Tips On Choosing Insecticides
With so many different brand names on the market it is easy to get hopelessly confused when buying insecticides. However, they fall basically into three main categories:
1. Those thatcontrolchewing insects (like Yates Success).
2. The systemic ones, like Confidor, which are particularlyeffective against sap-sucking insects;
3. Those which will control both chewing and sap-sucking insects. Mavrik is a good example.
Insecticides also vary in their toxicity both to insects and people and in their withholding period, that is, the time from spraying to harvest and eating. So if you want to pick and eat tomatoes without fruit fly maggots, you can spray with Lebaycid but you’ll need to wait seven days before picking your tomatoes. Pyrethrum sprays are derived from a daisy flower and are very low toxic but unfortunately are ineffective against the worst vegetable and fruit pests—fruit fly, red spider and scale insects. Dipel is a naturally-derived, low toxic insecticide that is a very effective control for leaf-eating caterpillars (the ones that are members of the moth and butterfly family). Dipeldoes not affect children, pets, birds, other insects such as bees, fish or wildlife, but it is a very effective control of leaf-eating caterpillars. Yates Natra soap controls mites and has no withholding period, even when applied to vegetables. PestOil works well to control scale pests on a range of plants (including fruit trees). It works by smothering the insect.
