Sorry to bother you all but can you help me? - Page 4

beachedwalrus · July 31, 2015

b54Red i am currently doing the same experiment with DE and having the same results. Found 2 slow moving mites on 20 leaves, 100's dead. I also notice the DE goes orange coloured on some parts of my most affected bushes, not sure if this is dead mites causing this... Also i did a neem+soap spray before dusting them off. I will let you know how it goes as i am also interested how others go with this.

Gerardo · July 31, 2015

The new growth without DE has insect activity on it, but very little compared to before the applications. It does become sort of a no man's (or rather insect's) land. The only guys who roam around the new growth with little to no ill effects are green winged aphids.

They always seem to be in movement; when they see me they react and sort of freeze or move to the other side of whatever it is they're on (leaf, stem, flower); and fly away when I try to nab 'em with my ham hands. Neem time. All other insects are out for the count.

I have a 2yo JapBkTrif plant that was completely infested with mites. After 3 DE treatments, plus Neem/BT, it's turned the corner and producing again.

My peppers really appreciate the DE treatment too.

I'm a convert, but kind of bummed it whacks everyone.

luigiwu · July 31, 2015

Does it hurt Bees?

b54red · July 31, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by luigiwu

Does it hurt Bees?

I don't know but since I sprayed with DE I haven't seen a single one. Of course I haven't seen but a few since the 100 degree days with no rain started nearly a monyh ago. I hope it doesn't harm my bees which have really started to come back the last couple of years.

Bill

Gerardo · July 31, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by luigiwu

Does it hurt Bees?

Not quite sure either, but I have seen quite a few and some butterflies, and the rest of the pollinators still roaming around the garden. I attribute it to my citrus trees not being sprayed with DE.

But yeah, when I see 'em brushing up on the DE coated parts I figure they have a bad night a comin'.

b54red · July 31, 2015

I spent the morning cutting all the dying and dead leaves and stems off my plants due to spider mites in one bed. What I ended up with was a bunch of long stems with a few leaves at the top and totally exposed fruit. I didn't feel I had much choice since the leaves were drying up anyway and I thought it might be a good idea to remove as much as possible where the spider mites were the worst in order to reduce their numbers and their eggs. I still don't know if the DE is really working on them since I only sprayed it a week ago but it hasn't stopped them from spreading. Hopefully I can get the plants sprayed again. I'm beginning to wonder if adding some Permethrin to the mix might help.

Bill

beachedwalrus · August 2, 2015

The DE takes a while to work, i think 3-4 days to dehydrate the mite, probably shorter for young mites. The issue is that you have to deal with all of the mites that come from the eggs DE won't kill until they are hatched. I am finding DE is working, but for the more infected plant i soaked with neem+horitcultural soap then dusted DE back on to it. That really reduced the numbers of living, but the damage is still showing up over a week and a half after i nuked them 3 times. The reason for this is that the damage has already been done (even though you can't see it) but now the plant is shedding those old damaged leaves off.

I did a test plant (Capsicum) about 4 weeks ago with only DE, it was covered in mites. Now the plant is quite damaged but is finally putting out new growth that isn't damaged. Not a mite in sight, so it could just be a fact that DE takes some time before it does the job.

b54red · August 4, 2015

I think cutting off all the really bad looking leaves made a big difference because by removing it I also removed millions of mite eggs that otherwise would have produced more mites for me to deal with. It looks like the second spraying on the more defoliated plants is working and the new growth is looking good but I think to be safe I will spray all the new growth tomorrow. The DE even killed a horn worm. I found him dried up on some foliage he was munching.

I'm not even getting as much sun scald as I thought I would with all those fruits in the bald open sun. I think the DE may act as a bit of a sunscreen. That is the only thing I can think of that would have stopped them from scalding.

Bill

beachedwalrus · August 9, 2015

It is really hard to work out if the mite is dead or just sitting there feeding. All the ones moving are doing so at a much slower speed after putting the DE on, but even after 3 weeks there are still live ones moving. It looks like it slows them down but hasn't fully eradicated them. Unfortunately i think i had them in plague proportions before i worked out that they were on my bushes. I am just going to keep this experiment going, hopefully it can stop the breeding cycle over time.

b54red · August 10, 2015

I think the DE is really working now. I think it takes a far higher concentration of DE in water than one tablespoon to the gallon. The last two times I sprayed I used 3/4 of a cup of DE in two gallons of water with a healthy dose of dish washing soap. I had to mix it in a gallon jug and filter it first to make sure it was well mixed and there were no clumps. The first time I sprayed I used only two to three tablespoons to the gallon and it helped but still they continued to move further up the plant. The next time I used a lot more and they were almost completely stopped. After two days with enough rain to wash off a lot of the DE I went out this morning and sprayed again with about a half cup of DE per gallon.

