Whats your favorite insecticide for killing bugs??

[Dargo]

Interesting thread since I just sprayed yesterday. I fertilize in the spring and fall and spray for bugs and weeds in late spring, mid summer, and late summer. That way I don't have any weeds in my lawn and we can sit around the porch, go fishing, and play in the yard without being eaten alive. I've had good luck using malathion along with 2-4-D mixed in the same tank. I spray about 12 acres of lawn around my house that way. I've never lost any fish in my lake and my frog population seems to be plenty strong, so I don't think I'm loading up my ground with malathion.

However, I always end up with a pretty good headache the day after I spray (today). It's not as bad today since I flipped the lever in the cab to recirculate with the A/C, but I still have a headache. What would work just as well and possibly not give me the day after headache?

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Anyone else use Tobacco? The NICOTINE in the tobacco is the agent that seems to kill the bugs. While nicotine is addictive to humans, it is not what causes illness in humans. But in bugs, the nicotine seems to be very lethal.

Go to the store and buy a "pouch" of chewing tobacco like "Mail Pouch" or some other similar scrap type chew. Toss the chewing tobacco from the pouch into the bottom of a 5 gallon pail and bring a large pot of water to a boil and pour the water on top of the chew. Fill the rest of the bucket with hot tap water. Let it steep for several hours (or overnight) into a 'tobacco tea' and then pour it into your sprayer.

• YOU HAVE TO STRAIN the tobacco leaves out of the the liquid or they will clog the sprayer. You can lay cheesecloth over the mouth of the sprayer and secure it with a large rubber band.
• If you wrap the tobacco leaves in cheesecloth then you can drop the cheesecloth sachet into the bucket and you don't need to strain the liquid.
• You can use cold water, but let it steep for at least overnight. Hot water seems to make for a stronger 'tea'

The nice thing about using tobacco in liquid spray form is that it won't make your kids or dogs sick but it is lethal to the bugs. It is non-selective and will kill any bugs it hits. We almost killed one of our Akitas when she was exposed to a commercial spray, I never realized how toxic many of the chemicals really are but there are very good reasons for all the warning lables on the bottles/cans/bags.

 

[KrumpsBrother]

Tempo sc ULTRA for house & grasshopper
Pymethrin SFR 36.4% for fire ant and general use
Light oil
Neem oil for garden
Spinosad for garden

KB

 

[HomeBrew2]

Ortho-Chlor. Termite rated. Kills everything. Good residual. $37/qt at Home Despot. Normal use, 1/2 oz/gal. Termite foundation treatment 3+oz/gal.

 

[Theowegian]

I use Cynoff (cypermethrin) and like it. It is similar to Demon WP - that was my favorite. Cynoff is cheaper based on my recollection. I spray it using a B&G sprayer in the house and around the house for spiders. Works very well. I used to be a "bug-guy" for a while between jobs. My spraying buddies favored Tempo WP and Demon WP , followed by Dursban LO (not available any more). At the time, Demon WP was unsurpassed for spider control.

Arctic EC3.2 (Permethrin) is what I use is what I use on my sweet corn.

dwight

 

[PBinWA]

Anyone else use Tobacco? The NICOTINE in the tobacco is the agent that seems to kill the bugs. While nicotine is addictive to humans, it is not what causes illness in humans. But in bugs, the nicotine seems to be very lethal.

Go to the store and buy a "pouch" of chewing tobacco like "Mail Pouch" or some other similar scrap type chew. Toss the chewing tobacco from the pouch into the bottom of a 5 gallon pail and bring a large pot of water to a boil and pour the water on top of the chew. Fill the rest of the bucket with hot tap water. Let it steep for several hours (or overnight) into a 'tobacco tea' and then pour it into your sprayer.

• YOU HAVE TO STRAIN the tobacco leaves out of the the liquid or they will clog the sprayer. You can lay cheesecloth over the mouth of the sprayer and secure it with a large rubber band.
• If you wrap the tobacco leaves in cheesecloth then you can drop the cheesecloth sachet into the bucket and you don't need to strain the liquid.
• You can use cold water, but let it steep for at least overnight. Hot water seems to make for a stronger 'tea'

The nice thing about using tobacco in liquid spray form is that it won't make your kids or dogs sick but it is lethal to the bugs. It is non-selective and will kill any bugs it hits. We almost killed one of our Akitas when she was exposed to a commercial spray, I never realized how toxic many of the chemicals really are but there are very good reasons for all the warning lables on the bottles/cans/bags.

