Spinosad?

Do we like Spinosad? I'm getting geared up to this season and some of the organic insect controls I'm looking at contain Spinosad. I remember a discussion on one of the forum regarding Spinosad but can't find it. I just don't seem to be able to search the forums anymore. Only the articles. So I sorry if I'm bringing up an old or oft discussed topic. But could someone fill me in please? I don't want anything to harm the bees, etc. But I really need to do something about the tomato horn worms and all their friends.

Here's a fact sheet. Personally, I'm concerned with this being harmful to honeybees when it's wet:

http://www.livingwithbugs.com/PDFiles/mfs13.pdf

An alternative would be Bacillus thuringiensis

http://www.biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/pathogens/bacteria.html

This message was edited Mar 8, 2011 12:21 PM

Thank you very much! I'll stick to the Bt! Either way, my hens will be disappointed =D!

My local Garden "guru" suggested " "all these products are bad for bees".. meaning Spinosad and BT,.. then he suggested I use Spinosad......

as for harmful to bees when wet.... if applied as per directions,... using a thin coating,... the product dries rather quickly.... so the window of opportunity to harm the bees is small???!?

Here's the problem with anything that harms honeybees...

Honeybees collect pollen in tiny sacs on their legs. They collect nectar in a special stomach. They bring back pollen and nectar to their hive/home and share it with their sisters. (ALL the honeybees you will ever see in your garden are females.)

Anything "harmful" now has the potential to kill many honeybees, not just the bee that collected it in the first place.

2/3rds of the food we eat is dependant upon honeybees for pollination. When honeybee population declines, so does food production.

I used to be a bee keeper many years ago.

Maine_Garden - I have not heard/read that bt is harmful to bees. I will have to do more research on this as I do not want to use something that might harm honeybees.

I have also never heard that Bt is harmful to bees--if anyone has references about that please post them, I'd definitely like to educate myself.

According to Cornell, it is not listed as harmful to bees. http://web.pppmb.cals.cornell.edu/resourceguide/mfs/02bacillus_thuringiensis.php