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Baby powder vs. bugs.

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 11:40 am
by TomatoNut95
So I heard from my mother that one of her friends told her to put baby powder on her peas to stop the bugs. Has anybody else heard of that or tried it? I'd like to try it myself, but first I'd like to know if the ingredients in baby powder would be any more or less harmful to the plants than Sevin Dust. I mean I know baby powder isn't poison, I've just never heard of it being used for gardening. It probably wouldn't have worked on that big fat hornworm on my tomato plant this morning. :evil:

Re: Baby powder vs. bugs.

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 3:05 pm
by Vanisle_BC
Galina wrote:
Wed Jul 08, 2020 12:49 pm
Oh yeah you can try it.. & see a result
Did that with babies - no problems discovered (some of them are already near retirement age). Aphids etc. could be different; plants too - YMMV.

Re: Baby powder vs. bugs.

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 3:14 pm
by applestar
Baby powder ... there are different thoughts on toxicity
- dust inhalation by itself
- there have been some Reports of talc contaminated / insufficiently tested/regulated for contaminants like asbestos and I believe arsenic — both naturally occurring in varying concentrations in talc. There have been recalls in the past
- fragrance - this is critically problematic for me with my chemical sensitivity, but regardless, some of the floral scents can attract some insects — often cited as attractive to wasps and bees.... I find similarly scented (baby shampoo) useful for fruitfly and fungus gnat traps

Some baby powder are made with cornstarch. Less harmful ingredients (may be frangranced); cornstarch is said to be useful Against ants and slugs for example... or was that cornMEAL?

...my Mommy generation (children in teens and tweens) — there was a HUGE outcry against using baby powder and I opted not to use any. My own 80+ mother swears by it and Still uses it for whatever.


...more recently, I have been making home made natural bath bombs, toilet bowl cleaners and sink and stove scouring powder with cornstarch, baking soda, and citric acid ... but that wasn’t the question :>

Re: Baby powder vs. bugs.

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:25 pm
by TomatoNut95
applestar wrote:
Wed Jul 08, 2020 3:14 pm



...more recently, I have been making home made natural bath bombs, toilet bowl cleaners and sink and stove scouring powder with cornstarch, baking soda, and citric acid ... but that wasn’t the question :>
Okay, now you've got me interested in this. What's your recipe? :-()