Greenhouse Bug Bombs

I have a hobby greenhouse about 300 sq feet with polycarbonate panels. Has anyone had any experience using bug bombs in the greenhouse? I'm considering the Doktor Doom stuff.

http://homeharvest.com/insectspraystotalreleasefoggers.htm

X

I have no experiece with doktor doom but sure would be interested to know if it works.
Sounds like it would be safer than spraying chemicals and exposing ourselves to them
Linda

When I lived in England you could buy smoke bombs. I have been searching everywhere on the net for them and the only ones I can find are in England.

They worked beautifully in my gh in England. I wonder why the US doesn't sell them or have something like them. They are much better than aerosolized wet products.

X

I used an Ortho Bug Bomb when I had a lot of Whiteflies. It worked well for me. I did not see any for a few days, and then a few showed up, but I may have brought them in as I was still bringing plants in from outside.

This thread had a lot of good info on various methods of dealing with insect control. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/775836/

Nautical

I have two bombs that I plan to use once the GH is sealed up. They are pyrethrum bombs. I will report back. SB

Thanks for the link and I'll be waiting for your report!

X

Hi, does anyone have any results they would like to report on the different types of bug bombs they have used in their greenhouses? I have orthene bug bombs I have used previously in years past that would kill an elephant but won't even slow down flys. Not sure what kind of flys but they are in my empty greenhouse just waiting for my seedlings. Any suggestions? Does anyone out there wash the walls before letting off the bombs? If so, what do you add to the water? Any response would be appreciated,,, thanks ahead of time.

I'm also interested in knowing if anyone has as source for a bug bomb that is safe to use in a gh. I found pymethrin bombs for gh's up to 1000sq ft but was advised by the company who manufactured it not to use it in a gh as small as mine (about 600 sq ft). Seems that all the bombs i'm finding are for areas that size.

dmichael

I found this

http://homeharvest.com/greenhousecontrols.htm

THe time released is for hobby GH's. Do you guys use this as a preventitive measure?

I bought a can of total release pyrethrum (forgot the brand) It said for use in gh's up to 3000 sq ft. My gh is only around 600 sq ft. I called the 1-800 number on the can and was advised not to use that amount in such a small space as it could cause plant damage.

Once the total release fogger is activated there isn't any stopping it until the can is empty. You can use force to pry the clip up and stop it once activated, but I for one don't wont to be exposed to it once the can has been set off and reentry into the gh isn't advised for up to 24 hours after activation of the product.

I need something for smaller spaces to control and occasional outbreak of mites on a few of my hoya plants. I have tried hand held pressurized sprayers ,systemics and a few others things but nothing has worked 100%. So I am looking for a fogger that can be set off that will cover every nook and cranny in the gh and cover all plant surfaces.

Thus far I haven't been fortunate enough to have found such a product. So short of setting off a can of the total release and going back in to try to deactivate it after a few seconds or so I don't know what else to do.

I read a story on the internet - so who knows if it is true, but they sprayed neem oil on everything. The benches, ground, plants, and it worked. Maybe try that. I never used a bomb before either though. Good luck

I am using neem oil on the plants in my greenhouse to try and control bugs

Neem oil works fairly well, but the insecticidal effect of neem is delayed. Neem has the advantage that resistance is virtually unheardof. I used neem regularly for the last couple of winters. My citrus trees experienced leaf drop greater than expected and I eventually concluded that it was from too much neem. Now I use the neem about once a month or less and I combine it will other sprays and other methods of pest control with much better results.

I have also used pyrethrum bombs. I found that they had little direct effect on mealybugs. Other problems are include reentry period. Also, you have to put out the flames in the GH, so I had to put out the pilots on the heaters and so there was no heat for the night. However, it seems to have done a nice job of controlling the ants and flying insects. The ants farm the scale and the mealybugs, and so controlling the ants indirectly helped with all of the pests.

SB, I have never heard of having to put out pilot lights before using the bombs. I have used them many times in the past without shutting off my heaters with no ill effects-is the grhouse at risk for blowing up or something?
I don't find them that effective either.

I don't know, TL. Contrary to my usual practice, I read the directions first, then followed them exactly.

I just ordered 2 bombs from Home Harvest. Hope this will get rid of the white flies.

Please post your results, lizh! Once white fly gets established in a GH, the ONLY way to control them is with an aerosol bomb. I never found one, so I quit trying to grow winter tomatoes in the GH...

I just ordered 2 bombs. We will see. Hope they work , I have everything, white flys, aphids, mealybugs, gnats, not to mention slugs and snail. Its an ongoing battle. me against the bad guys.lol. I am not as delligent as I should be not only spraying but also fertilizing.
Please let me know how the bombs worked for you all.
Linda

If the bombs don't work, you might consider trying one of the Bayer systemic insecticides--I don't like the idea of systemics in general and will not use them outside in my garden beds, but for the greenhouse since it's close quarters and things spread fast I relaxed my usual rules and tried it (I was having problems with scale, spider mites, and aphids) and it's worked like a charm. I bought one that's a spray and it killed the bugs that were there and is supposed to prevent them from coming back for a month, but there are others that you apply to the soil, they work a little slower but the effect lasts many months.

I got mine yesterday. BUT... IT says "read label before using"
So as I pull on the "lift tab" to read it, the whole label comes off and you can't read anything.
I tried to be more careful with the other can but the same thing happened. I thought the directions might say, How many inches off the floor I should set them and how far apart. How long to keep the door and windows closed. Can anyone give me some answers.

