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| My cukes are being decimated with what I think are cucumber beatles and some type of worms. I have used BT and neem oil and this seems to be helping. Has anyone tried to mix the two. The pesticides seems to need to be sprayed about every other day to be effective. Any thoughts?
Tim |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I've not seen it done. It is never a good idea to mix together two substances that chemists won't. |
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- Posted by julianna_il z6 IL (My Page) on Thu, Jul 5, 07 at 16:48
| I tried neem last year on the cuke beetles, without much luck. They killed my whole cuke crop. The cuke beetles haven't yet arrived, but I've set out some trap plants and companion planting to try to ward them off/tempt them to more delicious plants. However, one of my trap plants has been invaded by squash vine borers, something i've never had before and it will probably die. I've been thinking for quite some time about spinosad, which is some kind of fermented something and is considered organice. It's supposed to work on cucumber beetles and not hurt the beneficials. I came to post a thread about this product and see what people think. It's kind of new. So you might be interested in the thread. I agree with Kimmsr, not a good idea to be mixing products. Be careful with the neem...it kills bees and other beneficials. |
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Be careful with the neem...it kills bees and other beneficials. No, neem oil doesn't kill bees. Bee keepers spray their bees with it to control mite infestations. Neem oil only kills insects that eat it when they eat the plant sprayed with it. There are commercial products out there which contain neem plus other things and some may have soap mixed in to make the oil mix with water better and these other substances may kill bees and beneficial bugs, but neem oil does not. |
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- Posted by ronalawn82 z9FL (toulsa@verizon.net) on Sat, Jul 7, 07 at 9:35
| timshaw, neem products are very bitter and dissuade the target from eating. Bt is a bacterial agent which affects the gut of the caterpillars of moths and butterflies ONLY. So we have two products, one of which must be eaten and the other which discourages eating. Add to the mix that one of the targets is the larva of a BEETLE, protected within the stem of the plant. There might be another formulation of Bt which is effective against the larvae of beetles; I just do not know. But just in case you are in any doubt, I certainly would not mix the two products. |
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| Hi all thanks for the responses, Well if todays current crop of cucumber beetles and flea beetles are any clue it doesn't work. The vine borers (? I'm not completly sure thats what they are but they are green wormsand have bored into the cucumbers not just plants) seem to have gotten a bit better. ronalon, your reasoning for not using the two bio insecticides makes perfect sense. But on one point I have to dissagree. Squash vine borers are the pupa of a moth that looks very much like a wasp (been googling this for about a month looking for an organic way to deal with this and no luck so far. But just wait!) Anyway still working on my soil and learning to be patient. Thanks again, Tim |
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- Posted by homegrown_2007 (My Page) on Sat, Jul 7, 07 at 17:58
| Have not mixed neem with BT but have used products with neen and natural pyrethrins I Know this will Kill many Insects Benifacials included but it brakes down quickly and has less of an effect on good bugs than some other pesticides. |
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- Posted by ronalawn82 z9FL (toulsa@verizon.net) on Sun, Jul 8, 07 at 7:24
| timshaw, thanks for reminding me that I sometimes suffer from 'foot in mouth disorder'. The fact sheet from Ohio State University confirms that the squash vine borer is indeed a moth. It does also state that the larva enters the stem near the base within hours after hatching; this requires almost exquisite timing for the application of any product except a systemic. Thanks once more for your response. |
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- Posted by sharecropper calif (My Page) on Sun, Sep 16, 12 at 4:19
| i spray my tomatoes, peppers, basil, kale etc weekly with BT AND Neem oil mixed together in a spray tank. i also use vinegar to ph adjust the solution the the low 6's and a dab of dish soap to use as a surfacant(sp?). use the bt and neem both at full strength but spray only in the evening or dark/cloudy days. if u spray more than once a week with neem oil you will see some burning. use the wand sprayer and get deep into the plant for maximum coverage. to figure out how much solution u need to make first just do a test run with plain water. |
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- Posted by sharecropper calif (My Page) on Sun, Sep 16, 12 at 4:23
| i spray my tomatoes, peppers, basil, kale etc weekly with BT AND Neem oil mixed together in a spray tank. i also use vinegar to ph adjust the solution the the low 6's and a dab of dish soap to use as a surfacant(sp?). use the bt and neem both at full strength but spray only in the evening or dark/cloudy days. if u spray more than once a week with neem oil you will see some burning. use the wand sprayer and get deep into the plant for maximum coverage. to figure out how much solution u need to make first just do a test run with plain water. |
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| People that spray that often, once a week, with anything need to take a good look at their gardening practices to see what they are doing wrong. |
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