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 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).   
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 overreach. 
Susan Cruver 
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