Bob,

How many years have you been doing this? This is the first time I've heard you mention this one. I want you to be the guinea pig! Is your Akita or Crap Weasel a little more mellow now? Did they lose some weight too?



I like the sound of it and am thinking of giving it a try.

PB

 

[Bird]

I don't know whether the drought is part of the cause or not, but it seems as if we've had more bugs of more varieties this summer than I can recall in many years. I consider ourselves lucky that we've had no problem inside the house, but lots of them outside. I've sprayed the yard twice with liquid Ortho Max, I've twice applied the granular Ortho Season Long Control insecticide, and the bugs, ants, etc. have seemed to thrive on it.

So day before yesterday, I applied a heavy dose of Ortho Malathion Plus to the entire yard, all around the foundation, under the eaves, etc.

Now we've also had toads in the yard that come out every night and I assume eat insects so I don't really want to hurt them. And this year we have lots of some kind of unidentified lizards and I assume they may eat bugs, too. Of course I figured if I kill off the insects the toads and lizards will either be killed or will move on. But apparently they have done neither. Last night there were 6 lizards on the ceiling and walls of the 12' x 22' patio/breezeway.

Can anyone identify these lizards? I haven't been able to get a really decent picture; can't get close enough. The attached picture is of one of the lizards on the white ceiling of the patio. The lizard, 3 or 4 inches long, actually has more of a yellow tint to its color.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Anyone else use Tobacco? The NICOTINE in the tobacco is the agent that seems to kill the bugs. While nicotine is addictive to humans, it is not what causes illness in humans. But in bugs, the nicotine seems to be very lethal.

Go to the store and buy a "pouch" of chewing tobacco like "Mail Pouch" or some other similar scrap type chew. Toss the chewing tobacco from the pouch into the bottom of a 5 gallon pail and bring a large pot of water to a boil and pour the water on top of the chew. Fill the rest of the bucket with hot tap water. Let it steep for several hours (or overnight) into a 'tobacco tea' and then pour it into your sprayer.

• YOU HAVE TO STRAIN the tobacco leaves out of the the liquid or they will clog the sprayer. You can lay cheesecloth over the mouth of the sprayer and secure it with a large rubber band.
• If you wrap the tobacco leaves in cheesecloth then you can drop the cheesecloth sachet into the bucket and you don't need to strain the liquid.
• You can use cold water, but let it steep for at least overnight. Hot water seems to make for a stronger 'tea'

The nice thing about using tobacco in liquid spray form is that it won't make your kids or dogs sick but it is lethal to the bugs. It is non-selective and will kill any bugs it hits. We almost killed one of our Akitas when she was exposed to a commercial spray, I never realized how toxic many of the chemicals really are but there are very good reasons for all the warning lables on the bottles/cans/bags.

When I met my wife, she was still living with her parents, on a small Kentucky tobacco farm. Her father was old fashioned as it gets. I had to win him over maybe more so than his daughter. That took a couple summers of helping with his crop. I'd been "around" tobacco before then, but never so involved. The first summer, I was absolutely horrified at the numbers and types of insects that LIVE on tobacco. I can't imagine it being use as an insecticide. Maybe an aphrodesiac. (sp?) or vitamins. Or how about a favorite vacation spot for bugs?

If you have any results other than bad ones, let us know. I'd sure like to think something other than a 19 year old ate up with love farmboy found tobacco as nasty as I did.

 

[PBinWA]

Can anyone identify these lizards? I haven't been able to get a really decent picture; can't get close enough. The attached picture is of one of the lizards on the white ceiling of the patio. The lizard, 3 or 4 inches long, actually has more of a yellow tint to its color.

It's a gecko of some form (hard to identify from the picture but probably a "mediterranean gecko"). They aren't indigenous but in the Southern states are becoming more common. They either come over in cargo or are pets that get released. Not dangerous - I used to have some as pets.

http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/lizards/hemtur.htm

 

[Bird]

probably a "mediterranean gecko"

Thanks, Paul. I've been doing a little searching on the Internet the last few minutes and it appears that you're probably right. The only time I've seen them in the daytime has been when I moved a splash pan under a rain gutter downspout or moved something in the garage, and they've run and disappeared very quickly.