One thing I have really noticed besides the lack of insect activity is the fact that foliage diseases are not showing up much at all. I wonder if stopping all the insect activity is also stopping the spread of foliage diseases. It has been nearly three weeks since I sprayed with any fungicide or the bleach spray and despite a shower every few days and super high heat and humidity I am seeing no new disease on the plants. They do look a little funny with the ghostly layer of white on them but I can certainly live with that.

Bill

beachedwalrus · August 10, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by b54red

I think the DE is really working now. I think it takes a far higher concentration of DE in water than one tablespoon to the gallon. The last two times I sprayed I used 3/4 of a cup of DE in two gallons of water with a healthy dose of dish washing soap. I had to mix it in a gallon jug and filter it first to make sure it was well mixed and there were no clumps. The first time I sprayed I used only two to three tablespoons to the gallon and it helped but still they continued to move further up the plant. The next time I used a lot more and they were almost completely stopped. After two days with enough rain to wash off a lot of the DE I went out this morning and sprayed again with about a half cup of DE per gallon.

Bill

What type of sprayer do use after mixing it? Just a pressure sprayer? I actually want to try applying it with soap as currently i do it by throwing it on at the moment, which wastes alot of it. I also clump it up under the main stem in the pot.

Gerardo · August 10, 2015

It stopped my mite attack dead in its tracks, but I went to the much higher concentration, closer to Bill's cup per 2 gallons. And indeed, I've noticed it myself too: the more pronounced the ghostly look, the lesser the disease pressures (septoria, fungal, even EB seems to be lessened). Who knows what the mechanism is, but I'll take it.

beachedwalrus · August 10, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerardo

It stopped my mite attack dead in its tracks, but I went to the much higher concentration, closer to Bill's cup per 2 gallons. And indeed, I've noticed it myself too: the more pronounced the ghostly look, the lesser the disease pressures (septoria, fungal, even EB seems to be lessened). Who knows what the mechanism is, but I'll take it.

It is quite economical too, much cheaper then buying all the different preventative sprays. Do you use soap in your mix gerardo? And do you use a pressure sprayer to apply it? I want to give it a go tonight!

Gerardo · August 10, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by beachedwalrus

It is quite economical too, much cheaper then buying all the different preventative sprays. Do you use soap in your mix gerardo? And do you use a pressure sprayer to apply it? I want to give it a go tonight!

I use this: http://amzn.com/B00PZ9KJ8Y

The only modification is that I added a small filter to the intake so as to avoid any clumps; got it from a retired sprayer. And yes, I add a few drops of dish soap.

I agree, best bang for the buck, and it helps around the household too. I used the leftover mix to spray my dogs' living quarters and everywhere they hang out. It's done a great job in that setting too, reduced the tick pressure dramatically.

Make sure to mix it well in a separate container and then go into your dispensation unit. I did it all in the sprayer once and I didn't mix it adequately. The result was the same spray effect as when I used the chalky Daconil for the 1st time. Washes off easily, no big deal.

Good luck tonight.

beachedwalrus · August 11, 2015

Did the spray this afternoon took some leaves in to dry. The trees do not look like they are coated in DE but upon microscope inspection you can see the tiny diatoms all over the surface of the leaf. Actually hard to see but i assume that is all that is needed. The soap wipes out a whole bunch of them and the DE is there to kill any young mites that hatch before they turn to adults. Hopefully this works!

July 31, 2015	#48
luigiwu Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: ny Posts: 1,219	Does it hurt Bees? __________________ Subirrigated Container gardening (RGGS) in NY, Zone 7!

July 31, 2015	#46
beachedwalrus Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Australia Posts: 11	b54Red i am currently doing the same experiment with DE and having the same results. Found 2 slow moving mites on 20 leaves, 100's dead. I also notice the DE goes orange coloured on some parts of my most affected bushes, not sure if this is dead mites causing this... Also i did a neem+soap spray before dusting them off. I will let you know how it goes as i am also interested how others go with this.

