Diatomaceous Earth Usage?

[TexasTycoon]

I'm bound and determined to keep critters off of my plants this year (all of them, not just the tomatoes), so I bought a big bag of diatomaceous earth to help me do so. How do I use this stuff most effectively on my garden (which is all in containers as I live in an apartment) as a pest preventative? Most of the containers are SWC but not all, and the patio has to look tidy or I hear about it from the office. Do I just sprinkle it on the top of the potting mix, around the base of the pot, on the plants, or what?

Here's the kind I got, it's a 4 lb bag and it's OMRI certified:

[RayR]

It depends on what kind of critters you are dealing with. It's not effective when it is wet, so take account of that when applying to the top of soil.
To deal with foliar pests you can dust the plant with it, some people mix it with water in a spray bottle and spray the plant and let it dry. It washes off easily in rain, so it has to be reapplied.

[Worth1]

Wear dust mask it is like tiny razor blades.

Worth

[disneynut1977]

I was considering using this to deter slugs, but I haven't bought any yet.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by disneynut1977

I was considering using this to deter slugs, but I haven't bought any yet.

Not much deters slugs, DE may be slightly annoying to them if it's dry on top of the soil but that wet mucus around there bodies would make the DE wet and ineffective at killing them. You could put a ring of razor blades around your plants and they would just climb over them with no damage.
Sluggo and beer traps work great though!

[TexasTycoon]

Originally Posted by RayR

It depends on what kind of critters you are dealing with. It's not effective when it is wet, so take account of that when applying to the top of soil.
To deal with foliar pests you can dust the plant with it, some people mix it with water in a spray bottle and spray the plant and let it dry. It washes off easily in rain, so it has to be reapplied.

Well, I'm not dealing with any yet, and I'd like to keep it that way! I feel like we got bombarded with everything last year though - aphids decimated our jalepenos and bell peppers, hornworms, weevils, some other little brown caterpillars I never identified, more aphids on our flowers, stinkbugs, and probably more I can't think of at the moment.

[Gerardo]

As RayR mentioned, you can dissolve it in water and apply it. Just make sure you put it through some cheesecloth or a sock or a coffee filter, otherwise it will clog up your sprayer. Very effective this way. If it rains you have to reapply.

BT works well on the guys you mentioned.

And Aphids, well, they're just awful. Neem/DE/soap/oil all can help control them, you just have to do it over and over. This might help:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7404.html

[RayR]

Originally Posted by Gerardo

As RayR mentioned, you can dissolve it in water and apply it. Just make sure you put it through some cheesecloth or a sock or a coffee filter, otherwise it will clog up your sprayer. Very effective this way. If it rains you have to reapply.

BT works well on the guys you mentioned.

And Aphids, well, they're just awful. Neem/DE/soap/oil all can help control them, you just have to do it over and over. This might help:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7404.html

"some species inject a toxin into plants, which causes leaves to curl and further distorts growth."
Ya, I had that indoors this winter on some seedlings. Lost 4 dwarf tomato seedlings, another 4 are looking like they are making comeback after I wiped out the aphids. Yellow sticky traps help a great deal in catching the flyers.

[Gerardo]

Originally Posted by RayR

"some species inject a toxin into plants, which causes leaves to curl and further distorts growth."
Ya, I had that indoors this winter on some seedlings. Lost 4 dwarf tomato seedlings, another 4 are looking like they are making comeback after I wiped out the aphids. Yellow sticky traps help a great deal in catching the flyers.

Great you brought up the yellow traps, I forgot to mention those. I made some with mice glue traps and solo yellow cups, it's been working well.

Any word on the reflective mulch? They always say do not use in southern states, I bet it could help you guys up north. I like the fact that you deny them their favorite hiding spots.

No more Mr. Nice Guy, I'm going the Met52 route. Whiteflies and aphids are a constant threat down here, and I'm done dancing with them. Time for parasitization and death by fungus. Die vermin!

[RayR]

Originally Posted by Gerardo

Great you brought up the yellow traps, I forgot to mention those. I made some with mice glue traps and solo yellow cups, it's been working well.

Any word on the reflective mulch? They always say do not use in southern states, I bet it could help you guys up north. I like the fact that you deny them their favorite hiding spots.

No more Mr. Nice Guy, I'm going the Met52 route. Whiteflies and aphids are a constant threat down here, and I'm done dancing with them. Time for parasitization and death by fungus. Die vermin!

Never used reflective mulch. I've got no problem with aphids outdoors since I stopped using insecticides. The ladybugs and braconid wasps control them just fine, but indoors where there are no natural predators they can multiply rapidly once they get established.

