Bug Spray for Trees?

Question

I'm new to the world of planting trees. It looks like bugs are getting some of my new trees. I have Dogwood, Peach, Live Oak and Ash trees that are fairly young. I am really concerned about spraying them because of the danger to ME! What do you suggest I use?

Answer 1

...............Ready Made...................

http://www.gchydro.com/Organic%20Pest%20Cotnrol.html
The link above is for organic pest control
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...........Home Made Remedies..........
http://www.kimhaworth.com/homeremedy.html
Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. Contact: Kim Haworth


Long before there were chemical pesticides, there were gardeners. Here you will find how they dealt with the common problems we all face today.

1. Floral Preservative - Here is my favorite recipe for keeping cut flowers fresh. 1 part 7-up mixed with 4 parts water. The citrus keep the bacteria at bay and the sugar feeds the flowers!

Vodka does the same for bulb flowers. Just pour 1 ounce into the vase to keep tulips and daffodils looking fresh. Never mix daffodils with any other flowers in an arrangement

You will need:
7-Up
Vodka
Water

2. Fungicides are among the most toxic chemical in the gardeners arsenal. Here are a few alternatives:
Listerine - Mix 1 teaspoon of Listerine into 1 quart of warm water.
Hydrogen Peroxide - 1 Tablespoon per gallon of water
1/2 t. Baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon cooking oil in 1 quart warm water

All of the above recipes should be mixed directly into the sprayer and applied every 10 days or until there is no evidence of fungus. Cinnamon Powder dusted directly onto damaged or cut areas prevent fungus on orchids

You will need:
Listerine
Hydrogen
Peroxide
Baking Soda
Cooking oil
Cinnamon

3. Manure Tea is a good tonic for most plants - Measure a scoop of poop into the leg of an old pair of panty hose. Secure the end with a rubber band. Let the bag steep overnight in a watering can. In the morning, simply remove the ‘tea-bag’ from the can and sprinkle the Moo-Tea directly onto the foliage. Your plants will say “Yummy”.

You will need:
Panty Hose
Watering can
Manure

4. Use simple Wicks to water container plants while you are away - A bit of twine poked into a soda bottle full of water on one end and plunged into the soil of the container plant on the other will baby sit your plants while you are away.

You will need:
Thick Cotton twine
soda bottle

5. Plastic Peanuts to reduce soil volume and decrease weight in large containers - This is also a nice way to recycle these darned things. Place the plastic peanuts in the bottom of a large container. Cover them with landscape fabric or plastic window screen so that the soil doesn’t fall through. Fill the prepared pot with fresh soil Plant

You will need:
Styrofoam peanuts
landscape fabric or plastic widow screen
large pot
potting soil

6. Thick pads of Newspaper used as mulch will prevent weeds from growing in paths.

7. Individual green houses - Sometimes your plants need a hospital stay. If you don’t have a greenhouse available, make one from any clear plastic material. Just don’t set it in full sun or you may cook your plants.

You will need:
Plastic soda bottle
Turkey roasting bags

8. Willow Twig Rooting Hormone - If you like to grow plants from cuttings, you can make your own Home made rooting hormone by boiling water, then steeping willow twigs overnight. Dip the cut end of the cutting into the solution prior to potting. The unused solution can be stored in the refrigerator

You will need:
Willow Twigs
Cooking pot
water

9. Crushed Granite to repel gophers - Place Crushed Granite in bulb planting holes prior to dropping in the bulb to repel gophers. The little varmints will attempt to eat your bulbs, but come away with a mouth full of sharp rock for their efforts. This method is not guaranteed, but it does help somewhat.

10. Home made Mole repellent - If you have trouble with moles in your garden, they are probably looking for grubs and worms that live just below the surface. Control the grub population and the moles will look elsewhere for a meal. Here is a recipe that takes care of grubs. Be advised, it will also kill earthworms, so apply this during mid day when the earthworms are deep in the soil.

1 tablespoon Castor Oil
2 Tablespoons dish washing liquid
1/2 cup water

Mix soap and oil in blender until thick. Add water and mix again. Blend mixture with 2 gallons of water in a watering can. Sprinkle over mole infested areas.

11. Newspaper collar for cactus plants - If you need to handle prickly cactus plants, protect your hands by wrapping a collar of newspaper around the plant to use as a handle.

