Organic Pest/Dieases IPM 101

[Weird]

Found something interesting about thyme today

The volatile oil components of thyme have also been shown to have antimicrobial activity against a host of different bacteria and fungi. Staphalococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Shigella sonnei are a few of the species against which thyme has been shown to have antibacterial activity.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=77

can't verify the validity but if you use plant oils as pesticides I thought this might interest you.

 

[Carlos Danger]

The percentages I've been seeing in pest controls suggests essential oils is our way to go, and not just grinding and soaking herbs for 24 or 48h. I think the last number I saw for thyme suggested an application of 10% thyme oil could interrupt insect hatching.

 

[CoastalSFC]

I am a big fan of sm-90

it is made of these ingredients

1% coriander oil
94% sulphonated canola oil solution
5% triethanolamine

Beware, it inhibits bacteria growth when applied to soil. I use it as a spray.

 

[GiMiK]

I copied and pasted this from my post from the organics section of GC here for more visibility since this discussion came up here. I don't mean to direct traffic elsewhere but there are plenty of discussions on it there if you wish to pursue this method.

I've been utilizing essential oils as part of my regular IPM routine for over a year now with extremely effective results; fresh material imo is the best option ofc but for those times you cannot source it these come in handy, as well as being convenient for ease of use.

Essential Oils - A Review
Okay, since my last thread about oils bombed, I'm starting this one to help inform everybody here about the uses of plant derived pesticides, which are far less expensive and dangerous than manufactured chemicals.

This information may have been covered already, but I haven't seen anyone consolidate the information yet. If it's been done, my bad, I didn't see it. Posted Image

Anyways, onto the info.

!!!READ THIS!!! http://jonnsaromatherapy.com/pdf/GC-...is_2006_01.pdf


"The purified terpenoid constituents of essential oils are moderately toxic to mammals (Table 1), but, with few exceptions, the oils themselves or products based on oils are mostly nontoxic to mammals, birds, and fish (Stroh et al., 1998), therefore, justifying their placement under “green pesticides”. Owing to their volatility, essential oils have limited persistence under field conditions; therefore, although natural enemies are susceptible via direct contact, predators and parasitoids reinvading a treated crop one or more days after treatment are unlikely to be poisoned by residue contact as often occurs with conventional insecticides.

Other essential oils such as lemon grass (Cimbopogon winteriana), Eulcalyptus globulus, rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis), vetiver (Vetiveria zizanoides), clove (Eugenia caryophyllus) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) are known for their pest control properties. While peppermint (Mentha piperita) repels ants, flies, lice and moths; pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) wards off fleas, ants, lice, mosquitoes, ticks and moths. Spearmint (Mentha spicata) and basil (Ocimum basilicum) are also effective in warding off flies. Similarly, essential oil bearing plants like Artemesia vulgaris, Melaleuca leucadendron, Pelargonium roseum, Lavandula angustifolia, Mentha piperita, and Juniperus virginiana are also effective against various insects and fungal pathogens (Kordali et al., 2005). Studies conducted on the effects of volatile oil constituents of Mentha species are highly effective against Callosobruchus maculatus and Tribolium castanum, the common stored grain pests (Tripathi et al., 2000). Essential oils derived from eucalyptus and lemongrass have also been found effective as animal repellents, antifeedants, insecticides, miticides and antimicrobial products; thus finding use as disinfectants, sanitizers, bacteriostats, microbiocides, fungicides and some have made impact in protecting household belongings. Essential oil from Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cymbopogon citratus, Lavandula angustifolia syn. L. officinalis, Tanacetum vulgare, Rabdosia melissoides, Acorus calamus, Eugenia caryophyllata, Ocimum spp., Gaultheria procumbens, Cuminum cymium, Bunium persicum, Trachyspermum ammi, Foeniculum vulgare, Abelmoschus moschatus, Cedrus spp. and Piper species are also known for their varied pest control properties.


Citronella (Cymbopogon nardus) essential oil has been used for over fifty years both as an insect repellent and an animal repellent. Combining few drops each of citronella, lemon (Citrus limon), rose (Rosa damascena), lavender and basil essential oils with one litre of distilled water is effective to ward off indoor insect pests. The larvicidal activity of citronella oil has been mainly attributed to its major monoterpenic constituent citronellal (Zaridah et al., 2003)."

