Vegetables Gardening - Growing Organic Vegetables

wow, i heard from the Bug Doctor already (must be a slow day at the university!!!).
Here's his answer; think i should dig further?
schulz

"Schulz",

I can kill any insect if I put it into a jar with DE. It works great in
closed systems- I have not been impressed with its effectiveness
outdoors because of the difficulty of getting it to stay on plant
leaves- or to get enough product into the soil to be effective.

Believe it or not there are times they try to reduce worm numbers- In
golf course greens and in airports- the worms on the runways attract
birds that become a plane hazards- There has been treatments of golf
course greens with the waste from coal plants- this is a glass shard
like silica and if it is the correct size will kill earthworms- but it
is used at much higher rates than DE

I do not worry about earthworm mortality from normal DE Use

All insects have and exoskeleton- A bee landing on a flower most likely
does not get exposed to enough DE to be an issue
DE is very effective in stored grain, interior wall void treatments and
other systems that force the insect to be in contract
Some DE formulations have pyrethrin mixed with them which makes them
more effective
Breathing lots of DE dust is not good for people
>

>
Phil Pellitteri
Distinguished Faculty Associate
UW Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab
1630 Linden Dr.
Madison , WI 53706
(608) 262-6510

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

• New Members 8
• New Photos 7