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Went by the garden store today and picked up a small bottle of concentrate for insects. It is called EIGHT. Just wondered if anyone had used it? Can it be applied to entire tree and soil?
Went by the garden store today and picked up a small bottle of concentrate for insects. It is called EIGHT. Just wondered if anyone had used it? Can it be applied to entire tree and soil?
Um, actually knowing what you're applying to your trees.
The active ingredient in Eight is permethrin
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/TOOLS/PNAI/pnaishow.php?id=59
FWIW, knee-jerk carpet bombing with insecticide at the "first sign" of trouble can lead down a very bad path. As Jim said, you not only kill "bad" bugs, you also kill "good" bugs. Permethrin is toxic to honeybees and probably a host of predatory insects that are busy eating the bad bugs in your backyard. It's also apparently VERY toxic to cats, who can develop " convulsion, hyperaesthesia, hyperthermia, hypersalivation, loss of balance..." and bad exposures require aggressive vet treatments--it you have cats running about in your garden, its something to think about.
I don't apply blanket insecticide to my trees. Over the years, I've found that most problems arise from trying to kill everything because of a few chewed leaves. No, I'm not anti-insecticide. They have their place, especially with chronic infestations of aphids or the like that can persist for months. I spray RARELY, though. Some years, I don't spray anything. I don't let a few ugly leaves make me believe I've got some massive problem that needs fixing. If you've got fewer than a dozen trees, spraying anything is kind of questionable, depending on the problem.
This comes from experience. Have had Chinese elms and a few other species (some maples) completely defoliate themselves after contact with some insecticides. That's where actually KNOWING WHAT YOU'RE APPLYING comes in. Such a broad spectrum of species suggests a rather potent poison. I wouldn't apply anything like that until I have done some research BEFORE buying it, much less applying it.