The Quack Shack

[ShrekDawg]

Fire works good!

Mites can be the absolute bane of existence. Right now it would appear the problem is not bad, but the plants don't have much vegetative material left, making it badish.

The insect soap is good. That brand, Epsomma (spelling?) Is a good brand in general also. It might not work for mites though. With them being so small, there is a very high chance they won't even get wet. A lot of varietys of mites bodies can not break the surface tension of water. The soap lowers the surface tension in general, but without actually reading the label to see what exactly it treats, it's hard to tell. (You can make your own insect soap by the way)

Mites often have specialized insecticides known as miteacides just because they (pending variety) are so hard to kill.

The best thing to do is try and ID the bug first. It might not be mites, but it does show tale tale of of them. If you have a jeweler's lope with a 30x lens it would be much easier to see them.

Thanks again!! I’ll try to ID them first then or maybe find a special mite one? And yeah, they’re pretty bare. though some I did pull off thinking it would help? But that might have made it worse a bunch fell off though. And to make matters worse, I think my cat takes the occasional nibble on them too!!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Just a heads up, the are not many organic solutions that work for spider mites. Dead Bug Brew is organic and WILL work, but it's $60 a bottle.

Of course I would get the impossible to kill bug!

I think I got that stuff a few years ago for an unrelated problem but then we never used it I don’t think. Maybe I’ll have to get some. I think our local feed store sells it and we know the manager so maybe he would give us a better rate or something. I think last time we got it for the caterpillars destroying one of our trees but then I was nervous to use it near the chickens.

 

[Trimurtisan]

This is one of my favorite insecticides. Captain Jack's Deadbug. It can work on mites, but it's hit or miss too be honest. It uses saponins which is a great organic solution. Mites can just be resistant to it. Overall though, it's my favorite goo to for bugs.

 

[ShrekDawg]

@Trimurtisan is this the stuff? Pretty cheap on Amazon. But I’m going to see how much it is at the feed store or maybe there’s something else I can do?

https://www.amazon.com/Bonide-704725-Captain-Concentrate-1-Quart/dp/B001VJ83LW?th=1&psc=1

 

[ShrekDawg]

This is one of my favorite insecticides. Captain Jack's Deadbug. It can work on mites, but it's hit or miss too be honest. It uses saponins which is a great organic solution. Mites can just be resistant to it. Overall though, it's my favorite goo to for bugs.
View attachment 2028963

Thanks!! Might have to try that stuff!! Or maybe I should just give up and start over with new plants

 

[Trimurtisan]

Of course I would get the impossible to kill bug!

I think I got that stuff a few years ago for an unrelated problem but then we never used it I don’t think. Maybe I’ll have to get some. I think our local feed store sells it and we know the manager so maybe he would give us a better rate or something. I think last time we got it for the caterpillars destroying one of our trees but then I was nervous to use it near the chickens.

It should be safe to use around your birds. An insect soap is basically just water, oil, and castiel soap. The water is used to transport the oil. The oil coats the bugs suffocating them, and the soap just allows the water and oil to mix. That's a basic insect soap. Most companies don't actually use any poison in their soaps.

 

[ShrekDawg]

It should be safe to use around your birds. An insect soap is basically just water, oil, and castiel soap. The water is used to transport the oil. The oil coats the bugs suffocating them, and the soap just allows the water and oil to mix. That's a basic insect soap. Most companies don't actually use any poison in their soaps.

Thank you!! That’s a relief!! I just ordered some but the smaller one that you shared. Also ordered the other stuff so hopefully one will work! And hopefully the caterpillars aren’t bad this year so I don’t have to buy a big bottle of the stuff.

I’m going to try to find a magnifying glass. I don’t even know if we even have one

 

[Trimurtisan]

This is what I was taking about. I got the name wrong.

 

[ShrekDawg]

This is what I was taking about. I got the name wrong.
View attachment 2028964

Thank you! Do you think that one’s on Amazon? Though maybe I should try the two I just got first

 

[Trimurtisan]

Thank you!! That’s a relief!! I just ordered some but the smaller one that you shared. Also ordered the other stuff so hopefully one will work! And hopefully the caterpillars aren’t bad this year so I don’t have to buy a big bottle of the stuff.

I’m going to try to find a magnifying glass. I don’t even know if we even have one

If you end up getting bad caterpillars, let me know. There's a couple different insect soaps you can make. If you're going to be using a large quantity, it's much cheaper to make it.