To Use or Not To Use Bug Poisons?

[BillFold]

Hey gang. I have seen a lot of posts this afternoon from people trying to deal with spider mites, white flies,
aphids and all the rest of those little creatures. My 1st grow I had so many white flies I thought of giving up
and starting over. I was only using Sticky Yellow pads hung inside my text(3x3x5). They loved it, but they just
wouldn't stop. They literally filled the 3 pads I had hanging in there.

So since I was using seeds found in a Bag and really didn't care(I was using them as a learning tool only) how they
turned out I decided to try using an over the counter Home Pest Control spray. But I did NOT spray the plants. In fact I have yet to put anything directly ON the plants.

Instead, and since I have a Tent, before I put in my new plants inside this time I scrubbed out the tent with soap
and water, and then sprayed the floor with a coat of the Bug spray. Then I sprayed on the top of the tent, not too
much, but enough to give it a light coating, and I applied it to the sides near any Intake Vents.

Then I lightly washed the flooring with just a bit of water on paper towels and started my new plants. Now I have
NO bugs, perhaps a dozen white flies on my 2 sticky pads combined, and no other bugs have come anywhere near those plants, or they did crawl around up top and they are now surely-dead.

Nobody wants to smoke weed with poison on them, obviously. But if you are using a Tent (which I highly recommend as they are very affordable, and they truly work) then you can still spray around the tent, on top of it and even Inside(as long as you use it sparingly and then do a light wipe up afterwards if you put it on your floor inside the tent), and on top(3 or 4 sprays is all it takes) and especially near the vents? NEVER on the plants themselves!

Now what I want to know from the Master Growers around here is, good idea OR bad?

Thanks Folks!

(Below, my girls yesterday, 2 weeks into flowering stage... seeds are Early Girl OG )

 

[BeanTownFan420]

Check out our sponsor @Sierra Natural Science

 

[BillFold]

Check out our sponsor @Sierra Natural Science

I was following the suggestion of a grower, and it worked nicely. I did see the Science product. Should I not mention other
pest treatments I have used? Do I have to refer only to those products that are sponsored? I didn't post any links. Very curious. I will change the wording so that it doesn't mention any particular name. Is that alright?

 

[BeanTownFan420]

I think your ok we just try to promote our sponsors as much as we can and limit how often we refer to non sponsored products but some us still use them we all have our own style of doing things.

 

[013]

This is all fine but generally speaking critters don’t enter your garden by crawling their way into your tent. They enter your garden by being drawn to the smell of wet soil and flying in, or thru your soil mix or as hitchhikers on the gardener and / or household pets. Outdoor activities such as yard work or walking your dog can cause pests to infest your indoor garden

I can assure you that no one here likes to spray their plants, however most of our pesticide sprays are all natural. Neem oil comes from crushed Neem seed. Spinosad is an isolate from sugar cane production, pyrethrin is from crushed chrysanthemums and SNS sprays use botanical oils as main ingredient.

I would rather use one of these above named products sprayed directly on my plants as opposed to spraying a Bayer insect product around the perimeter, near the vents or inside the tent. Anytime you spray anything in your tent - you can be confident that spray was atomized and the aerosols did in fact come into contact with your plant. However that’s why the large majority of us use the above mentioned sprays and not a regular off the shelf pest killing product, plus we use a bud washing technique immediately upon harvest and before beginning the cure & dry process. Even for an indoor garden you would be amazed at how much junk comes off of a plant and is retained in that first bucket of bud wash water.

 

[BillFold]

Well, you said "This is all fine but generally speaking critters don’t enter your garden by crawling their way into your tent."

Our home is built in a development that used to be a swamp. 8 square blocks, and all of us have the same problems with pests, especially this time of year. The first crop I had I found several "Earwigs" under the trays my pots were in. "Earwigs" have been a constant household pest since we moved in 14 years ago. Everyone in the neighborhood knows the earwigs well. We also get other little creatures, especially spiders that get in thru the old well piping room and along the foundation. Unless I replace the foundation, it's just the way it is. Try as I have we can never keep them all out of our basement all of the time.

As I said in my post, I sprayed mostly outside, but also inside my tent and then I wiped the inside down, especially the floor, to just leave a film on the floor. THEN I put my plants in there(the next day I believe), and that was before they even germinated. So while I am aware that there are fine products that sponsor this site, at the time I didn't have either the money or the time to send away. So I used what I had on hand, and it has worked beautifully. I was cautious, I used it sparingly and none of it got on the plants. I also flipped my catch trays so that no water could collect at the bottom, which is what draws the little devils ino the tent anyway. Next time I may well try one of the sponsors brands, but it's too late for this crop.

I already have Neem oil ready for next time, and you can rest assured I will wash down the tent before then, as I did last time even though I used no pest control measures at all that time.

 

[BillFold]

Well, you said "This is all fine but generally speaking critters don’t enter your garden by crawling their way into your tent."

