Hi all,
This summer seems to be really bad for mosquitoes in my yard and I know that the broms are one of the sources. I have rinsed them out in the past but feel guilty now because of our water situation. Neem oil only lasts till the next good rain and I'm not convinced it works on mosquitoes anyway .I'm trying to avoid any deaths to anything else aside from those bitting buggers , which seem to be the size of dragonflies these days .Someone told me about a granular you put inside??
Any suggestions ??
Best mosquito control for bromiliads ??
In the container you use to water them put one quarter of a "Mosquito dunk" in. Available at most good garden centers. Use that to water. It contains BT which kill the larvae.
I'm up in Tampa - do you not get enough rain nearly every day to flush them out? I haven't noticed any real problems with the mosquitos in my bromeliads. I also have enough lizards and frogs that live in the bromeliads that they tend to keep everything in check. Be careful using the BT as it kills caterpillars meaning any moth or butterfly larva will be killed as well.
Melanie
Hi folks and thanks for responding.
I have 100's of bromiliads in my yard so unfortunately hand watering is not an option.As for the rain?well yes its that time of year but I'm in what I call a "black hole". In the last 2 weeks I've had 1 1/2 good down pours and 2 spits so I have to supplement with the hose. Also have tons of lizards and frogs but they're no match this year for the onslaught.............tons of butterflies also means no poisons so I guess the dunk is out.
With so many homes being foreclosed, there's a real problem with mosquitos due to pools not being maintained, yards and lawns not being mowed, etc. I just slather myself in DEET and sunscreen and so far, so good. Of course, watch out for any other standing sources of water. I keep a tight cover on the rain barrel, and empty any flower pots that have excess water. Some of the members in the organic gardening forum might have some good suggestions - you might want to scan that forum to see if they've discussed this.
The Mosquito Dunk stuff has a bacteria in it, Bacillus thuringiensis, and I think that all the other critters would not even notice its presence.
Here's the product page, with a link to the EPA discussion on the use of BT for mosquito larvae.
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/mosquitoes/larvicides4mosquitoes.htm
This message was edited Aug 11, 2008 11:39 PM
The BT bacteria is what I was referring to as killing all caterpillars. So it doesn't just kill mosquitos; it would also kill beneficial insects like moths and butterflies.
Moths and butterflies do not grow in the bromie cups, but with caterpillars that crawl around and eat their plants of choice. If there are moths or butterflies getting in the cups, I will eat my plant collection.
thank you both for your input .I've done a little more research and of course you can never have enough information on any given subject i always say.............with that being said the product page info that you tried to send analogdog, did not come through on the page. Would you be so kind as to try again? I am absolutely looking for a product that will not adversely effect any beneficial species if at all possible .This is the time of year that anything is worth while trying if you know what I mean....................................thank you all again, and any new info is greatly appreciated
Personally, I feel the same way about beneficial species. And quite frankly to mosquito eating animals, mosquitos are beneficial.
Sorry for the conundrum but that is the world we live in. Walk lightly and make informed decisions.
Neem (or any kind of oil) is not a good thing for Bromeliads, who use the trichome scales of the leaf surfaces for ingesting both water and food. This is too bad since Neem is generally very effective at controlling nasties like scale.
Dave
So what is the answer to scale, and are oil based products bad for ALL bromeliads, or just the geyish ones? I do get scale on some of my broms through the humid summers here, and would like to treat it with something if it gets too bad. I currently remove any by hand, but its not the main season for them yet, so its not too bad. I did spray some plants with a product called eco oil, (about 4 months ago) but haven't seen anything detrimental as yet. I also didn't see any improvement on the scale side of things either! LOL
I am considering tossing the 'scale magnets' out, as they are common types of broms, and not of any great value.
Sue
I wonder if maybe systemics are the answer. Dissolving them in water, and then misting or watering with the systemic for scale and other beasites. I used to use systemics in the 80's on my succulent collection, but I don't know what's available today or if they can be used on bromies or other exotics.
By systemics, do you mean an insecticide that moves through the plants system?
Yep. if I could only think of the name of the systemic I used to use. Argh!
I also have some scale problems. I use a systemic combination of Merit (Imidacloprid) and Acephate and spray everything monthly (so long as it's not edible). I'm not entirely pleased with the results, however. I think these products slow them down, but aren't effective at eradication, at least in the concentrations I employ.
Dave
This message was edited Aug 29, 2008 8:56 PM
What about systemics and oil together, the oil would get the adult and the systemic would get the young ones. This is what I do on my orchids. Just a thought.
As the guy who brought up the systemics, I want to post two links on scale on bromies and their control:
http://bromeliadbiota.ifas.ufl.edu/scale.htm
http://www.teasnursery.com/Bromtext.htm
Hello Awchid, can't use oils on Broms because they have these scales on their leaves that absorb water e.t.c and if coated in oil, the plant may die, hence the dilema!
Thanks for those links Analogdog! I've saved them to my favourites for later research! I have got a bottle of Natrasoap that I haven't used for some time, but now I think I will give that a go for scale. I'm loathe to use the other chemicals for fear of killing all the frogs and spiders that take care of all the other pests in the garden!
On another topic, I bought a Neoregelia 'Jewellery Shop' on ebay tonight! Got it at a good price too! Very stoked!
I'm glad I popped in my two pennies worth because I got a shilling in change. I obviously didn't know about the oil and would have put my broms at risk for sure. :-( I too have saved those links as I need to do a lot more research into their requirements.. Thankyou!
Lesley.