Source: http://www.nri.org/projects/adappt/docs/63-84.pdf


Lavender, Lavandula angustifolia – linalyl acetate, linalool, borneol, geraniol, lavandulol, lavandulyl acetate, terpineol, cineol, limonene, ocimene, caryophyllene, aeranyl acetate, pinene

Eucalyptus, Blue Gum, Eucalyptus globulus – cineol, pinene, limonene, cymene, phellendrene, terpinene, aromadendrene, citronellal, camphene, fenchene

Clove bud, Eugenia caryophyllus – eugenol, eugenyl acetate, caryophyllene

Mint, Peppermint, Mentha piperta – menthol, menthone, menthyl acetate, menthofuran, limonene, pulegone, cineol, carvone, jasmone, carvacrol, phellandrene

Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis – pinene, camphene, limonene, cineol, borneol, camphor, linalool, terpineol, octanone, bornyl acetate, cuminic, caryophyllene


Source:http://cherylin.co.uk/chemical-const...l-oils-may.pdf




Eugenol is a component of clove oil. It is a fast acting contact insecticide that is effective on a wide variety of household pests such as cockroaches, ants, dust mites, flies, wasps, spiders, crickets, and fleas. It is also used on some ornamental plant pests such as armyworms, thrips, aphids and mites.
Eugenol has little or no residual activity, although the scent of cloves will linger. Products based on eugenol are considered minimum risk pesticides with very low risk of damage to the environment or user.

Source:HGIC 2770 Less Toxic Insecticides : Extension : Clemson University : South Carolina

Limonene is a naturally occurring chemical which is used in many
food products, soaps and perfumes for its lemon-like flavor and odor.
Limonene also is a registered active ingredient in 15 pesticide products used
as insecticides, insect repellents, and dog and cat repellents.

Source:http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/fac...s/3083fact.pdf

Pulegone - The essential oils (EOs) extracted from the mint species Mentha pulegium and Mentha spicata, together with their main constituents, pulegone, menthone, and carvone, were tested for insecticidal and genotoxic activities on Drosophila melanogaster. The EOs of both aromatic plants showed strong insecticidal activity, while only the oil of M. spicata exhibited a mutagenic one. Among the constituents studied, the most effective insecticide was found to be pulegone, while the most effective for genotoxic activity was menthone. Data show that both toxic and genotoxic activities of the EOs of the two studied mint plants are not in accordance with those of their main constituents, pulegone, menthone, and carvone. Pulegone is significantly more effective (9 times) as an insecticide, while menthone and carvone are less effective (6 and 2 times, respectively) insecticides when used in their authentic forms, and a mixture of authentic pulegone and menthone, in levels resembling their content in the oil of M. pulegium, showed that the strong toxicity of pulegone is suppressed in the presence of menthone. All the above suggest that synergistic/antagonistic phenomena may be involved that alter the toxicity of the whole EO.

Source: Insecticidal and genotoxic activities of mint essential oils. - Abstract - Europe PubMed Central

Linalool - Linalool has been shown to be good at killing mites: It's called an acaricide, which is are "pesticides that kill members of the Acari group, which includes ticks and mites" (p. 411 and 420, Bioactive Natural Products). "As a pesticide, Linalool is intended for use indoors to control pests (fleas and ticks) on pets and the spaces they inhabit by affecting the insect’s nervous system. Linalool is also used as an outdoor mosquito inhibitor..." (from the FDA handout), although there is some doubt about its efficacy for mosquitoes.

Source: Point of Interest!: Essential oils: Linalool

I could go on about pinene, cineol and acetates, but I'll stop here and supply some scientific evidence displaying the power of plants.

This is truly an important read for anybody interested in making their own cheap, safe and effective insecticides, using readily available plant material.

This is for the people who still doubt there are beneficial applications for our favorite plant, in regards to pest control.

!!!READ THIS!!! http://jonnsaromatherapy.com/pdf/GC-...is_2006_01.pdf

2.5 Comparative toxicities
Based on the 100% lethal concentration and following the natural composition of the oil indicated byGC/MS (see Table 1), individual constituents were tested at levels equivalent to those found in the LC100 of the oil (20ml litre−1 for beans and 40ml litre−1 for tomatoes) (see Table 2). Individual constituents (α-pinene 98%, β-pinene 99%, 1,8-cineole 99%, p-cymene 99%, α- terpineol 97%, bornyl acetate 97%, borneol 99%, camphor 96%, D-limonene 97% and camphene 95%) were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich (St Louis, MO, USA). In order to identify the contribution of each constituent to the toxicity of the oil, we made a blend of all major constituents as well as blends each lacking one of the ten major constituents (see Fig. 1).We compared the toxicity of the complete and incomplete blends with that of pure rosemary oil. In the next step we made blends of those constituents which contributed to the toxicity of the oil (active constituents) and compared them with those which did not affect the toxicity (inactive constituents)

One more time, in case you missed it;

!!!READ THIS!!! http://jonnsaromatherapy.com/pdf/GC-...is_2006_01.pdf

Lol, if you still doubt, go look up the MSDS of SNS 217, one of the most effective spray treatments you can buy over the counter.

