In through the outdoor

[charlesf6]

May be a little premature but I want to be ready to bring my outdoor guys inside before the weather bites without affecting my indoor plants.
Is Bayer 3 in 1 product my best choice to use on them for pest removal to avoid an indoor infestation? Opinions!

[Leafmite]

I have begun bringing the plants inside, too. Because so many of my plants have edible leaves or fruit, I am washing all the leaves of the plants and then spraying them well with Neem Oil. It is not as effective as a good systemic.
If you don't have any 'edibles' than Bayer 3 in 1 is the way to go! Let the systemic dry before you bring the plants inside as it is probably for outdoor use only.

[greenpassion]

Originally Posted by charlesf6

May be a little premature but I want to be ready to bring my outdoor guys inside before the weather bites without affecting my indoor plants.
Is Bayer 3 in 1 product my best choice to use on them for pest removal to avoid an indoor infestation? Opinions!

I've always had good luck with the Bayer 3 in 1. It being a systemic and helps with disease as well as insects is a plus. When I've used it on my indoor plants, I'd just take the plant out to the deck to spray it. I also use Physan 20, but that won't do much for insect issues.

[Dollythehun]

Might be good to spray now, wait two weeks, spray again, and bring them in. That's my plan.

[estación seca]

Many arthropods (insects, 6-legged beasties, and mites, 8-legged beasties) become tolerant to pesticides rapidly. Commercial growers recommend rotating pesticides, and not using the same one all the time. The shorter the generation time, the more rapidly the beasties become tolerant. (I'm looking at you, spider mites.)

When I lived in the Midwest and grew cacti, I did not treat my plants before bringing them in. Most of the other people in the local cactus and succulent society did use pre-emptive fall pesticides. I kept a close eye on my plants in winter, and treated individual plants with rubbing alcohol (isopropanol 70%) for insects, and insecticidal soap or rubbing alcohol for mites. I don't like the idea of poison in my house.

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Many arthropods (insects, 6-legged beasties, and mites, 8-legged beasties) become tolerant to pesticides rapidly. Commercial growers recommend rotating pesticides, and not using the same one all the time. The shorter the generation time, the more rapidly the beasties become tolerant. (I'm looking at you, spider mites.)

And to add to this very good advice, the rotation needs to be done with pesticides of different chemical classes and mode of action. I alternate a local with a systemic and treat with insecticidal soap periodically. I wish I could alternate systemics, but the ones I find all fall into the neonicotinoids, so can't alternate those... Never use neonicotinoids on flowering plants outside, they are highly toxic to pollinators.

I don't like using chemicals on plants that will be indoors either, but some pests are hard to treat otherwise (mealies) so I do my spraying outdoors.

[Dollythehun]

We are finding some pests only respond to neonicotinoids and older generation products. We don't do flowering plants, nor use systemics outdoors. We do use Sunoil, Neem oil and even Listerine. As with any environmental decision, it should be made thoughtfully.

[Ray]

The most common and effective "disinsection" methodology is to treat three times and one week intervals, thoroughly wetting the entire plant and saturating the potting medium each time.

That is an effective way to kill the existing adults, and future generations as they mature, but before they can reproduce. Wait too long between treatments, and they can lay eggs, which are uneffected by most insecticides...