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Subject: Re: biting bugs in Va. lawns
From: orangerose@aol.com (Orangerose)
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Date: Fri, 12 May 00 14:13:55
Message-ID: <MOD$000512.20686@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
References: <MOD$000512.13284@rec.gardens.ecosystems>



>Is this a joke? It just sounds like a whole bunch of weird
>stuff to mix up to me. Or does it work, I wonder? Has anyone
>tried this? Does anyone know it to work?
This sounds like stuff from that guy--oh, I can't remember his name--he has
some infomercials and a couple of books about "magic" gardening using commonly
available household items. Ammonia has some very available Nitrogen in it so
it gives your lawn a quick green-up--though it is extrememly soluble and could
pollute the ground water. Not exactly organic, I might add. Tobacco contains
nicotine, which is a rather effective insecticide--again, hardly an "organic"
way of dealing with pests. Nicotine may be from plant sources, but so is
rotenone, and most organic practitioners would only use a broad-spectrum
insecticide as a last resort. You could kill off beneficials including
earthworms. Finally, the beer--this I can't seem to remember what's in it. I
think it might act as a spreader-sticker for the other ingredients.

When dealing with pests, the very first thing is to identify the pest. I would
suggest standing out in your lawn in the areas where you think you've been
bitten. If you wear white pants, any insects that jump on you should be
obvious. Catch whatever you can, then try to figure it out. Call your county
ag office--they might know what is prevalent in your area. THEN think about
what to do. If what you have makes a ground-dwelling larval stage, you might
try beneficial nematodes. If not, maybe it likes damp/dry conditions and you
can alter your irrigation schedule to make the lawn dryer/damper accordingly.

Of course, you could just buy some diazinon pellets and kill *everything* in
the lawn.

But if you want to deal with this in an evironmentally sensitive manner, I
would start with really making an effort to identify the pest. If you
absolutely cannot ID it, then try the least harmful remedy first--nematodes
will not hurt anything other than ground-dwelling larvae. As a last resort, I
would try insecticidal soap--and that failing, insecticidal soap with a little
neem.

Kelly