Hi ..
Just came across this website (in all ikelihood I am way behind the times) .. however .. it's really quite extensive and informative.
Ever since CYGON was taken off the market I have been looking for a systemic treatment for our weeping birch .. Bayer has one :-)
Enjoy
~*M*~
http://www.bayeradvanced.com/
A great website
I see that .. but I have ordered gardening stuff from the US before and picked up at the CDN/US border .. plus I have some relates living in Wisconsin who come over quite often .. I just thought that there was some products on the site that folks might like to know about .. as well .. the site itself is a good read :-)
~*M*~
So, do we have a comparable product here in Canada? Something like a systemic?
:(((((
I ditto the frown .. and KICK myself in the butt for not stocking up on Cygon when I heard the whisperings that it may be pulled ..
Ahh well .. a trip to Minnesota isn't a bad thing .. :-)
~*M*~
You ever stop and think why you need a pesticide license for this? With the recent loss of bee's due to CCD is there not some other approach you can take? Whats the matter with the weeping birch? Sorry but I had a indoor plant company in Calgary for 10 years one of my employess had major health problems from working in a nursery that used chemicals on a daily basis. Chemical answers to a natural problem would be my VERY last resort. With the border being what it is today, whose to say that if they go looking they will not confiscate...........
I only need it once, to get rid of the stupid mealies on my Hibiscus trees....it's been a year and the alcohol just isn't working!!!!!!
You can spray with diluted liquid seaweed. Not really an affordable solution. Here's a much more affordable solution. Dilute milk at a rate of 3 ounces per gallon and spray that on your plants every 2 weeks. I dilute it even more. What I do is when I finish a container of milk, or when my girls finish their cereal in the morning, I rinse the container or bowl with water and pour it into a spray bottle. This is essentially free organic "insecticide."
The way these materials work is that they promote and feed the beneficial microbes living outside the plant on the leaf and stem surfaces. Research has shown that there are between 10 and 20 layers of microbes living there - right in the full sun! When these microbes are well fed with protein and carbohydrates (not to mention minerals and vitamins), they will help the plant to protect itself. In essence, the sucking insects seem to avoid these healthier plants. If you use the same materials or others such as ordinary corn meal, flour, soy bean meal, used coffee grounds (another free source), or other ground up nuts, beans, and seeds, on the surface of the soil at a rate of one heaping handful scattered under each plant every month, then your plants will be on their way to resisting all of the normal pests we have. Scatter these materials well so you don't get piles of the stuff. If you get piles they will stink when wet. Good organic materials and practices are not stinky - and they don't have to be expensive or a hassle to use.
Here MQN: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/472403/
I noticed last year that it moved into Medicine Hat as well since the weeping birch there are either in the process of dying or being chopped down (dead).
Thanks for the link Lilypon I did not realize that this was a wide spread problem, 3 gardeners was talking about mealy bugs - guess it threw me.
The only one that I know is still healthy is at our now sold farm @ Broadview. It was planted near the homestead and there aren't any other birch trees near it. It didn't get watered often so I'm positive the problem was/is insect related.
The problem here n Thunder Bay is "Birch Leaf Miner" .. and they get
'on board' through the roots and are TENACIOUS .. the cygon kept them at bay .. now .. I not only have that worry .. but .. FLICKERS boring into it as well :-(
Will post a pic soon ..
~*M*~
Why don't you ask someone who is specialised in taking care of trees? They might have the licence and could apply the product for you, wearing safety equipment. I know it would be more expensive but if you have a nice full grown tree, it might be worth it. Or you could ask your nursery if they can do it for you.
I am currently working in a nursery and must tell you that this product is very dangerous, one of the most toxic that I use for very specific pests. I do not treat the birch and my boss even tell to the customer that they better not buy a birch because of these two bugs they would not be able to control.
Here are some biological options if your tree isn't too big.
http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/birch-leaf-miner.html
http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/community/ecoaction/fp-pf/page.asp?lang=en&ID=NT-14001
http://www.ipmofalaska.com/files/leafminers.html
NIC might help you, you should ask them if they cary the specific wasp for the birch leaf miner
http://www.naturalinsectcontrol.com/catalogue/getsub.cgi?Leaf%20Miner%20Controls
Good luck
Nathalie
Thanks Nathalie ..
Am planning on asking around (again) at some of the local nurseries for their preventitive products ..
The websites you posted are just AWESOME and full of info .. thanks so much !!
So far my Birch looks OK .. only time will tell .. I water it daily .. sometimes twice a day as there has been very little rainfall here .. going to fertilize it soon too.
Good stuff :-)
~*M*~
I have something else to ask this all-knowing group of DGers.
Have been offered the residue from sunflower seeds. A local health food bakery here buys organic hulled sunflower seeds. They roast and then somehow use only the kernels in their baking. Secret process to remove kernels from their covering. What they are offering is a meal type of item. I'm quite happy to use plant residue but not on my iris or lilies. Has anybody ever heard of this kind of left over from sunflower seeds? I'm leery about it.........
Ginny
M.......just a note! Do you know of the Avon product, "Skinsosoft" Hunters and fisherman alike spray this on themselves to keep the Mosquites at bay....so I figured, if they can fight off those biters, why can't a mild solution keep away critters??? Firstly I applied a mild solution in a spray bottle on my tropicals to rid them of aphids, particularly the Orchid Cactus and it worked....the greenhouse smells of a spa, but who cares...it works, and I, as you all know, do not apply any chemicals in my garden..all organic! E.....By the way, I left the plants for a couple of days, and then sprayed with water, and not a problem since!! Elaine
Probably a dumb question, but by "hulled" do you mean they have the hulls on, or off? I thought the seeds inside the hulls WERE the kernels,but maybe I've got it all wrong.
Anyhow, if you're talking about using the hulls of sunflower seeds, I do know that they are alleopathic (cause a chemical reaction that retards the growth of other plants)--if you feed them to birds that scatter the hulls below the feeder, you might have noticed that even weeds don't like to grow there.
Rosemary