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[compost_tea] Re: aphids and tent caterpillars



--- In compost_tea@yahoogroups.com, "Susan Cruver" <scruver@m...> 
wrote:
> I'm with Jeff.  Once you've knocked the aphids off, they may not 
return.  Any liquid will do that.  If they've laid eggs, more aphids 
might appear.  Perhaps ACT coating the eggs is detrimental to 
hatching and you've prevented their return by spraying, or maybe it's 
just good luck if they don't return.  Jeff's greenhouse is a better 
test; greenhouses are spas for nasty bugs.
> 
> When Bob first raved about ACT stopping tent caterpillars, I brewed 
up a big batch and sprayed everything I could reach.  Seattle, where 
Bob has his warehouse, had a few tent caterpillars.  Kitsap County, 
where I live, was the center of the infestation.  I can't say it 
didn't help--maybe things would have been worse without it.  ACT 
certainly didn't arrest activity of all the tents I sprayed.  They 
didn't like getting wet but resumed activity within a few hours.  
However, I was able to reach only a small fraction of the tents as I 
have 5+ acres of forest, with many alders (the caterpillars' favorite 
food).  
> 

Suzanne - It's not overreaching to talk about compost tea having 
organisms in it that eat insects for lunch.  Such organisms live in 
both soils and on plant surfaces.  Bt is a common bacterial one that 
is now sold commercially and there are many fungi that basically do 
the same thing, which is to live by eating insects.  You can read all 
about it at 
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cee/biocontrol/pathogens/typesofpathogens/ent
omophthorales.html

We should all be happy to know that potentially there are many 
species of fungi and bacteria in the soil that are wanting to help us 
indirectly just by living.  That doesn't mean you or I have them in 
OUR particular extract on a given day but that is part of what making 
compost ectracts is all about if you're seriously working at it . . . 
if not you might be getting the benefit anyway which is great!   
Dave L.


> All my alders were 50-100% defoliated.  I sprayed Bt on my fruit 
trees, which did kill caterpillars.  The trouble is, the caterpillars 
have to eat a bit of the foliage in order for their digestive systems 
to seize up.  This infestation was of biblical proportions, so 
everything they liked was defoliated, Bt or no, as another 
caterpillar started munching as the previous one was dying.  Then 
they started on the stuff they didn't especially like, broadleaf 
evergreens of the Heath family like native rhododendrons, salal and 
evergreen huckleberries.  
> 
> This is more than anyone wants to know, I'm sure, but experiencing 
an insect infestation of this magnitude is amazing.
> 
> In conclusion, I hope we will be careful about not overselling 
ACT.  Healthy plants definitely resist pests and my personal 
experience attests to that (excepting the epic infestation).  But ACT 
can sound like snake oil easily enough if you're just describing its 
positive affect on plant growth and how it can outcompete 
pathenogenic organisms when applied to foliage.  I share the 
enthusiasm for ACT but hope we don't overreacing. 
Suzanne Cruver

Suzanne - It's not overreaching to talk about compost tea having 
organisms in it that eat insects for lunch.  Such organisms live in 
both soils and on plant surfaces.  Bt is a common bacterial one that 
is now sold commercially and there are many fungi that basically do 
the same thing, which is to live by eating insects.  You can read all 
about it at 
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cee/biocontrol/pathogens/typesofpathogens/ent
omophthorales.html

We should all be happy to know that potentially there are many 
species of fungi and bacteria in the soil that are wanting to help us 
indirectly just by living.  That doesn't mean you or I have them in 
OUR particular extract on a given day but that is part of what making 
compost ectracts is all about if you're seriously working at it . . . 
if not you might be getting the benefit anyway which is great!   
Dave L




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