[disneynut1977]

Originally Posted by RayR

Not much deters slugs, DE may be slightly annoying to them if it's dry on top of the soil but that wet mucus around there bodies would make the DE wet and ineffective at killing them. You could put a ring of razor blades around your plants and they would just climb over them with no damage.
Sluggo and beer traps work great though!

I may be doing the beer. My husband brews, so I would have an endless supply. The only pest that really bothered me in my past gardens was slugs.

[TexasTycoon]

Originally Posted by Gerardo

As RayR mentioned, you can dissolve it in water and apply it. Just make sure you put it through some cheesecloth or a sock or a coffee filter, otherwise it will clog up your sprayer. Very effective this way. If it rains you have to reapply.

BT works well on the guys you mentioned.

And Aphids, well, they're just awful. Neem/DE/soap/oil all can help control them, you just have to do it over and over. This might help:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7404.html

Do I have to use a pump sprayer or would a spray bottle work fine? I have such a small area I don't even own a pump sprayer. I'm confused about mixing it with water, too. If it's ineffective once wet, wouldn't mixing it with water be ineffective as well? I saw a lady on YouTube spray the leaves with water and then use a duster to dust the leaves with DE, but it seemed messy to me.

I do use Bt in the form of mosquito dunks in my watering cans, that really helped me with fungus gnats last year but I can't remember if the aphids came before or after I started using it. I do remember insecticidal soap did nothing against those aphids once they took hold of my pepper plants. That's why I'm hoping using the DE before I even see anything will help keep them away altogether.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by TexasTycoon

Do I have to use a pump sprayer or would a spray bottle work fine? I have such a small area I don't even own a pump sprayer. I'm confused about mixing it with water, too. If it's ineffective once wet, wouldn't mixing it with water be ineffective as well? I saw a lady on YouTube spray the leaves with water and then use a duster to dust the leaves with DE, but it seemed messy to me.

I do use Bt in the form of mosquito dunks in my watering cans, that really helped me with fungus gnats last year but I can't remember if the aphids came before or after I started using it. I do remember insecticidal soap did nothing against those aphids once they took hold of my pepper plants. That's why I'm hoping using the DE before I even see anything will help keep them away altogether.

I started experimenting with DE as an insecticide last year and was amazed at how effective it was. However it is a bit of trouble to apply in a way that makes it so effective. I found that mixing it with very soapy water and a little Permethrin, then mixing it well and straining it into a pump sprayer and applying it to every part of the plant was the most effective way to use it. I used 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of food grade DE to the gallon of water. That seems like a lot but it mixes well and after straining it is a high enough concentration that it leaves a fine dusting of DE on the plants when it dries. It seems to work against all insects including beneficial ones so I waited to start using it until after most of my ladybugs had moved on. It will wash off with a good rainfall so it has to be reapplied but after I started using this combo I had no further problems with insects the rest of the season. I plan to use this same technique again this year but will wait til the beneficials leave my garden which usually happens a few weeks after the hot weather arrives. You could use a garden duster to apply it but I would wear a mask.

Bill

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by b54red

I started experimenting with DE as an insecticide last year and was amazed at how effective it was. However it is a bit of trouble to apply in a way that makes it so effective. I found that mixing it with very soapy water and a little Permethrin, then mixing it well and straining it into a pump sprayer and applying it to every part of the plant was the most effective way to use it. I used 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of food grade DE to the gallon of water. That seems like a lot but it mixes well and after straining it is a high enough concentration that it leaves a fine dusting of DE on the plants when it dries. It seems to work against all insects including beneficial ones so I waited to start using it until after most of my ladybugs had moved on. It will wash off with a good rainfall so it has to be reapplied but after I started using this combo I had no further problems with insects the rest of the season. I plan to use this same technique again this year but will wait til the beneficials leave my garden which usually happens a few weeks after the hot weather arrives. You could use a garden duster to apply it but I would wear a mask.

Bill

Bill will it work on Stinkbugs?
Worth

[Gerardo]

What Bill said nails it.

I understand your trepidation at wetting the DE; it dries and stays on the leaves, similar to Daconil and other slurries.

I started with a hand sprayer, then I moved on to a smallish pump, and finally I got the round-up branded pump sprayer at big box store for about 15 and it really is a nice piece of equipment. Well built and the long wand allows you to get UNDER the leaves, where most of your enemies hang out.

With hand sprayers it can get messy trying to get under the leaves, with a wand no problem.

I hope they leave you alone this season.