Our home is built in a development that used to be a swamp. 8 square blocks, and all of us have the same problems with pests, especially this time of year. The first crop I had I found several "Earwigs" under the trays my pots were in. "Earwigs" have been a constant household pest since we moved in 14 years ago. Everyone in the neighborhood knows the earwigs well. We also get other little creatures, especially spiders that get in thru the old well piping room and along the foundation. Unless I replace the foundation, it's just the way it is. Try as I have we can never keep them all out of our basement all of the time.

As I said in my post, I sprayed mostly outside, but also inside my tent and then I wiped the inside down, especially the floor, to just leave a film on the floor. THEN I put my plants in there(the next day I believe), and that was before they even germinated. So while I am aware that there are fine products that sponsor this site, at the time I didn't have either the money or the time to send away. So I used what I had on hand, and it has worked beautifully. I was cautious, I used it sparingly and none of it got on the plants. I also flipped my catch trays so that no water could collect at the bottom, which is what draws the little devils ino the tent anyway. Next time I may well try one of the sponsors brands, but it's too late for this crop.

I already have Neem oil ready for next time, and you can rest assured I will wash down the tent before then, as I did last time even though I used no pest control measures at all that time.

OH, and I also bought a small(3 in) magnifier-glass(with a zoom function and it's own LED) so I could keep an eye on the buds as they develop, just in case. That's also why I got the Neem oil several weeks ago). I haven't had to use it yet. I am using th glass however, like a researcher, so I can find any bug that may get on those girls. I use it daily and when harvest time is right, I'll use it even more.

 

[013]

Cool did not know about existing bug problems in your locale, but that’s fantastic - sounds like you are well prepared!

 

[BillFold]

OH, and I also bought a small(3 in) magnifier-glass(with a zoom function and it's own LED) so I could keep an eye on the buds as they develop, just in case. That's also why I got the Neem oil several weeks ago). I haven't had to use it yet. I am using th glass however, like a researcher, so I can find any bug that may get on those girls. I use it daily and when harvest time is right, I'll use it even more.

Thanks, but if it weren't for all the help I got on these pages I may not have been so well prepared as I was. I weighed using that crap first. But it was here I couldn't spend any more money. I really did use a lot of caution with it, and especially near where the plants would be, except for the floor. I don't even use anything but organic "Grub" control in my potato garden, and I don't even use Dust on my Tomato plants so I am constantly fighting aphids. I only use a peppermint and citronella based spray. Works fair, until it rains. Probably why I don't get very good crops of Tomatoes though. The ones I do get taste righteous, that's for sure. Taters will grow in a pile of pure horse dung. Frankly they don't care where they grow as long as there is enough Potassium and water in the dirt ... and no grub worms. Damn things put little bore holes all over those taters. Next time I will be changing a few things, but for now they is what they is.

 

[013]

One of my buddies does lazy man potatoes, he will turn plow a patch in fall then when it’s time to plant he drops eye cuts in the furrows and covers with a few scoops of well aged mulch with kubota tractor. I‘ve never tried it this way but he swears his harvests are easy peas. IIRC he scoops into soil with front bucket then dumps it out and sifts thru a little dirt to get the mother-load. Sounds better than pitchfork or potatoes rake

 

[BillFold]

I live in the upper Midwest and it's getting damn cold out here. Wish I had a small tractor. Maybe someday. But if you rake all your leaves onto the potato crop at least a foot deep or more, you can then harvest all winter long. The leaves keep the ground from freezing hard. This past spring when I tilled I got about half a box-load of potatoes from the fall before, all reds, and all just terrific tasting. The flesh gets very deep white as compared to the store bought. We have three boxes left now from my harvest in late August, all about the size of a baseball excerpt for the little punks. Got about half a bushel of those too and I love those little ones. We use apple boxes, with the holes in them? Then just keep them in a colder dark corner of the basement(up on a shelf) They stay really good all winter. The clay soil here won't grow a "Big" crop(of anything), but I went to the extension service at the University and they found that I needed lime and potassium(Potash), so I dumped some in and they went crazy this past summer. The vegitation was 2 ft tall in a couple weeks. My potato garden is 30ftx3ft. Makes it a lot easier to harvest, and this old boy's back likes EASY! Next year I have to let the garden go fallow for a year to help prevent any fungus. Just like the potato famine... that crap will get you if you just keep growing them in the same place for more than 3 crops in a row. OK, there's my potato lecture for this year.

 

[013]

You know yourself that everyone used to have their own garden, chickens, hogs etc. Americans have gotten away from raising their own food supply. Yes agree with you - I don’t have the ability for much physical labor, so easy is king in my book! Ah thanks for sharing potato famine info, we move garden crops around too but never heard it explained that way. I mostly do few rows of corn, tomatoes, green beans etc and a few fruit trees but mostly fresh or frozen and steering away from canning. I do like the concept of canning but that’s lot of work and I’m building a emergency food stockpile anyway so a case of canned veggies each month for storage is cheap enough at Costco or Sams

 

[BillFold]

Indeed, we too have been stocking up since last summer a little here and there, but when this virus thing wasn't half as bad. But even with the cupboards full, and then some, but I can still wander around looking for something to munch at night, if ya know what I mean? Nothing seems to be good enough when that happens. My wife told me last week that I wouldn't be happy even if I lived in a grocery store. She's probably right.

