I stumbled on this thread in the Roses Forum.. We can't spray it on brugs, but I am gonna use it for thrips all around the yard and dust the soil under my brugs too. Thought someone could benefit from this info. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/763303/
I ordered the dust and the personal repellent spray.. we will see! Hey.. it smells good, it's good for the soil.. sounds like a win/win situation to me.. any input?
Cedar Bug Repellent
Wonder if the essential oil would be of use. Years ago I sold essential oils and cedar was part of the line. Mostly sold that to manufacturers and antique dealers who wanted a nice smell on their merchandise. Pennyroyal was one of our best sellers. It, along with citronella, rosemary and eucalyptus, is used as a flea repellent ( note: essential oils are natural but that doesn't mean non-toxic, especially to cats..care is needed in using any of this stuff).
Some health food stores carry small vials of essential oils if someone wanted to try it for a few bucks before buying a larger amount from the company above.
Or you can get it in all grades in 55 gallon drums (that is what we bought):
http://www.texarome.com/price_list_wholesale.htm
Texarome also sells by the ounce, several ounces, quart etc. Click on "For quantities less than 1 drum . . ."
An ounce is under $3. An ounce or two of essential oil goes a loooong way....a drop or two will scent a cedar chest.
This message was edited Aug 25, 2007 3:02 AM
This spring I planted some of my citrus and other plants in large cedar tubs that dh and I made. Those trees are not as affected by pests as the ones that are nearby and are in plastic pots still. I dont know if it is coincidence or not but I plan to put the rest in cedar as well. I also have used cedar shavings in my potting soil in the past and it did seem to help. The only bad thing was that it would compact down after a while so I think I would do larger chunks next time. Cedar is a little on the acidic side so it really worked great for the citrus, banana shrubs (Michelia skinnera), gardenias etc.)
that is very interesting ...I have seen cedar chips for sale...perhaps that is what they are for.........good thinking!...we also store our treasured books and papers in cedar trunks and ...nothing gets them in there....no silverfish or bugs of any kind. :) I suppose you could sink "normal" ...pots into cedar containers of some kind ...if there was any worry about toxicity re plants. :)
Interesting topic. Cedarwood oil has several active ingredients. National Institutes of Health paper below reports that cedar shavings and cedar compounds are effective in killing Indian moths, Forage mites and Peanut Trash bugs (never heard of them). Also reduces the hatchability of German cockroaches:
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/Chem_Background/ExSumPdf/cedarwood_oil.pdf
Thank you for your input everyone! I thought this was interesting and I love the smell of Cedar, so hey.. I'm tryin it! Sure made my compost smell good and no more flies! That's a big selling point to me!