DIPEL DUST & RICE LARVAE, TOO

[SantaFePrax]

Hullo folks,
Just want to thank you for warning me about rice larvae. I ordered my 50 lbs of rice and asked if the store could keep it in THEIR freezer (mine is stuffed and only a side one to a refrigerator) for three days. They not only agreed to do it--they knew, of course, all about the problem!

Thank you for referring me to Lehman's--got two 30 gal steel cans with lids for the rice. Also saw "Dipel Dust" on their site to kill Tomato hornworms, plus pretty much every worm and some I never heard of. I bet it's really diatomaceous earth, but doesn't say so. Just says it kills worms biologically.
Any experience with this out there? Thanks again, Felicia

[rainbowgardener]

DiPel is NOT diatomaceous earth. They call it a biological insecticide, but it is some kind of formulation of Bt (which is a bacterium) with other unidentified stuff:

Bacillus thuringiensis, subsp. kurstaki, strain ABTS-351,
fermentation solids and solubles. . . . . . . . . . 54% w/w
Other Ingredients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46% w/w

You can get the Bt separately without all the other stuff. If you are thinking about the DiPel, read the warning label, it's hazardous, says wear respirator, long sleeved shirt, etc etc... The Bt works well without being so hazardous to non caterpillar type living beings.

[SantaFePrax]

Thank you for your quick reply. I was holding off applying it until I heard back from the list!

My package, maker "ferti-loam", does not have any of those warnings--just to use only 1/2 -2 oz per 50 feet...which says a lot.

It says "Buyer assumes all risks of use, storage or handling of this material not in strict accordance with directiions given herewith." And then has no directions about handling....Sigh.

Maybe I can return it. The tins are great! Felicia