Comments | scotjohn: Did I mention "opposite of green thumb?"

scotjohn

Did I mention "opposite of green thumb?"

May 15, 2008 14:37

So I shook the mint over a piece of white paper and looked at the dots that came off of it. Several were tiny and red and slowly crawling around. Yup, mites eating my plants. So we got a spray bottle, and I mixed up some soapy water, and dutifully sprayed them ( Read more... )

Comments 7

umom_ne_poniat May 15 2008, 19:09:18 UTC

Oh, this is just sad and funny. Good luck with not killing everything.

scotjohn May 15 2008, 19:27:28 UTC

Maybe me going away on vacation will give the plants a chance to recover. ;)

umom_ne_poniat May 15 2008, 19:29:22 UTC

Um, I think I'm going to call the Utah tree protection hotline and give them a heads-up that you are coming

ayse May 15 2008, 19:59:46 UTC

Um, yeah. WHen you spray soap on insects, you use insecticidal soap not hand soap or dish soap.

scotjohn May 15 2008, 20:13:52 UTC

It's just that the recipies I get when I Google "insecticidal soap" look like what I did:

"Insecticidal Soap Spray: 1 to 2 tablespoons liquid soap, 1 quart water. Combine ingredients in a bucket, mix."

"Homemade insecticidal soap recipe: 1½ teaspoons of Dawn liquid detergent per one quart of water."

So I guess you buy special soap for this? Any recommendations? Sorry for the stupid newbie questions, but as you can see, I'm a stupid newbie...

ayse May 15 2008, 20:25:52 UTC

Oh, it's not your fault. There's this maniac out there named Jerry Baker who published tons of books full of bad recipes like that, and people repeat his bad advice all over the place. Insecticidal soap is a special thing, purchased fairly cheaply from a nursery or hardware store plant aisle. It is better than detergents (which strip oils from the plant leaves and make it wither and die) and soaps (which leave a film residue and suffocate the plant). It's still pretty hard on the plant, but not as hard ( ... )

scotjohn May 15 2008, 21:57:20 UTC

Thanks for the advice, that makes sense. I'm sure I made matters worse by making the soap solution too concentrated while I was at it. Tried rinsing their leaves at an angle just now to get that soap off, and without getting it into their soil if possible. Here's hoping. There's a garden shop not too far away, I'll walk down and see what they've got -- and then see if I can keep from finding new and improved ways to make the plants hate me. ;)