Eradicating cockroaches

[dendro king]

Hey I have a huge roach problem, they live in all the pots and love chewing root tips and buds!! Grrrr! how do I get rid of them, is there something I can flush down the pot to kill them?
Thanks. Jack

[RJSquirrel]

You got fire ants down under?

What do you use to kill them with?

If its acephate or Orthoboric acid it will work on your orchids with no harm to the plants.

Its sold in the USA as 'Amdro Fire Ant Killer" Orthene

If you can find the equivalent there down under your roaches are all dead meat

It also kills most other orchids pest from scale, mealy bugs and aphids. It is well known to those who own orchid greenhouses to be safe.

Boric acid was dumped over Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after its meltdown to prevent another reaction from occurring. Boric acid even keeps nuclear fission down. Whats a cockroach!!!

[dendro king]

Originally Posted by RJSquirrel

You got fire ants down under?

What do you use to kill them with?

If its acephate or Orthoboric acid it will work on your orchids with no harm to the plants.

Its sold in the USA as 'Amdro Fire Ant Killer" Orthene

If you can find the equivalent there down under your roaches are all dead meat

It also kills most other orchids pest from scale, mealy bugs and aphids. It is well known to those who own orchid greenhouses to be safe.

Boric acid was dumped over Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after its meltdown to prevent another reaction from occurring. Boric acid even keeps nuclear fission down. Whats a cockroach!!!

,we do have fire ants but we don't kill them because they don't bother us... So do u think I could just mix that in water and flush the plants with it??

[lepetitmartien]

Save a cockroach isn't nuclear, for now… (hope never but…). And I'm not sure the capacities of borate to capture neutrons is the thing at charge when dealing with cockroaches.

Trouble with Boric acid (and its multiple names) is that it's practically forbidden in France… >_< (for some good reasons, some less good) But they make great sweets for roaches.

Now the sweets are not the right thing to put in a wet environment. (nor to eat either)

[RJSquirrel]

thats what I do with it and a tbsp of dish soap n make a spray out of it. I just dont know what you kill fire ants with down under..as leptit says some places have banned the use of it.

If you can get Amdro down there you got it made!!

Its considered safe in the usa but we play with guns and call them safe too...

AMDRO® : Home

[dendro king]

Thanks for the help

[Baz in Oz]

Spraying plants and roots with pyrethrum also shows them who is the boss.

Baz

[Beachboy]

Dendrobiums don't like acidity as far as I know so using Boric powder on potted plants would concern me.

I have a very slow growing Avril's Gold that is pushing out one new cane. yesterday I found the growth tip chewed. Is it a cockroach? Is it a rodent. Don't know but the tip was left as if it was unpalatable. I spray with carbyrl. I have set cockroach traps around the garden in dark places just this last week.

Baz, I am going to spray pyrethrum around on plants on pot, under pot - as you suggested.

[Baz in Oz]

BB, I have been using pyrethrum very successfully and allegedly it kills anything that sucks or chews in the insect world. I have been adding the pyrethrum when I fertilize with no ill affects.

Never had problems with rodents although rats use my shade house as a dining hall to chew the macadamias they steal from the farm behind me.

Baz

[Beachboy]

Baz,

Thanks for the tip. My orchids are grown outside in Melbourne, unfortunately no room for anything as grand as a shade house in my small backyard.

Have already begun spraying with pyrethrum but it is relatively hot so will do most in a few days. Put some Talon out for rats/mice.

BB