I bought some bug clear ultra to rid my whitefly problem as theyre on my peppers tomatos amd my mint sage anf my oregano is now dying.
It says on there thatvit can only be used on listed plants whybcant it be used on my raspberry bush and my herbs when it can be used on apples pears cherriesband peppers etc. Can I just use it on the others and leave the crop eating time longer
Simply put the "label is the law". The plants listed on the product has been tested and deemed safe to use the product on. Anything that is not listed has not been tested.
Most herbs are not listed for any chemicals. There are a couple allowed for basil and onions but most of the other herbs will not be listed.
You can use other methods to control white flies
Isolate the sick plants so they don't keep spreading the problem to other plants
You can get rid of the sickest plants since weak plants will be targeted by pests
Use water to blast off the white fly larvae and eggs. Jet water under the leaves twice a day.
Feed and water the plants to make sure they can get as healthy as you can make them so they can survive
You can use horticultural oils, don't apply on very hot days. If it is in a pot, I mix up a 5 gallon bucket of ultra fine oil spray and water and dunk the plants head first and keep it there about a minute. It guarantees better coverage than just spraying. You will not kill the adults flitting around so you will need to repeat every 3-5 days until they are gone.
Encourage beneficial insects. Lady bug and lacewing larva eat a lot of white flies.
Most herbs are not listed for any chemicals. There are a couple allowed for basil and onions but most of the other herbs will not be listed.
You can use other methods to control white flies
Isolate the sick plants so they don't keep spreading the problem to other plants
You can get rid of the sickest plants since weak plants will be targeted by pests
Use water to blast off the white fly larvae and eggs. Jet water under the leaves twice a day.
Feed and water the plants to make sure they can get as healthy as you can make them so they can survive
You can use horticultural oils, don't apply on very hot days. If it is in a pot, I mix up a 5 gallon bucket of ultra fine oil spray and water and dunk the plants head first and keep it there about a minute. It guarantees better coverage than just spraying. You will not kill the adults flitting around so you will need to repeat every 3-5 days until they are gone.
Encourage beneficial insects. Lady bug and lacewing larva eat a lot of white flies.
Oh dear Ben,
You've just found the mine field.
Any chemical, before its cleared for crops, has to be tested.
This involves damage to Humans, animals, environment etc.
Also safe harvest periods are worked out for the crops involved.
Now...this costs chemical companies a whole load of money. So, if the crop is a minor one they may well not go through the costly trials to make it onto the label with that particular crop.
Also some crops...like the soft fruits ...have no hard skin surface , and may absorb a chemical more than another crop.
To make it even more confusing some chemicals react on different plants in different ways. Crops like the cucumber family can be very delicate.
That's the reason....you use it at your own risk.
You've just found the mine field.
Any chemical, before its cleared for crops, has to be tested.
This involves damage to Humans, animals, environment etc.
Also safe harvest periods are worked out for the crops involved.
Now...this costs chemical companies a whole load of money. So, if the crop is a minor one they may well not go through the costly trials to make it onto the label with that particular crop.
Also some crops...like the soft fruits ...have no hard skin surface , and may absorb a chemical more than another crop.
To make it even more confusing some chemicals react on different plants in different ways. Crops like the cucumber family can be very delicate.
That's the reason....you use it at your own risk.
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pepperhead212
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 2881
- Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:52 pm
- Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b
Bug Clear Ultra is listed as a systemic insecticide, and I would not use anything like that on food crops. Just because they are listed for some food crops simply means that the toxins in the food has reduced to an "acceptable level", after the time they tell you to wait before eating. And the reason they tell you to only use it on the listed crops is because others have not been tested for residual pesticide, or possibly that they have been tested, and it wasn't acceptable!
Still want to use that on everything?
Still want to use that on everything?
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Active ingredient in Bug Clear Ultra is Acetamiprid, which is a neurotoxin poison in the class of neonicotinoids. It is relatively safe for humans and other mammals. But the neonicotinoids as a class have been implicated in the decline of honeybees and have been banned in a number of countries because of that.
But you might be interested in this from Wikipedia:
If you are going to use it, please spray only in the evening after the honeybees have gone home and don't spray on the blossoms bees will be visiting, just on the leaves. And like any poison, it is best used not broadcast over your garden, but targeted to specific areas where the pest is. The more you spray, the more of the beneficial insects that might help control your pest you kill. And the more likely you are to be building up immunities/ resistance in your target pests.
But you might be interested in this from Wikipedia:
"Potential pathways of pesticide action on erectile function – A contributory factor in male infertility". Asian Pacific Journal of Reproduction 4: 322–330. doi:10.1016/j.apjr.2015.07.012.A recent study has implicated acetamiprid as a cause of erectile dysfunction in human males and may be implicated in the problem of declining human fertility, and called into question its safety, particularly where its use may be subject to abuse.
If you are going to use it, please spray only in the evening after the honeybees have gone home and don't spray on the blossoms bees will be visiting, just on the leaves. And like any poison, it is best used not broadcast over your garden, but targeted to specific areas where the pest is. The more you spray, the more of the beneficial insects that might help control your pest you kill. And the more likely you are to be building up immunities/ resistance in your target pests.