Any interest in splitting a miticide purchase?

Controlling pests of bamboo

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ShmuBamboo
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Any interest in splitting a miticide purchase?

Post by ShmuBamboo »

Looking at Amazon prices, Floramite is really spendy, and there is enough Floramite in a quart to mix up over 750 gallons of spray. More than I need in my lifetime. If you spray for mites you want to rotate their diet, so I am also looking at Avid (or rather the generic for Avid that is about half the price). I do not have mites here, but I do not want them and I want to beef up my anti-mite quarantine spraying from just using ag oil.

Figuring out the costs buying a quart of Floramite and a quart of generic Avid and splitting it 8 ways the cost would be roughly: $275 + $125 = $400. $400/8 = $50 per person, for 4 oz of Floramite and 4 oz. of Avid. Shipping would be about $6 and plastic bottles would be about $2 each, for a total of $60 per person. This would be enough for about 96 gallons of mixed spray of each, Floramite and Avid. Floramite is rated for bamboo and bamboo mites, and Avid is used by many bamboo nurseries for bamboo mites in the US west. They are both considered "effective."

So any interest in this? They sell these both on Ebay for about $32 an ounce. The mix rate I am using here is for 1/4 tps. of miticide per gallon of water. No shipping to Canada it seems (the only worldwide exclusion).
Last edited by ShmuBamboo on Sun Oct 21, 2012 5:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Tarzanus
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Re: Any interest in splitting a miticide purchase?

Post by Tarzanus »

I've bought insecticide that is often used to fight fleas that fall off dog or cat and lurk around the house. With it, you spray all exposed parts of the apartment to kill the vermin (flies, mosquitos, fleas, aphids, mites, roaches, ants,...).

I diluted it in water to a half strength solution and sprayed it over aphid infested plant. I tried to determine if plant shows any damage when exposed to solution. In a couple of hours all the aphids were dead and there was no damage on any of the leaves. In more than a week, there's still no damage and no aphids :D .

100 g of concentrated solution contains:

tetramethrinum 13,4 g
permethrinum 6,7 g
piperonyl butoxide 67,9 g

I tried spraying it on bamboo seedling as well and it grows normally. It seems it's cheap, safe and effective. :)

When fighting mites and other insects, MAKE SURE you don't kill bees and never use insecticides near ponds, or any kind of water!
ShmuBamboo
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Re: Any interest in splitting a miticide purchase?

Post by ShmuBamboo »

I chose Floramite for several reasons, and because of it's unique mode of action and highly selective activity, Floramite SC does not harm predaceous mites and beneficial insects or bees. It is also specifically listed for using on bamboo and for killing bamboo mites. This makes Floramite SC ideal for use for bamboo mite infestations. Avid will also kill aphids, thrips and whiteflies, and is very effective for killing bamboo mites. Abamectin, the active ingredient in Avid is highly toxic to bees, fish and aquatic invertebrates. However, Abamectin is not very soluble in water and is bound rapidly by soils, so it does not tend to get into surface or ground water and it breaks down rather rapidly.

As for your formula being "safe"? I would argue to the contrary. You have to be careful what to spray indoors for fleas if you have cats and what you spray outside on your bamboos.

Tetramethrin is highly toxic to bees, fish, amphibians, and aquatic invertebrates (EPA). Tetramethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid and in the US it cannot be used on agricultural or food crops. Pyrethrins and synthetic pyrethrins like these are toxic for house cats. I have a cat, so I do not use this stuff.

Permethrin is highly toxic to honeybees, as well as other beneficial insects, and is toxic to many marine and aquatic species. This is another synthetic pyrethrin and is also highly toxic to house cats. It is commonly used in dog spot flea treatments, but not for cats, and that is why you should never put a dog flea product on a cat.

Piperonyl butoxide is used with other pesticides and insecticides as it is disrupts insect metabolism, but it is not considered a pesticide when used by itself. It has to be applied carefully around water sources to avoid contamination, as it is highly toxic to many aquatic organisms and amphibians (ie. frogs).
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Tarzanus
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Re: Any interest in splitting a miticide purchase?

Post by Tarzanus »

It is not meant to be used on any animal. You can spray the floor with it in places where fleas can hide and breed. It is toxic and I've never even used it against anything, except aphids on non flowering plant. By "safe" I only meant it's not toxic to the treated plant, it is highly toxic to all insects as well as some larger animals.

As I said before, this was merely a test if it's toxic to plants and I never intend to use it outside. I have a pond with an army of frogs each year, dragonflies and many other beneficial insects that would die because of direct or indirect effect of such insecticides. In case I have severe indoor mite infestation on bamboo I may use it on affected plants. I tried at least five BIO non-poisonous acaricides last year and they didn't help much. Luckily we don't have much mite related problems outside. Ladybugs and other predators do better job than any commercial insecticide. :)
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