Insecticide / Miticide for Brugmansia

[Widdups]

Having found no newsgroups for ornamental plants, agriculture chemicals, or
house plants, I hope someone here can provide some advice. I have a few
houseplants (Brugmansia hybrids) under attack from spider mites. The best
treatment I have found for spider mites is a miticide called Avid. However,
Avid is only sold in large quantities for large amounts of money ($300 US
per container). But I note from reading the Lable and MSDS online
(something more people should do) that the active ingredient in Avid is
abamectin. When searching for abamectin on the internet, I find that it is
chemically very similar to ivermectin, differing only by a double bond vs
single bond in one location. For a chemical diagram see
http://www.alanwood.net/pesticides/abamectin.html and
http://www.alanwood.net/pesticides/ivermectin.html Now ivermectin is
readily available in smaller quantities from the local veterinarian where it
is used to control internal and external parasites in livestock. I use it
for pets too, a practice that is very effective against flea outbreaks, but
off lable. So I plan on aquiring 1.5 ml of Ivomec injectible from my vet,
adding an emusifier (likely a ml or 2 of the premium ag chemical surfactant
blend Merge by BASF) and bringing the volume up to 1 litre with RO water.
This mixture will have an active ingredient level between the lable rates
given for Avid. I can then pour into hand sprayer and apply in accordance
with the Avid lable.

Any comments in regards to my idea would be greatly appreciated.

-Joe

[Widdups]

That is most interesting. Could you please tell me what product you use,
what is in it and how it is applied. I have tried a commercial
insecticidial soap with the last outbreak of spider mites that I had. The
product I used promptly yellowed all of the leaves and caused a great deal
of leaf drop. It was also not particularly effective. My insecticidal soap
is 2% potassium salts of fatty acids sold under the brand "Safers" Natural.
After that last outbreak and the problems that I had with the soap, I
promptly brought out the nasty chemicals, in this case dimethoate (Cygon or
Lygon). Cygon is slightly phytotoxic at levels high enough to kill spider
mites, but at least it works well. I am seeking a less phytotoxic solution.
Perhaps I did something wrong when using the soap or I should try another
brand.

-Joe

"escapee" <get...@thebestplace2be.org> wrote in message
news:vlu660pqng6fmvmfo...@4ax.com...
> Or, you can do as I do, someone who collects brugmansia, grows for sale to
the
> trade, brugmansia, and is always in a stage of propagation of brugmansia,
and
> use insectidical soap as directed.
>
>
> On Thu, 25 Mar 2004 17:07:11 -0600, "Widdups" <jwi...@sk.sympatico.ca>
opined:

[Widdups]

Update:

Fortunalty the ivermectin is in a solution that facilitates its dispersion
in water. Ivermectin by itself is a non polar compound and does not
disperse or dissolve in water. Merge cannot be used as a surfactant /
solvent mix because it causes the Ivomec injectible fluid to coagulate.
Perhaps it contains an incompatible adjuvunct or preservative agent.

As of yet the spray does not appear to be phytotoxic. I have sprayed a few
leaves with no measured ill effect on the plant yet. In a few more days, I
will try to spray the whole plant to test the effectiveness of the chemical
against the spider mites.

-Joe

"Widdups" <jwi...@sk.sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:1066okd...@corp.supernews.com...

[quest]

Interesting, if it works, and doesn't kill the brugs.
Avid is also sold in 8 oz containers for $99, if you look up Avid and 8
ounce. It's used 4 drops to a 32 oz sprayer (average spray window cleaner
bottle) and will last a very long time. I went ahead and bought it, since
mites all but destroyed my dozens of roses before they attempted the
greenhouse coup.
It was to late for the roses, but it cleared them out of the GH without
damage to the brug babies, and I'll soon mix up a gallon batch for all the
outdoor roses. Good luck with the ivermectin experiment, and please let us
know what comes of it.

"Widdups" <jwi...@sk.sympatico.ca> wrote in message

news:10678ip...@corp.supernews.com...

[Widdups]

Yet a further update...

The ivermectin spray solution does not appear to by phytotoxic as I have
sprayed it on my brug and the other plants that were in contact with it
including a phylodendron and umbrella plant. Sorry I do not know the latin
for those or even if I spelled them right. Anyway, the mites appear to be
no more and my brug which had lost many leaves to mite damage and Cygon
spraying (before I thought to use ivomectin) is leafing out again.

A very effective solution to my mite problems for $3. If you try this at
home remember to spray a few leaves first to test phytotoxicity, and of
course insecticides are poisonous so take some basic precautions. This
spray is less poisonous that some organic sprays out there and less than
most conventional insecticides without the nasty smell, so I think it will
become a important part of my IPM (Integrated Pest Management) program.

Joe

"quest" <flo...@charter.com> wrote in message
news:106drvv...@corp.supernews.com...

[panamajuice]

Hello Joe,

I'm interested in using Ivermectin in my garden. You said you did not
need anything to make it water soluble?, You just mixed 1.5mL of
Ivermectin with a liter of RO water?.

Is the Ivermectin you used 2%?

Thanks