INSECTICIDES - Orchid Board

dounoharm · #1 04-11-2014, 10:36 AM

I give up, but really folks, why ask how to eradicate insects if you don't want to hear the answer?

Orchid Whisperer · #2 04-11-2014, 11:50 AM

Sound and sane advice - thanks!

Vanda lover · #3 04-11-2014, 12:35 PM

I usually use home remedies for a few reasons. One is for safety for our pets. Another is that the big guns are difficult to find here. Every time I have looked, all the stores ever have is Safers. They are trying to encourage people not to use dangerous pesticides. If I ever find some, I will enclose the plant in a plastic bag and spray. I have mealy bug and scale and I am sick of them! I have been getting good results with rhubarb leaf, dish soap and alcohol spray, as long as I stick with it.

dounoharm · #4 04-11-2014, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vanda lover

I usually use home remedies for a few reasons. One is for safety for our pets. Another is that the big guns are difficult to find here. Every time I have looked, all the stores ever have is Safers. They are trying to encourage people not to use dangerous pesticides. If I ever find some, I will enclose the plant in a plastic bag and spray. I have mealy bug and scale and I am sick of them! I have been getting good results with rhubarb leaf, dish soap and alcohol spray, as long as I stick with it.

I rest my case.....if you still have them after treating, you aren't killing them....good results? hmmm....hey, its your choice, but note: PESTICIDES ARE SAFE IF USED PROPERLY....and yes, they are safe around animals, just don't pour it in their water or food, or spray the pet with it....FOLLOW DIRECTIONS!

lepetitmartien · #5 04-11-2014, 01:53 PM

Neonicotinoids are co-factors of Parkinson disease (french/belgian study, 2013).

A lot of pesticides are carcinogenous (simple: the list of those forbidden + a few reserved to professionals in Europe)

Yeah, safe. How safe is a product that should be used with a total protection combi, a gas mask and gloves?

(if you don't, you're potentially in deep s…tuff)

Sometimes, yes, they are to be used, seriously, in safe conditions, but no, they are *not* safe.

Vanda lover · #6 04-11-2014, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lepetitmartien

Neonicotinoids are co-factors of Parkinson disease (french/belgian study, 2013).

A lot of pesticides are carcinogenous (simple: the list of those forbidden + a few reserved to professionals in Europe)

Yeah, safe. How safe is a product that should be used with a total protection combi, a gas mask and gloves?

(if you don't, you're potentially in deep s…tuff)

Sometimes, yes, they are to be used, seriously, in safe conditions, but no, they are *not* safe.

I agree with you completely. I hate to use anything like that. I admit that I would use the big guns with caution, that is if I find any. I have read that if you close the plant in a bag and spray, then leave it overnight, it can help to get rid of the ones in the medium too.

dounoharm · #7 04-11-2014, 02:20 PM

I am not advising ANYONE to ingest or apply insecticide to your skin....I do highly recommend that anyone using incecticide to use gloves and whatever protective clothing necessary. please do follow directions...the choice of whether to use chemicals INCLUDING COMMON BLEACH is up to the individual....you can get very sick using bleach if YOU DONT FOLLOW DIRECTIONS...drinking bleach can be highly toxic....so can drinking insecticidal soap or even alcohol..if you want to kill an infestation, you will have to use systemic insecticide....I merely laid out the facts of using such products....if you don't want to use them, that's fine...but don't tell me they aren't safe WHEN APPLIED CORRECTLY ACCORDING TO DIRECTIONS! these chemicals are highly regulated, and sold for home use with APPLICABLE INSTRUCTIONS....you don't have problems if you follow directions.... that's the key you know....can you follow directions? if not, stick with soap....

RandomGemini · #8 04-11-2014, 02:21 PM

I'd just pitch the medium and start over anyway, because that makes the most sense to me. I'm not against using insecticides at all, I would just prefer to keep their use to an absolute minimum. These things do kill bugs. If they kill bugs, they are not harmless.

"Safe" is a relative term. What one person deems to be "safe", someone else views as dangerous and the argument of what is safe or not when it comes to choosing to use any synthetic chemicals is a slippery slope. Everyone is going to have their own opinion and scientific evidence to back up either position, is available in abundance.

I think the thing to do, is to be smart about what you choose to use. If you're going to use insecticides, do it outside. Don't do it inside your house. Make sure to use gloves and protect yourself from overspray. Avoid inhaling the fumes and be careful.

If you are having to use insecticides more frequently than once or twice a year, then some other action is probably in order... like tossing the plants in question and starting over, or using home remedies as a means of control.

Vanda lover · #9 04-11-2014, 03:42 PM

The trouble with pitching the medium is that it isn't always the right time to transplant, and you can go through a hell of a lot of medium if you have a lot of orchids.

RandomGemini · #10 04-11-2014, 04:11 PM

I do have a relatively small collection, I think I have around 30 plants. Where I'm at... I would pitch the medium.

If I were in a green house situation, I would probably have a completely different approach for those plants.

Everyone should do what works for them in their circumstances. For mine, pitching the medium in the garbage isn't a problem. I could repot all of my plants with maybe two of the big bags of phal bark that I buy.