12. Peppers to keep squirrels away - If squirrels are digging in your garden, coarsely grind hot chili peppers in your blender and sprinkle them over your garden beds. The squirrels don’t like the ‘hot foot’ sensation and will dig elsewhere. Use the hottest chilies you can find! You may have chili seedlings appear the next spring, but simply pull them out as if they were weeds. Be advised, don’t touch your face or eyes after handling chili peppers.

13. Milk Cartons or Tuna Cans for Cutworms - To prevent new seedlings from being devoured by cutworms, surround them with milk cartons or tuna cans that have had the bottoms removed. They will make a physical barrier that the cutworms can’t penetrate.

14. Deer Repellent - My friend Thais Powers swears by this recipe to keep deer away from her garden.

You will need:
One egg - beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon oil
hot chili peppers
1 quart water

Mix in blender, strain through cheesecloth, store in refrigerator. Apply Frequently and especially after a rain or irrigating.
Or:
Hang bars of soap in trees and shrubs to repel deer.

15. Birds - If birds are eating your seedlings as they emerge from the soil, frightening devices are the best method to use. Birds are attracted to the seedlings because as the seed begins to germinate, the starch in the seed converts to sugar which is irresistibly to hungry birds. Once the seed has formed two sets of true leaves, the sugar once again converts to starch and the birds are no longer interested.

Here are some ideas for keeping birds away from your new plants:
Hang old CD’s in trees to frighten hungry birds away from new seedlings
Place a feeder elsewhere in your garden. Birds are good! They eat bugs...

16. Coffee grounds - Use coffee grounds as fertilizer for acid loving plants, both indoors and out. They are high in nitrogen and decompose quickly. Simply scatter the coffee grounds directly onto the surface of the soil around plants.

17. Moth Balls - Scatter mothballs on the soil under trees and shrubs to prevent rodents from eating the bark.

18. Alcohol for Mealy bugs - Indoor plants are susceptible to Mealy bugs. Mealy bugs can be identified as white, cottony looking fuzz on the undersides of leaves and in the leaf joints.

Here’s how to control them:
Dip a Q-tip into rubbing alcohol then directly on the fuzzy mealybug body. It will simply disintegrate, but not harm the plant.

19. Soap/Oil spray for insect pests - Probably the best overall insecticide recipe is made from dish washing liquid and cooking oil. It should be applied more frequently than chemical pesticides, but then again, you don’t really want to use poison inside your home.

Here is the recipe:
1/2 teaspoon dish washing liquid
1/4 teaspoon cooking oil
1 quart warm water

Mix all ingredients in a small spray bottle. Mist upper and under sides of leaves every 10 days to control Mealy bug, spider mite, aphid, thrips, or any other sucking or chewing insect.

20. Peach Leaf Curl - If you plant common garlic under your peach, plum and nectarine trees, they will be free from Peach Leaf Curl in a few seasons. Use the garlic method in conjunction with good house keeping under the trees.

21. Oil to prevent Corn Ear Worms - Dab a bit of mineral or cooking oil on the silks of corn to prevent corn ear worms from ruining your harvest. The oil treatment should be done just as the silks are beginning to turn from green to gold.

22. Plastic Peanuts - The perfect growing medium for orchid or you can use them in the bottom of large pots to reduce weight. Most annuals have roots that only go 12 “ deep in the soil, anything deeper than that is just dead weight and a waste of good potting soil. Cover the peanuts with window screen or landscape fabric so that the potting soil doesn’t fall through.

23. Gravel in Saucers of Indoor plants - Gravel placed in the saucers of indoor plants will keep their roots up and out of standing water. Each time you water, collected moisture in the gravel will evaporate and add vital humidity.

Answer 2

Bag some of the bugs and take them to a knowledgeable nurseryman. When you can identify the problem, you will know what kind of spray to use, if any. You can take your bug speciman to thhe USDA Cooperative Extension. Almost every county in the US has one of these extensions. They will idenfity the pest and will advise you of what to do and they are very conscious of the correct use of pesticides. If there is an alternative, they will advise you of what to do. Home gardeners do most of the polluting of the soil in our country.

Answer 3

I'd recommend that you get one that's either organic or nontoxic. You should visit your local garden center or a Home Depot or Lowes to see what they recommend.