Bacillus Thuringiensis added to Soil? Question

alindg

Member
Hello, I am new to this forum. I have a problem with thrips and I have ordered Pyrethrum to fight off the infestation. I have also sprayed Neem oil. I am waiting for my spinosad spray which I ordered as well. I am currently feeding the plants with neem oil added to the water. However, my questions is since BT can be found in soil naturally, can it be added to water for feeding the soil to fight off the insects which burrow inside the soil? Any help is greatly appreciated!
 

Stink Bug

Well-Known Member
I use mosquito dunks in my rain barrel. Or you can even crush them up and mix into your medium. Cheap form of BTI. Which is effective on many soil/water dwelling larvae.
 

psychedelicdaddi

Well-Known Member
i have been doing it for a few months and it seems to work on the flying pest. i follow the recipe on the bottle more or less. i started just using a tablespoon or two per gallon of water. I also applied a layer of sand on the soil to reduce eggs from successfully hatching. Works very well. I try to add the BT to each watering but skip it occasionally if everything looks good.
 

alindg

Member
thanks guys. I ran a test on 2 plants with 1 tsp bt added to 1gal water, but I will increase to 1tbsp for the other plants. I am in 4th week of flowering now and I am pretty desperate to get rid of these thrips because they are causing some of my flowers pistils to darken early.
 

chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
yes, Microbe Lift is a newer one and is a miracle. however.....I've been introduced to white flies which seem to flourish now that everything else is dead go figure.....thats how it works outside too....
white flies easy to kill, easier than those frikken lizard thrips
 

natureboygrower

Well-Known Member
yes, Microbe Lift is a newer one and is a miracle. however.....I've been introduced to white flies which seem to flourish now that everything else is dead go figure.....thats how it works outside too....
white flies easy to kill, easier than those frikken lizard thrips
which one are you using,chem? it looks like the company has a whole line of products
 

greg nr

Well-Known Member
I use a liquid bt product. 1 drop per gallon. Works great, at least on fungus gnats. That was the final ingrediant in my ipm regime. Prior to the bt, I could keep the gnat numbers down but they were always there. Not any more.
 

DonBrennon

Well-Known Member
which one are you using,chem? it looks like the company has a whole line of products
I also need to apply BT to my soil, but I'm scared........................am I gonna kill a load of springtails and other 'benny's'? I've got a case of fungus gnat so extreme that the nematodes are too expensive to deal with it. Love to hear your opinionbongsmilie
 

alindg

Member
greg nr, how much is 1 drop? Someone else said 1 tbsp per gallon. Just to clarify, I have the Monterey BT liquid.
 

chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
which one are you using,chem? it looks like the company has a whole line of products
Ecological Labs AEL20037 Microbe Lift Mosquito Control Aquarium Treatment
one drop per gallon.
just like @greg nr I could keep gnat 3's down but never to zero. the less gnats I had the more thrips, then ^ and all gnats and thrips were gone quickly, but here come the white flies.....they must eat microbe lift I'm guessing.....lol

springtails seem to survive all of my assaults over the years, including my best and recent microbelift no worries
 

chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
I didnt even get a dropper. I tip the bottle till a thick drop falls out. sometimes five come out and I dont even give a shit
 

Chunky Stool

Well-Known Member
I didnt even get a dropper. I tip the bottle till a thick drop falls out. sometimes five come out and I dont even give a shit
The tip on my bottle kept getting clogged. Eventually I just broke out a drill & made the hole bigger.
Has anyone tried gnat nix? It looks like crushed growstone.
 
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