Well if I can find it locally I'll use it and post some results... it is expensive shit though. Seems it only affects them at certain stages of life, but I'm hoping that in combination with other chemicals it'll be enough to break their life cycle...
I think botanigard is incompatible with nematodes though... I wonder what the residual time is after using botanigard until you can introduce nematodes.
Lastly, I was thinking last night after doing some research. I read somewhere that they will not cause infestations in sandy soil... they prefer clay-type soils. So what about mixing like 1/2 sand to 1/2 soil when you start? I wonder if that would help at all... I think every little thing to make the environment harsh for them is beneficial though... I'm definitely going to be adding sand the next round.
I can tell you that pyrethrins do nothing to these bastards. I covered them with pyrethrins, and they swam out and walked away. Didn't even touch them.
If you can't use imid, I would go with nematodes.
The operations had tried applications of Talstar (bifenthrin) and Marathon (imidacloprid) applied as a soil drench with poor results controlling root aphids.
All of the treatments applied as soil drenches gave good control levels. Orthene applications provided the best control, with close to 100 percent mortality of root aphids. Dycarb applications gave a fair level of control, with death occurring in 85 percent of the root aphids. BotaniGard gave close to 96 percent control.
Submerging the rootballs in insecticidal soap for a 30-second duration delivered very poor control, less than 30 percent. Submerging them in insecticidal soap for a 60-second duration gave control of close to 70 percent. Submersion of the rootball for 90-120 seconds gave a 95 percent control level. It is interesting that the white wax was dissolved by the insecticidal soap submersion method; the white wax is what customers are going to notice when they remove the pot to transplant. With the Orhtene, Dycarb and BotaniGard applications, the white wax was still present two weeks after application, even after the aphids were killed.
Clark et al. (1998) explored the possibility for imidacloprid to contaminate the air via cigarette smoke. In their study, cigarette smoke made from tobacco that was treated with radiolabelled imidacloprid was analyzed for the presence of residues. The majority of the radioactivity (34.6 percent) was recovered from carbon dioxide; 6.1 percent of the recovered radioactivity was contributed by imidacloprid and imidacloprid urea. It is unlikely that cigarette smoke is a significant source of imidacloprid exposure.
yes, and drown the roots in the process.But why did they stop at 2 minutes? Would ten minutes or longer kill 100%? http://www.onhort.com/Some-Aphids-Go-Deep-Others-High-article2797
Do you have direct experience with this or any references to support your claim?yes, and drown the roots in the process.