradicate the mites so they never return. With non-systemic treatments, picking up a couple hundred plants to spray every leaf and stem surface takes a couple hours.

In the last three years I've had a soft scale pop up in the spring on one or two plants. I treated them and those nearby plants with the Bioadvanced Rose and Flower and haven't had the pests return until the next year. I suspect the scale is coming in from outside the greenhouse.

-Keith

[orchidman77]

I managed to find a small bottle of BioAdvanced Rose & Flower Insect Killer on Amazon last year, and it contains 0.025% imidacloprid. Not advocating widespread use, but I did have some scale on a nobilior seedling that I really wanted to live - it took a few applications to wipe the population out.