 

[013]

So true, I’m doing no carb keto and craving junkie snacks out the wazoo like KK donuts, ice cream, pies & cakes and want tonwash that down with a quart of heavy cream. Yeah we started a small stockpile last year and I was doing good until the toilet paper wars crept in. But I had all kinds of bleach, ammonia, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide and household stuff already well stored. Now I’m holding 150 - 175 rolls of important papers just cause,

 

[BillFold]

Heavy Cream, Oh Man. Ha!!!!!!!! No (shit) Kidding. Here's a pic of the Toilet Paper Delivery Truck from my personal collection.

 

[013]

Dang you are in much better shape than I

 

[SmokingWings]

I was following the suggestion of a grower, and it worked nicely. I did see the Science product. Should I not mention other
pest treatments I have used? Do I have to refer only to those products that are sponsored? I didn't post any links. Very curious. I will change the wording so that it doesn't mention any particular name. Is that alright?

The link found below will take you to the forum guidelines. Scroll down a little ways and there is a section called Recruiting and Hyperlinking. The way I interpret what it says there and what the staff have said when this discussion comes up in other msgs is that we can mention products we use even if the company is not a sponsor but we cannot put a direct link to the company or product.

If someone wants to know more about the product we mentioned then it is up to them to go look for the website. That does seem like a nice compromise.

https://www.420magazine.com/community/threads/forum-guidelines-please-read-before-posting.44925/

 

[SmokingWings]

I live in the upper Midwest and it's getting damn cold out here. Wish I had a small tractor. Maybe someday. But if you rake all your leaves onto the potato crop at least a foot deep or more, you can then harvest all winter long. The leaves keep the ground from freezing hard. This past spring when I tilled I got about half a box-load of potatoes from the fall before, all reds, and all just terrific tasting. The flesh gets very deep white as compared to the store bought. We have three boxes left now from my harvest in late August, all about the size of a baseball excerpt for the little punks. Got about half a bushel of those too and I love those little ones. We use apple boxes, with the holes in them? Then just keep them in a colder dark corner of the basement(up on a shelf) They stay really good all winter. The clay soil here won't grow a "Big" crop(of anything), but I went to the extension service at the University and they found that I needed lime and potassium(Potash), so I dumped some in and they went crazy this past summer. The vegitation was 2 ft tall in a couple weeks. My potato garden is 30ftx3ft. Makes it a lot easier to harvest, and this old boy's back likes EASY! Next year I have to let the garden go fallow for a year to help prevent any fungus. Just like the potato famine... that crap will get you if you just keep growing them in the same place for more than 3 crops in a row. OK, there's my potato lecture for this year.

Sometimes I will cover any root crop still in the ground with leaves and go harvesting over the winter. Right now there are a couple of feet of carrots left. Should last till early January. We made a huge batch of carrot cookies yesterday. I have covered beets, too. Every now and then I grow Leeks and will bank leaves up against them for the winter. Little bit trickier with those since the part that is eaten is just above the soil level.

The trick to growing in clay soil might be to not over cultivate it in the spring. I just turn it over and leave the lumps and clumps of clay. Just where the row of seeds will be planted gets extra attention when I chop up the lumps with the shovel. Theory is that the clay packs up very tight and the soil does not have enough of the air that the roots and microorganisms need.

 

[BillFold]

Sometimes I will cover any root crop still in the ground with leaves and go harvesting over the winter. Right now there are a couple of feet of carrots left. Should last till early January. We made a huge batch of carrot cookies yesterday. I have covered beets, too. Every now and then I grow Leeks and will bank leaves up against them for the winter. Little bit trickier with those since the part that is eaten is just above the soil level.

The trick to growing in clay soil might be to not over cultivate it in the spring. I just turn it over and leave the lumps and clumps of clay. Just where the row of seeds will be planted gets extra attention when I chop up the lumps with the shovel. Theory is that the clay packs up very tight and the soil does not have enough of the air that the roots and microorganisms need.

You're right about that. It's also terrible for potatoes because they need room to get bigger. Until I added about 6 bags of peat and the same in compoast my crops were good, but small potatoes. After that I got a lot of nice big reds and baker sized Golds. It took ten years of trying to find a crop that would do well in this dirt. Not beans, not Tomatoes, I almost gave up. But hell, I'm Irish/English/Scots, so I loves them Potaters. I get so many now I give them away to the neighbors.

I heard once that letting your dog use the potato garden to take a leak in was very good for it. Minerals and such. Not the turds, just the pee. My Jack Russell will be working on the problem for the next year or so.