Lots of talk about spraying trees. I'm getting to the point that I'd like to try. My Dad uses fruit oil sprays but apparently that's only the tip of the iceberg. Because I let my animals roam about I hate the idea of chemicals, hence no grass weed killers, however, I will admit I'm guilty of using liquid Sevin on my grapes and beans. I feel guilty everytime I spray but I would lose my crop otherwise. I used to use those bag-a-bettle but my opinion, and a few others, is they are so attracted they come in from everywhere and I have more bugs (a great marketing tool if you ask me). Since quitting the bags I see less bettles and the spray handles those. My apples, cherries, and now my pear trees are another story. I know I get codling moth and cherry fruit fly. I'm considering Spinosad in a oil base which although organic will kill bees. If applied early morning, or late evening the bees should be ok (so I'm told). Since the blossums are gone and fruit is present I believe bees won't be an issue anyway. Looks like a 2 week spray interval all summer. That's just insects. Then you have a host of other conditions that you could encounter. How about fireblight? If you get this it cannot be cured so the preventative is streptomycin. I may also do this on my pears.
So does anyone use either Spinosad or Streptomycin?
