I have no first hand knowledge, but I do find a great deal on replacing DTE with Volcanic Ground rock for aeriation. I will enjoy finding out more, The DTE kills Ladybugs and we had to buy them when potatoe bugs came.
I like Ladybugs. but DTE is any water that isn’t ro anyway.
I’m not sure what sort of infestation I had in my soil but lots of things crawling around in it. Seemed so sudden too!
I started using Dr.Zymes and so far I gotta say I’m the count of fungus gnats way down. As well the soil is looking less “alive” with critters crawling in it. At first not much improvement but once I made the batches stronger I started to see a difference.
Just sharing my experience
Best of Luck to you!
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I saw a ladybug outside when I was washing out some pots. I picked it up and brought it into my veg tent. A few days latter I was watering my plants and before I did (I take them out to water them) it came to the surface. I picked it up and placed it back in on another pot. I think it was not happy with me as a few flyers got excited and left the soil when I moved the pot (I vacuum them up). The ladybug wandered back and forth on the lip of the pot, not sure what it was thinking. But good to see it alive.
I’m on likedown, but yes volcanic rock.
I use arbica alot and they say its better than DTE, for fertilizer and it 100% destroys aphids and soil fungus.
Today, I change to Volcanic Rock Dust, Thanks Bunny
@Astrodude I’ve tried to kill pests with DE. It didn’t work dry, and it especially won’t work when wet, as in mixed in the soil. Went through like 20lbs of the stuff in various endeavors. Good at making a hell of a mess, though.
@bunny if it absolutely has to be an “organic” fix I’d use tobacco tea and use it with every watering until they’re all dead. Nicotine will kill bugs you’ll probably just need several applications.
Lava rock isn’t going to work to kill root aphids. If it did every nursery in the world would use it. Perlite is fine shards of silica under microscope i.e. glass and bugs will happily live in perlite. Rockwool is fine rods of glassy mineral not terribly different than asbestos and bugs will live in that. Every soilless mix in every greenhouse is peat perlite and they get bugs, too.
Point is, there is no inert “sharp” ingredient that is going to fix this problem mechanically.
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I see where you’re going with this…
Thanks Vernal, I love to work to understand, so lets start with facts:
If Your a scientist or botanist that knows, lay it on us.
Do you have scientific evidence of DTE not working because there is plenty of evidence it does.
I researched when bunny told me about volcanic and I asked Arbico, they are my go to ag guys, they told me about Axera Gardening, said it does do everything you say it cannot and it’s a registered OMSA product which should mean testing. And pretty much they said every nursery in the world was now using volcanic dust as it was better as a fertilizer also. Plenty of proof of it being sold as such also with a simple search.
Then there’s empirical knowledge, I have seen a great deal of growing and until I see different, these things work and we never made tobacco tea.
Lay the facts out for me, I like to be tested.
PS Im 60 and blown away from my first trip to a grow store, I never went to one.
Bunch of BS, Subcools soil mix, BOGs dp method and 25 years later still the same for me, but alwayys wil;ling to learn and then test, I am looking for the answer. EGO on hold.
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I have used diatomaceous earth. It did not work. Indoors, or out. IDK what to tell you. It’s really as simple as that. It’s basically free, I had quite a big bag. I wish it worked…it just didn’t.
I assure you every nursery in the world doesn’t use volcanic dust and it’s definitely not a fertilizer replacement.
Correct me if I’m wrong…you’re saying that you got rid of an active root aphid infestation and kept it away purely with diatomaceous earth? Every bug infestation you’ve gotten in 25 years you’ve eradicated completely with diatomaceous earth?
Does anybody here know if clinoptinolite is a good source of silica?
Im going to go to the Clackamas Coot route, if all else fails I’ll start over…. I have several 30 gallon no till living soil pots so don’t want to throw those out.
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Beauveria bassiana? Probably too late…
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It is unfortunate that it did not work for you, in every formula for a successful product, there has to be a failure rate, whatever it is, you fell within it.
Anyone can right now reading this search under “volcanic dust in growing plants”
and in a few seconds form an opinion as to what volcanic dust can do.
https://www.google.com/search?q=volcanic+dust+in+growing+plants&sxsrf=AOaemvJ-9-BuwDqthu7GR8gEXdzvPl4grg%3A1634169452912&ei=bHJnYfaNN7GSwbkPp9SJ0Ag&ved=0ahUKEwj28_jNy8jzAhUxSTABHSdqAooQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=volcanic+dust+in+growing+plants&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBggAEBYQHjIFCAAQhgMyBQgAEIYDMgUIABCGAzIFCAAQhgM6BwgAEEcQsAM6CAghEBYQHRAeOgQIIRAKSgQIQRgAUL38BViJowZg1KYGaAFwAngAgAHAAYgBxgqSAQQxMS4zmAEAoAEByAEIwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz
No correcting you, but I kill aphids for people all the time in there grow rooms and tents with co2 dose. Not DTE, DTE is to prevent needing co2 in soil to begin with.
BUT that said, Thanks to todays due diligence and subsequent hours of reading since @bunny post, I will forever use volcanic dust in place of DTE.
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To do a small test of co2 gas one could use a tank of keyboard cleaner that is co2,
tube on cleaner sprayer down into soil as far as you can get it and empty the can in multiple places with short spirts so as not to chill plant roots too much. If you have all three stages you will see them on top gasping for air and watch them die.
Larvae and eggs will die with multiple treatments. done with bucket and fog technique, not little cans
If you look at the data, the most effective product was the Azadirachtin/Beauveria combination but even that was only 60% effective after 2 applications. By itself Beauveria was only somewhat effective and Azadirachtin by itself actually got a little worse.
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I have been using beauvaria bassiana in my IPM‘s. I haven’t used it in about a week and a half though. Definitely need some additional stuff or more thorough plan.
Man its a fight. Been there. Asexual reproduction is no fun
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Maybe a garbage bag around the pot before giving it a co2 injection? A piece of carbon dioxide at the bottom of the bag keeping the roots cool instead of 30 F?
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I like the way you think but just going to try the Clackamas coot recipe since he’s like the man when it comes to living soil and that’s the method I use.
Yeah I made the mistake of starting a good IPM regimen which worked really well for a while and then backing off of it. Was sort of sick of doing soil drenches over and over and have been testing this new theory of simply improve plant and soil health and raise the brix level and aphids go away. Easier said than done.