The silver bullet for outdoor insect pest control

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
Imidacloprid, the active ingredient in such pesticides as Admire-Pro and Merit (as well as animal flea collars) should be a standard soil treatment, a one time drench for outdoor growers, it is systemic. It is extremely low toxic to mammals but highly toxic to many insects by interfering with normal nerve impulses. For example, it only takes 10 ppb (that's right, BILLION) to kill a sharpshooter and also acts as a repellent. The product I use, Admire-Pro, is labeled for use for about every kind of edible including tobacco. Merit is much cheaper (although labeled for ornamentals but the same thing) is about $45 for 2 oz, which will last forever.

Happy gardening,
UB
 

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
this is great for me i'm looking for a product for my tomatoes im fighting stink bugs
Good timing considering I just went to an AgriLife pest management seminar and they were brought up. Very little will control stinkbugs aka the grey leaf footed bugs. For starts, you need to get them when they are in their red juvenile stage. Sevin will control them. Use Sevin XLR if you can find it. Once they get grey colored and hard bodied, start massing up and screwing with your maters, it's too late.

Check the Imidacloprid labels though and see if there is any control for them bastards. This site has all labels - http://www.cdms.net/

Happy gardening,
UB
 

dirrtyd

Well-Known Member
Are these products obtainable locally or are they special order? Thanks in advance for your help. Also would it be good to use these prior to setting the gurls outside?
 

HelplessHydro

Active Member
Can I just put this stuff in my reservoir? It is 10 gallons, aero. 1.47% concentration imidacloprid Green Light Tree and Shrub. If so, how much would you recommend? By the way, much respect UB, I've always found your posts to be helpful and accurate.
 

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
Can I just put this stuff in my reservoir? It is 10 gallons, aero. 1.47% concentration imidacloprid Green Light Tree and Shrub. If so, how much would you recommend? By the way, much respect UB, I've always found your posts to be helpful and accurate.
Dont' know. I'd use a form that can be foliar sprayed. Provado comes to mind. My thread was designed for outdoor growers.

Stay bug free!
 

dannyboy602

Well-Known Member
It's early spring here in Philly. I'm injecting Merit into the ground for ornamentals for landscape applications.
Stuff works for about a year. Ditto everything UB said. Merit is unstable in water. It attaches to organic matter in the
Soil and is absorbed systemically. It is toxic to fish and other invertebrates. The LD50 level for humans and other mammals is pretty high. It used to be made by Bayer but the patent is up and is cheaper than a couple years ago. I'm using a product now called LADA
Which has the same active ingredient. It can and does make mite populations higher in the landscape and does not work on arachnids like spider mites. For mites I use a miticide. I also use Hort oil on mites. If you can get them while they're young it is very effective. I have success with Safer Soaps for mites also. (Potassium Salts of fatty acids)
There are beneficial insects that are typically killed off when using Merit and one should never use Merit where there are Bees foraging for food as it is lethal. There are good mites that do feed on bad mites and I would love to see a thread started about beneficials used in grow situations without the use of petro chemicals. Maybe I'll even start one.
 

dannyboy602

Well-Known Member
I forgot to mention.....if Merit works for you and it did get rid of the mites on your outdooor or indoor grow, I would love to know.
I look at you ppl here on riu as a kind of study group. I also share things I learn here with other landscape professionals...the ones who smoke that is.
 

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
Without looking at the label, I don't think Imidacloprid will kill mites. Regarding being toxic to bees, the jury is still out on that one. It's been rumored by the French that it's toxic when indeed it may be a case of colony decline, a virus. I use a soil drench of Admire-Pro but it's usually after my grape vines have bloomed.

UB
 

dannyboy602

Well-Known Member
Colony Collapse Disorder is a syndrome that many entomologists believe is caused by several factors including pesticides in their environment. I'll contact Penn State agricultural extension and see if anyone can shed some light.
I do like using the stuff though. Mixed at 4:1 it looks a little like Ovaltine...yum. If I couldn't get it from work for free I don't know
where I could get it....I also want to do a controlled study to see if in fact Merit does work on spider mites.
Another thing to put on my to do list.
 

DrGreenthumb333

Well-Known Member
Awesome info man!! Its always nice to learn more about pest control and it sounds like you kno your stuff, where can i buy those products??

+rep
 

DrGreenthumb333

Well-Known Member
Are you the same uncle ben that had a thread on topping years ago? "Uncle Ben's Guide To Topping" i was a member a while back and that was an awesome thread man it changed my view on topping and training weed plants, its helped me to harvest big yeilds indoors and out, just lettin you kno it was awesome man and is much appriciated.

much ++rep budd :)
 

dirrtyd

Well-Known Member
Walmart and Home Depot have products with the active ingredient that UB mentions. You will need to actually read the labels but they are out there.l dirrtyd
 

SCARHOLE

Well-Known Member
Anyone know the dosage per gallon of this stuff?
How do you Use it?


Directions talk about amont per rows?
Webs site suked also....

 
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