Smart Shopping
 

Not long ago, I wrote an article about looking at labels and doing some simple math to get the best deal on azadirachtin products. Here is another example.

I was talking to my local pest-control firm about what they use in and around homes, and it was "Alpine". Looking into that, I learned it was a dinetofuran product, which sounded familiar. The most common one sold to hobby orchid growers is Safari. That got me on a little "Google safari" of my own.

• Safari is 20% dinetufuran, and is labeled to be applied at 0.5-1 tsp/gal.
• Alpine is 40%, so the equivalend dosage is 0.25-0.5 tsp/gal.
• Venom is 70%, so only requires 0.14-0.28 tsp/gal.

If we normalize to the lowest (Venom) we see that for equivalent dosages, we would need 1.75x (75% more) Alpine or 3.5X (250% more) Safari.

So of we compare prices for the products and factor in those ratios, we can get the best deal.

1 pound of Venom is $175 ($10.94/oz) from Chemical Warehouse. They also sell Alpine packets are $100/7 ounces ($25/ounce equivalent) and Safari at $135/12 oz ($39.38/ounce equivalent).

So, is Venom safe for orchids? (Suspect so since you posted here on orchid board!) Do you plan to begin using it? Thanks, ROBB

Same active ingredient, so why not?

I am lucky to have very little need of pesticides, but if I get to the point of needing some, I'll do so without hesitation.