Check out the active ingredients, then compare the price between that product and essential oils.

Hope this helps some people stay cleaner and healthier, not to mention save a few bucks.

 

[GiMiK]

I source all of mine through this site here.

http://www.libertynatural.com/

 

[710420]

Sad this thread is dead. Any organic expert willing to update with their own foliar sprays and tea application rates and ingredients?!?!

 

[Mikell]

I use a variety of oils. I would love to see someone spray 10% thyme oil, not sure what kind of advice that is XD I use it at less than 0.1%, it's incredibly phytotoxic, much like bergamot, clove, etc. I should have kept notes when I was experimenting hehe.

Peppermint and rosemary are a great place to start, 0.5% as a first spray, go from there.

http://www.sierranaturalscience.com/THYME_CLOVEOIL.pdf

http://www.google.com/patents/US5885600 - Mixing neem with other oils (Neem/Citronella/Cedarwood). Also contains some very interesting information on neem oil.

When combined with the other crude expeller pressed oils in a formula containing two parts cold processed Neem oil (50%), one part cold processed Citronella oil (25%) and one part cold processed Cedarwood oil (25%) by total weight of the oils...

...formulations may include Neem oil in an amount of from about 10-50% by weight, Citronella oil in an amount of from about 5-30% by weight, and Cedarwood oil in an amount of from about 5-30% by weight.

The dilution ratio of this emulsion ranges from about 1:25 up to about 1:100 parts concentrate to water.

I really do enjoy mixing oils and love reading things as above.

Does anyone have any information regarding soap/essential oil foliage dunks? I used a 1/2 spray concentration, (0.5% Rosemary, 0.50% Bonners Peppermint), dunked for 20-30 seconds (couldn't find any concrete timing), and burned the living shit out of a bonsai mum collection. I assume I soaked for too long? I filtered the left over solution into a sprayer for some aphids outdoors afterwards, with no ill effect.

 

[Weird]

I am a big fan of sm-90

it is made of these ingredients

1% coriander oil
94% sulphonated canola oil solution
5% triethanolamine

Beware, it inhibits bacteria growth when applied to soil. I use it as a spray.

I inhibits anaerobic growth not aerboic bacterial growth

You can call the owner of nutrilife and ask him. Name is Kelly. They tested the product on microbiology.

I no longer use sm-90 but for many years it was a regular in my tool box.

 

[Mikell]

http://www.neemuses.com/

And interesting website, anyone have any experience? Fired them an email enquiring prices. They have some very interesting products.

 

[Mikell]

HAH! Someone finally tried it! Or more rightly, I noticed that someone finally tried it.

Click here!

The original article/abstract!

For some reason, very excited by this. Maybe it's the half a dozen snowflakes that fell today, altering my mood.

Systemic use of spinosad to control the two-spotted spider mite (Acari: Tetranychidae) on tomatoes grown in rockwool.

Spinosad is a reduced-risk insecticide derived as a fermentation product from the soil actinomycete Saccharopolyspora spinosa. It is toxic by ingestion and contact and has a unique mode of action on the insect nervous system. Spinosad exhibits a high degree of selective toxicity towards the insect orders Lepidoptera, Diptera and Thysanoptera, but is less toxic to many beneficial arthropods. To determine if spinosad could be valuable as an alternative acaricide for the control of Tetranychus urticae, laboratory toxicity experiments with leaf-disk bio-assays were performed on a laboratory susceptible and several resistant strains. LC50 values were rather high in comparison with newly developed commercial acaricides. Surprisingly, when spinosad was applied to the roots of tomato plants in rock wool, excellent control of spider mites was obtained. Apparently, spinosad has systemic properties and quantities as low as 1 mg/plant could protect tomato plants from mite infestation. Different substrates with varying percentage of clay and organic matter were tested in comparison with rockwool and showed that sufficient control was restricted to the rockwool substrate. Consequently, a dose-response experiment with tomato plants grown in rockwool was set up. The persistence of spinosad toxicity when applied via the roots was determined, and pointed to a long lasting control (up to 30 DAT). Spinosad amounts in leaves after systemic application were determined with an immunological technique to quantify spinosad uptake. Correlations between mite control, spinosad uptake and leaf concentrations can be helpful to determine the necessary dose in field situations.

Now to go pummel Chunkypigs for more information.

 

[3rdEye]

This thread needs some bumping. Fantastic information.

