advice needed please

[trichojester]

hey guy and gals i need some adive about using baythroid advance with trichs and sally d

any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks guys

[totemgoat]

what pests are you trying to control?
what are you concerned about?

[trichojester]

white fly, catapillars, snails and fungus gnats

[trichojester]

and i dont want to kill the plants by applying too much 

[totemgoat]

it sounds like you have a problem with a number of things attacking your babies - remember first that weak/unhappy plants find it hard to defend themselves against pests, so make sure you've got them as comfortable as you can get them before you resort to using a chemical that will just as easily kill bees & other friendly creatures in your garden

you can also use bait plants to distract caterpillars, use companion planting to steer away predators, and caps of beer to kill slugs & snails

if you must use the baythroid: start low and increase as necessary, follow the bottle's instructions leaning towards using less than they recommend, and maybe be aware that trichocereus stomata are open at night and not during the day (not sure if that'd make any difference to the plant/critters but worth noting)

fungus gnats can be controlled with diatomaceous earth from what i've heard, but if you have them in your mature trichos' soil i would recommend transplanting them into a more free draining mix with a a good layer of inorganic material around the base of the stem - if you're growing things indoors, fly paper has also worked wonders for me in fungus gnat control

good luck!

[trichojester]

thank you for you help ive got sticky traps in there and diatomaceous earth in there which has helped a bit but the whitefly and snails are having a free for all on the sally unfortunately ive got some snail pellets on the way but hopefully the baythroid gets rid of the white fly 

[ph7]

Apparently DE needs to be on the surface of the soil to act as a deterrent to snails/slugs. You can also top dress with coarse river sand.

 

Also for most insects I use neem oil, about 1 TBSP diluted into a 9L watering can. I rub the leaves (or use a soft brush for cacti) while showering the plants, then pour the rest into the soil around the plant to treat the roots.

 

For infestations I do this twice a week, until it clears. Works for me against scale which is my only real pest.

 

Cheers

[trichojester]

thanks ph7 ill habe to buy some more de

[greenechidna]

Have been using de for a while, works best when dry after watering wait at least a day b4 applying, I use a shaker that is for icing sugar to apply it, and give each pot a dusting a couple of days after each watering its very fine and disappears when you water. Cheapest place to get it is one of those big pet warehouses they sell it as a flea controller for kennels. 
 

You can also cook egg shells and crunch them up then top dress with them for fungus gnats