Hi all,
With two kids of crawling and running age, I’m trying to minimize the amount of less safe or less studied pesticides used on my lawn.
Do any organic products on the market, like milky spore, or Jonathan Greene organic grub repellant (ingredients on red tag attached) actually work?
I have a few grubs around each year, and have seen army worms on neighbors’ yards last season.
If not organic, are there any safer choices out there on the market? Maybe something on the reduced risk and organophosphate alternative list?
by Things_and_or_Stuff
2 Comments
[removed]
Firstly, I take major issue with your wording of “less safe and less studied”… Pesticides are extremely heavily studied. Far more than the health risks of organic solutions. Organic/natural ≠ safe. I won’t go any further on that, but just know that your feelings on this topic are emotional… As are the media sources that likely influenced your feelings.
There’s supposed to be an automod comment that addresses this, but there was a bug (lol). So here it is:
>Milky spore only works for the grubs of Japanese beetles. There are around half a dozen different species of beetles that are responsible for white grubs.
There are very few products that are able to control or prevent grubs to any significant degree.
Repellents of any kind, such as the one you listed, will do absolutely nothing to deter grubs.
The bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. galleriae (BT) have been shown to be capable of high levels of control in the right conditions and when applied at the right timings. Sometimes it works really well, sometimes it doesn’t work at all. Use care when handling, these are live organisms.
Some species of entomopathogenic nematodes have shown to be capable of decent levels of control. They have a very short shelf life, so need to purchased from a trusted supplier and refrigerated until application (within a month or two of receiving them). Like BT, they’re very inconsistent, they can either work decently, or not at all. Use care when handling, these are live organisms.
Imadiclopirid is a synthetic insecticide that works very well. It is safe to use as long as entry into the treatment area is prohibited until the application is watered in and dries. Imadiclopirid should not be applied around flowering plants.
Chlorantraniliprole (grubEX and Acelepryn) is a relatively new synthetic insecticide that has significant advantages over imadiclopirid. It is considered significantly safer in many respects and does not pose a risk to pollinators if applied around flowering plants. It is safe to use as long as entry into the treatment area is prohibited until the application is watered in and dries