I'm using fresh rosemary, cilantro, garlic, pepper, and an artemisia spp. for my next botanical soak and then it's spray time!

 

[Bubbarandon]

This thread needs some bumping. Fantastic information.

I'm using fresh rosemary, cilantro, garlic, pepper, and an artemisia spp. for my next botanical soak and then it's spray time!

I'm with 3rdeye! Great information here. What's up, buddy?

 

[Cobra420]

A few posts from old cootz...

Pesticide Sprays


Quote:
So while you're at Whole Foods pick-up Cilantro (organic ONLY) and when you get home toss the entire bunch (sans the tie around the middle) into a food processor with enough water to make a slurry or puree.

Add this to 1 gallon of clear water and let it sit for 36 - 48 hours. No more than this.

Add 1 cup of strained Cilantro tea to 15 cups of water = 1 gallon. Allow for 1/4 cup of Aloe vera juice and use 1 tsp. of Pro-TeKt.

Wait until the it's almost "light's out" and spray the top of the soil, every branch, every leaf from top to bottom. You want the plant to look like you haven't watered in several days and it's drooping big time.

Leave the ventilation system going and by morning you won't have anything hopping, flying, whatever in your chamber. Follow this up every 4 days until you're completed 4 applications.

Done. Finis. Ovah.

This is not a pesticide in the usual definition and without a long explanation you might need to trust me on this one - I apply this and other 'Mint' teas to hydrate the soil every couple of weeks.

"Bio Stimulants"

If you're concerned then pick-up a couple of throw-away plants at Home Depot - Marigolds are a good one. Water this plant with your Cilantro mix and see for yourself.

HTH

CC

Will this one work on spider mites??

I'm pretty positive a couple plants in my mother tent have them. I wasn't sure what was going on at first so I'm a little behind on the attack. With the humidity in there, luckily it appears to be minor. I'm hoping I can get it under control though.

I have already sprayed them all down Friday, due to spray them down again tomorrow. I'm thinking I may spray every 2 days instead of every 4, if this will take care of them... Any ideas if this will help? I'd love to make sure I keep the plants that are being attacked.

Any other Organic Remedies I can use for them? I've been searching the web and have seen a bunch of different concoctions but I'd like to use something that's tried and true haha. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Mikell]

"So while you're at Whole Foods..."

I always take that statement as a cue to stop reading.

Whole plant dunks or full coverage sprays, as well as spraying the grow room, with peppermint Dr.Bronners at 1-2% concentration works well. Three sprays minimum, three to four days apart. Make sure plants are well hydrated. Adding 3-5 drops per litre of peppermint essential oil increases efficacy but too much will burn sensitive plants.

As Coot mentioned that is not a pesticide solution but a preventative.

Many mixes are well documented, don't rely on one alone even if it can't develope resistance re: soaps and oils.

 

[Cobra420]

"So while you're at Whole Foods..."

I always take that statement as a cue to stop reading.

Whole plant dunks or full coverage sprays, as well as spraying the grow room, with peppermint Dr.Bronners at 1-2% concentration works well. Three sprays minimum, three to four days apart. Make sure plants are well hydrated. Adding 3-5 drops per litre of peppermint essential oil increases efficacy but too much will burn sensitive plants.

As Coot mentioned that is not a pesticide solution but a preventative.

Many mixes are well documented, don't rely on one alone even if it can't develope resistance re: soaps and oils.

Thanks for the response. Prior to seeing this, I noticed a few crawling on the tops of leaves so I sprayed some of the mothers down again with this mixture to see if it kills on contact. It said "Pesticide Spray" but I didn't realize it was a preventative measure.

I'll be checking over them in a few to see if any are still moving. Using the scope to look them over after spraying, it was difficult to tell if they were dead or not. No movement but I wasn't sure if they were just staying still. After 4 days since spraying, there was definitely a noticeable amount out sunbathing today. Not really seeing ANY webbing though so I'm hoping I've caught them before they become too out of control.

I'm a huge Bronner's fan so I'm going to try the Peppermint Soap, maybe with added essential oils. I was figuring since the mothers are fairly small, I will probably be better off doing a foliage dip over spraying. I'm sure I can figure out a way to keep the soil in the container while the plants are suspended upside down.

If I'm understanding you correctly, I'd use about 38mL of Peppermint Bronners Soap to 1 Gallon of H20 (1% of 1 gallon = 37.85mL) and add around 10ish drops of Peppermint essential oil. I have a ton of different essential oils, any others that are recommended? I have quite a few clones I can try this dip on ahead of time to see how the plants react.

