Insect growth regulator

[b54red]

I went out the other day to tie up my plants and was very happy to see almost no spider mites. I can't say the same for whiteflies. The whitefly population is much smaller but it is definitely still a problem especially on the smaller young plants.

I treated my plants twice with the IGR and Permethrin and the results are the best I have ever had in controlling spider mites. It does seem to have had a detrimental effect on the whiteflies but they are on so many of the surrounding plants that getting rid of them completely would be next to impossible. I would have to spray all the hedges, trees, and flower beds in the neighborhood to thin them down and then more would just blow in with the wind. I'm sure the spider mites must arrive the same way but it seems they can't recover as fast. I will definitely try it again next year if I have a problem with them again.

[sfmathews]

Just now going back and re-reading this thread, as the little SOB's have already reared their heads.
I sprayed today with the Take Down spray Raybo recommended, but will also try some IGR's this year too.

[Suze]

Yeah, I am already seeing some mite activity too. Think it's going to be another bad year for spider mites here in Texas.

[b54red]

Suze I hate to see you are already seeing spider mites so soon. We saw mites unusually early last year; but we had very dry weather starting in April. We are having regular showers every few days so maybe they will stay away for a while.

I only got my first tomatoes in the ground on the 7th so they are still very small. I guess I should at least start spraying with Daconil but it seems pointless with rain so frequent.

[sfmathews]

Bill, how much of the IGR are you mixing into your permethrin mixture? The bottle of IGR is only 2 ounces and I would like an idea of how much to use, since at $8.00 a bottle, it's not cheap.
Thanks!
Susan

[desertlzbn]

I would like to chime in, I have been using Neemix 4.5 which is an organic IGR the active ingredient is neem derived azadirachtin. I have been doing once a week sprayings, and have seen a reduction of white flys, still some on the plants, but a reduction in numbers. I battle mealy bugs every year, I am hoping by using this product I can eliminate them entirely.

It was very expensive, $140 a quart, but you only use 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon to a gallon of water I hope it works

[b54red]

Originally Posted by sfmathews

Bill, how much of the IGR are you mixing into your permethrin mixture? The bottle of IGR is only 2 ounces and I would like an idea of how much to use, since at $8.00 a bottle, it's not cheap.
Thanks!
Susan

The recommendation on the brand I use is one ounce to a gallon of water or water and permethrin. I bought a four ounce container for 16 dollars so I guess I'm paying about the same as you. Most places around here only sell the one ounce bottles and they are priced from 6 to 8 dollars.

I only used it twice last year and had great results with the mites and it reduced the whiteflies. We had that dry weather last year for an exceedingly long time and that just aggravated the problem with spider mites. I was finding myself spraying at least once a week with all kinds of sprays and they just continued to get worse til I used the IGR with a bit of permethrin and some dishwashing soap. About 10 days later there were still a fair number of mites so I repeated the spraying and after that had no more problems.
I think the second spraying was needed because you just can't get them all with one spraying. The soap is necessary to penetrate the little webbing they have under the leaves. I found if I didn't use some soap in whatever mixture of poison it would have very little effect so I figured it was necessary with the IGR.

[sfmathews]

Thanks for the info. I will look for a larger sized bottle next time I hit the farm and garden store. Those buggers have come on hard and fast this year.