I am a chemist. What I really like to do is to figure out the smallest, most effective dose of any chemical, be it water with a drop of soap, or, if forced, look at applying a more "targeted" weapon to achieve my objective. Since my greenhouse has a resident toad, several anoles, some geckos and a host of spiders (among others), I really hesitate to walk in there "armed" with much more than my eyes and my soapy water....or some neem oil if someone's needin' a breathin' treatment. I think as a responsible steward, I have to keep in mind the impact of my actions on my surroundings ...including the use of fertilizers. Being thoughtful and training myself to a "less is better" mindset has been really effective for my collection, thus far. I just can't put the toad or his crew at risk...they live in there. And, toad eats the roaches....I really hate them!!
Anyhoo, I'm gettin off the box, now!
We all need to be more informed about which are the good bugs and which are the bad bugs. I know I am guilty of choosing the quick fix and blasting the entire orchid house with Orthene. In the process we kill everything and don't allow natural control. About 3 years ago when I was having a lot of trouble with the "Pink Hibiscus Mealy Bug" I contacted the county agent. They said they had released a wasp predator to try to control the mealy and asked me not to use pesticides, but instead to use systemic agents like Bayer Systemic. The wasp lays its eggs inside the mealy (disgusting!) and slowly devours it. 
I just realized I am bad about getting rid of wasp nests, too. 
Yikes! I am part of the problem, not the solution! 
I see the parallel here to overuse of antibiotics and the creation of so called "super bugs." We could be creating "super mealies" with the overuse use of pesticides. 
Linear Mode
