Saturday, November 6, 2010

Bug problems

After arriving home from the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival earlier this week I discovered that my sage had an insect problem. When Zack and I went shopping on Wednesday I looked for an indoor insecticide that was not harmful to pets and found nothing. (The sage and mint are in the house for the winter)

So on Thursday I started searching the web for a homemade insecticide, and I found this very helpful website on making all kinds of different ones. However, since I still didn't know exactly what kind of bug I was dealing with I wasn't sure what kind to use, and decided on the alcohol spray. It seemed to work pretty well, but I still wasn't satisfied that it was the right approach.

So on Friday I did some more research and discovered the insects in question are spider mites. The article says they are very resistant to insecticides, so now I'm wondering if my alcohol spray might not work in the long run. What do you think? I would greatly appreciate any advice or helpful hints. :-)

Leave a comment below if you can think of something. And thanks already!!!

1 comment:

  1. Okay, this is from my Sunset garden book; try washing off the mites. Take the pot outside and hold it at an angle, using the hose spray all the leaves forcefully, especially the undersides. Also insecticidal soap may work or use horticultural oil or neem oil. If necessary put a barrier around the plant to keep the cat away.

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