July 31, 2015	#47
Gerardo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Diego-Tijuana Posts: 2,594	The new growth without DE has insect activity on it, but very little compared to before the applications. It does become sort of a no man's (or rather insect's) land. The only guys who roam around the new growth with little to no ill effects are green winged aphids. They always seem to be in movement; when they see me they react and sort of freeze or move to the other side of whatever it is they're on (leaf, stem, flower); and fly away when I try to nab 'em with my ham hands. Neem time. All other insects are out for the count. I have a 2yo JapBkTrif plant that was completely infested with mites. After 3 DE treatments, plus Neem/BT, it's turned the corner and producing again. My peppers really appreciate the DE treatment too. I'm a convert, but kind of bummed it whacks everyone.

July 31, 2015	#51
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I spent the morning cutting all the dying and dead leaves and stems off my plants due to spider mites in one bed. What I ended up with was a bunch of long stems with a few leaves at the top and totally exposed fruit. I didn't feel I had much choice since the leaves were drying up anyway and I thought it might be a good idea to remove as much as possible where the spider mites were the worst in order to reduce their numbers and their eggs. I still don't know if the DE is really working on them since I only sprayed it a week ago but it hasn't stopped them from spreading. Hopefully I can get the plants sprayed again. I'm beginning to wonder if adding some Permethrin to the mix might help. Bill

August 2, 2015	#52
beachedwalrus Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Australia Posts: 11	The DE takes a while to work, i think 3-4 days to dehydrate the mite, probably shorter for young mites. The issue is that you have to deal with all of the mites that come from the eggs DE won't kill until they are hatched. I am finding DE is working, but for the more infected plant i soaked with neem+horitcultural soap then dusted DE back on to it. That really reduced the numbers of living, but the damage is still showing up over a week and a half after i nuked them 3 times. The reason for this is that the damage has already been done (even though you can't see it) but now the plant is shedding those old damaged leaves off. I did a test plant (Capsicum) about 4 weeks ago with only DE, it was covered in mites. Now the plant is quite damaged but is finally putting out new growth that isn't damaged. Not a mite in sight, so it could just be a fact that DE takes some time before it does the job.

August 4, 2015	#53
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I think cutting off all the really bad looking leaves made a big difference because by removing it I also removed millions of mite eggs that otherwise would have produced more mites for me to deal with. It looks like the second spraying on the more defoliated plants is working and the new growth is looking good but I think to be safe I will spray all the new growth tomorrow. The DE even killed a horn worm. I found him dried up on some foliage he was munching. I'm not even getting as much sun scald as I thought I would with all those fruits in the bald open sun. I think the DE may act as a bit of a sunscreen. That is the only thing I can think of that would have stopped them from scalding. Bill

August 9, 2015	#54
beachedwalrus Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Australia Posts: 11	It is really hard to work out if the mite is dead or just sitting there feeding. All the ones moving are doing so at a much slower speed after putting the DE on, but even after 3 weeks there are still live ones moving. It looks like it slows them down but hasn't fully eradicated them. Unfortunately i think i had them in plague proportions before i worked out that they were on my bushes. I am just going to keep this experiment going, hopefully it can stop the breeding cycle over time.

August 10, 2015	#55
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I think the DE is really working now. I think it takes a far higher concentration of DE in water than one tablespoon to the gallon. The last two times I sprayed I used 3/4 of a cup of DE in two gallons of water with a healthy dose of dish washing soap. I had to mix it in a gallon jug and filter it first to make sure it was well mixed and there were no clumps. The first time I sprayed I used only two to three tablespoons to the gallon and it helped but still they continued to move further up the plant. The next time I used a lot more and they were almost completely stopped. After two days with enough rain to wash off a lot of the DE I went out this morning and sprayed again with about a half cup of DE per gallon. One thing I have really noticed besides the lack of insect activity is the fact that foliage diseases are not showing up much at all. I wonder if stopping all the insect activity is also stopping the spread of foliage diseases. It has been nearly three weeks since I sprayed with any fungicide or the bleach spray and despite a shower every few days and super high heat and humidity I am seeing no new disease on the plants. They do look a little funny with the ghostly layer of white on them but I can certainly live with that. Bill

August 11, 2015	#60
beachedwalrus Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Australia Posts: 11	Did the spray this afternoon took some leaves in to dry. The trees do not look like they are coated in DE but upon microscope inspection you can see the tiny diatoms all over the surface of the leaf. Actually hard to see but i assume that is all that is needed. The soap wipes out a whole bunch of them and the DE is there to kill any young mites that hatch before they turn to adults. Hopefully this works!