I spray my collards with liquid Sevin whenever cabbage worms appear. I am apprehensive about eating the leaves and I wish to know if after careful washing the collard leaves, are they safe to consume? Thanks, Johnny
I wouldn't. (Other people's mileage may vary.) And Sevin is particularly hard on bees.
If you feel apprehensive about eating residual cholinesterase inhibitor, try a BT spray.
Alternately, try "the examine the leaves, squish the worms and knock the eggs off the leaves technique" once a day. Which has served us very well.
Then again, you may do as we do and cultivate wasps, which, once they get going in a season, make off with most of our cabbage worms. I just love the little attack critters which, along with our resident dragonflies and the birds make a wonderful air force.
Read: chemical warfare/nerve gas MSDS:
Read the label:
"BT" might be a better choice, and is nontoxic.
Bob
I haven't used anything on my herb garden, but something is chowing on my sage plant now. Would BT be a good choice there? Thanks!
Bt is the best choice for any type of butterfly or moth larva and that includes cabbage worms or loopers. It is very selective and virtually harmless to other lifeforms. It also has a good degree of persistance and can be used as preventive. It is a stomach poison so the larva have to ingest it. Carbaryl on the other hand is a contact poison, with a shot halflife, It will kill many insects that come in contact with it including cabbage worms. But it is most useful on beetles. It is not very poisonous to humans, a little less than Rotenone and has biodegraded with 24 hours, so I don't worry about poisoning myself, but it just is not nearly as effective on cabbage worms as Bt.
Agreed, if you think it's larvae that are attacking your sage.
Sevin is also safe around birds, but BT is better for caterpillars.
Sevin kills any insect that comes in contact with it tho' so it also kills beneficials. The only reason I'll submit to using in desperation sometimes it is that it is so short lived. Only works for maybe 5 days at best, and it if gets wet, it's gone.
I use it once or twice per year for flea control. I dust the entire yard the same day I Frontline the pets. I'm always saddened tho' sometimes by what I find dead. Last year, I found a dying female rhinoceros beetle. :-(
It does control the fleas tho' and I've never had a problem with tics...
Thanks - I've been trying to keep the herb garden chem free, but most of my energy has been focused on this damned mole. Carl Spackler's method looks rather attractive at this point... I'm just not sure I can stay up late enough to make the kill if I 1)tape a flashlight to my rifle, 2) get stoned 3)drink a 6-pack. I'm also kinda short of C-4...
Get a gray female cat.
That seems kind of specific. Do you have a particular cat in mind? :-)
Bob
Nah. ;-) Some adult rescue from the shelter will do.
It's just been my past experience that gray or gray/calico females have been death on moles, mice and gophers in the past!
Seems to be genetic with the color.
I've had a gray female cat for 16 years. She doesn't give a damn about moles. I also have a 3 year-old hyper-effing-active rat terrier. She's of the same opinion as the cat. Squirrels don't stand a chance, but apparently this is a mole sanctuary.
Too funny. :-) We once had a gray calico type tabby (she was mostly gray with some tan and white) named "patience" that was the best mouser/moler/gopher/rabbit cat we ever had!
Well, the old girl (Roxy) has been on thyroid meds for about 4 months now. Her appetite comes and goes, and she's lost a lot of weight. She's always been an indoor cat.. to many cars/dogs/mean people out there... anyway, when she goes, I'll get two little fireball kittens to replace her. Wish I could train 'em to catch moles...Actually, I should put that damned rat terrier to work....
I've lost cats to hyperthyroidism... They generally lasted about 3 years. The thyroid meds the vet sold me made them nauseous so made their appetite worse. I gave up on the meds and just fed them every time they begged, and offered gourmet cat foods to get them to eat more.
It's about all you can do. By the time they died, they weighed maybe 2 lbs. :-(
And I agree about keeping cats indoors now. Many years ago, we did not feel that way.
The cats live longer now.
What you really need are some snakes.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.