You might try going to the manufacturer's website--they'll often have instructions or copies of product labels there. The instructions are probably going to be a little bit different depending on what brand of bug bomb you bought.

If that doesn't work, if you can post the EPA registration number I can look up the instructions for you next week when I'm at work (the EPA has a database of the labels/instructions for any pesticide products--it's open to the public but I only have the site bookmarked on my work computer not my home one) You'll find the registration number in small print somewhere on the front label, it'll say EPA reg no. and then it'll have usually 3 sets of numbers separated by dashes.

Thanks ecrane3, I sent an e-mail and they did reply back. He sent me to their website and I copied from there.

Yes, please let us know how these bug bombs work. I thought about it but I was afraid to ask. There is never a dumb question. I am so glad Xeramtheum that you asked. It makes perfect sense to me. I also have the small hobby greenhouse, so I am anxiously awaiting your results. Please tell us which product you used and what size greenhouse.
Thanks all
Good gardening

Hi,
I set a Doktor Doom bug bomb off this weekend in the greenhouse. As far as I can tell it worked. The white flys are dead, I don't see any gnats and the mealy bugs seem to be dead. The ones I can see anyway.
It didn't kill the slugs and snails or they came in after the fact.
Anyone else try it yet?
Linda

keep in mind that the bombs will not kill the whitefly larvae. So in a few days you will have more that have hatched. I have found horticultural oil or Neem oil more effective on the whitefly larvae, if you can get the spray underneath the leaves at the base of the plants where they are. Whitefly lay their eggs on the oldest leaves and hang out at the tops of the same plant. You can also remove the oldest leaves and throw away.

Well, I received the bombs and set them off on Monday. Today I saw couple live ones. I guess I'll go out and jerk off the old leaves, and spray again.

I agree with Tigerlilly---you can kill off ALL the adults by whatever method you choose, and you'll be OK for a couple of days. But then you'll have to start all over again, because the nits/eggs have come of age. Been through this whitefly saga, and it's no fun! Noticed my first whitefly appearance of the year on some young Clerodenrum rooted cuttings this morning. This is the furthest I've ever gotten into a GH growing season without their presence. But it sounded a clarion call to action! Took the entire bench, plant by plant (regardless of species) outside and soaked them with Merit. When they dried, I soaked them all again with Neem oil. When that dried, I moved them back into the GH. Under daily watch until they go outside for good. I think the real secret here is alertness---spot the potential problem BEFORE it get's to be a real problem. Once those white flies get established in the GH, it's pure "Hades" (due deference to Dave's Hall Monitors...) to get rid of them, in my experience. If you see ONE whitefly in the GH, jump on it! Spray everything within 10' of it...and start watching ALL the plants in the GH for signs.

Here's a good article on our enemy. Also the yellow sticky traps are a great help.

http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/b1077-w.html

Stono-you should have drenched all those plants with the Merit, and you would have gotten a 30 day coverage for a lot of bugs. Not sure that Merit kills on contact-it and Marathon are more of a systemic insecticide. Did it kill them?

By drench, I mean soaking the soil with the solution.

This question of Merit being an effective contact killer has come up before in my travels, tigerlilly. I know it's primarily used as a systemic (that's how I usually use it), but I read somewhere (the endless label?)it can be used on many insects as a contact killer. I've been using it for a couple of years now, and it does seem to work both ways. It's slower acting than most contact killers, but just as sure. A few days ago when I entered the greenhouse in the morning, I noticed hundreds of termites crawling along the floor. The only wood in the entire structure are the benches, and they're cyprus, so I don't think there was any real danger. I just don't like termites. I sprayed them with Merit and they just kept crawling along, but not in the neat little columns they had been in. They were mostly crawling in circles. I left for an hour, but when I got back, most were curled up in that little death ball they make. A few were still moving, but they were obviously SAS and crumped shortly after. Interesting aside: they all dropped their wings before they died. This morning I found more termites crawling along the floor, so I sprayed them with a "green" aerosol (pyrethrin based), and they were dead within minutes. I've also killed wasps and stink bugs with Merit. Stink bugs can take an hour to die, and it's painful (to me) to watch. Merit must be a neuro toxin because those bugs are suffering a clearly painful death!
What is your take on Disyston? It's another systemic I've used effectively...

I have never used/heard of Di-syston. Just looked at the label, it looks like its only registered for farming, not for grhouse use. Does it really work on mites? It looks like it is cheap-I like cheap! Farming chemicals are always cheaper than grhouse ones, even when they are the exact same product. I just checked on the price of Daconil-an oldie but goodie fungicide and it went up 4.5 times the price after they stopped labeling it for turf. $ 50 for a 5lb bag of granular. Highway robbery! lol

Gotta be honest with you here, Tigerlilly---I don't place a whole lot of faith in our politically-inspired regulatory agencies. I know you have to deal with them, but as a "free-grower", I don't. Praise Jesus! The reason for my cautiously worded question was simply this: I had been using Di-Syston for years quite effectively. And yes, it DOES seem to work on spider mites. And white fly. And mealy bugs. And just about any other sucking-insect pest. But a good friend of mine (pro-grower) got scared into jettisoning a few thousand dollars worth of the stuff by an EPA guy. She's the one that put me onto Merit, and I trust her wisdom---she can make anything grow! That was his recommendation. Merit is good stuff, in that it works. But so did Di-Syston. Merit's easier to apply in that its a liquid (Dy-Sytson's granular). But I haven't noticed much difference in results...they both work. When my Merit runs out, I'll probably quietley slip back to Di-Syston...at 1/10th the cost...