I'm seeing the main issue is getting at the eggs. Does the peppermint do anything to the eggs or is this something I can expect to do every 3 days for a while.

 

[Cobra420]

I use a variety of oils. I would love to see someone spray 10% thyme oil, not sure what kind of advice that is XD I use it at less than 0.1%, it's incredibly phytotoxic, much like bergamot, clove, etc. I should have kept notes when I was experimenting hehe.

Peppermint and rosemary are a great place to start, 0.5% as a first spray, go from there.

http://www.sierranaturalscience.com/THYME_CLOVEOIL.pdf

http://www.google.com/patents/US5885600 - Mixing neem with other oils (Neem/Citronella/Cedarwood). Also contains some very interesting information on neem oil.

When combined with the other crude expeller pressed oils in a formula containing two parts cold processed Neem oil (50%), one part cold processed Citronella oil (25%) and one part cold processed Cedarwood oil (25%) by total weight of the oils...

...formulations may include Neem oil in an amount of from about 10-50% by weight, Citronella oil in an amount of from about 5-30% by weight, and Cedarwood oil in an amount of from about 5-30% by weight.

The dilution ratio of this emulsion ranges from about 1:25 up to about 1:100 parts concentrate to water.

I really do enjoy mixing oils and love reading things as above.

Does anyone have any information regarding soap/essential oil foliage dunks? I used a 1/2 spray concentration, (0.5% Rosemary, 0.50% Bonners Peppermint), dunked for 20-30 seconds (couldn't find any concrete timing), and burned the living shit out of a bonsai mum collection. I assume I soaked for too long? I filtered the left over solution into a sprayer for some aphids outdoors afterwards, with no ill effect.

Hmm, doing some research on these spider mites and I'm curious what types of success you've had with other types of essential oils and their percentages per gallon.

I read on another site, someone saying they use 3mL each of Rosemary, Spike Lavender and Peppermint per gallon of H20 while also adding a little bit of Protekt and Aloe Vera as an emulsifier and surfactant. Unsure how true it is, but they were saying the oils of Spike Lavender "melts the eggs and kills the mites". Since using this mix, they claim to have ZERO issues with mites now.

I just got a few different essential oils that I plan on using to do a dunk. I did the math and the amount used for each essential oil is about .0008% per gallon which seems quite low but he states raising the amount may cause burning.

In your experience, how high of a % of oil have you found to be useable without burning the shit out of your plants? I too, am planning on using the above mix on my bonsai mothers to see what sort of results I get.

Do you think it was the Bronners soap that burned your plants since you recommend .5% for both Peppermint and Rosemary as a starting point?

If I were to use the recipe above as a dunk, what kind of times do you think I should dunk them for? A quick in and out or should I go for 10,15 seconds? Odd it worked fine as a foliar but not as a dunk.

Also, when using soap, are you supposed to wash the soap off after a bit? I thought I had read something about it smothering the stoma of the plants or something so rinsing them off afterwards was recommended.

Thanks for your advice so far.

 

[Mikell]

Eventually figured out (destructive testing) the centre of the root balls on the burned plants were bone dry. As well, the peppermint oil caused a good portion of the damage at that concentration (can't recall where I got it from).

Bronners is safe but after two sprays I do a rinse. Hard water can make a toxic mixture.

I work a dodgy schedule at best and can be out of town with little notice for days or weeks at a time. Rehydrating peat is second nature now. And only treating well watered plants, especially when experimenting.

I haven't treated cannabis with peppermint extensively since. A few drops to a spray bottle of soap solution once or twice to no ill effect. Not much with other oils either. At the time I added a few drops of this or that to rosemary/neem combos but they're effect was unknown.

I did play around a bit with peppers. 0.125% works well on aphids with no burn on chinense. More stable emulsions may function as well at lower concentration.

Every oil is different and I haven't had much call or pest subjects to experiment with others. If you tinker, start low and spray at night. Low re: not 0.5% there are many studies that will give you a rough idea, but the plants tested are obviously not cannabis and many do not mention effect to plant health, if plants were even sprayed to determine toxicity to pests.

Rosemary is safe around 1%, I believe SNS goes up to 2.

Copying recipes from SNS or Dominion is easy stomping ground, bear in mind their emulsifiers/surfactants are more stable and effective than the aloe/proteck or aloe/agsil combos. At the least it saves hundreds of dollars.

I dunk for 15-20 seconds while agitating the plant. Sounds like a good recipe, there's no reason not to try it out. Haven't used lavender but have read a few encouraging articles. If you're worried about burn, test one plant. Anything serious will show within 24-48hrs.

 

[Cobra420]

Eventually figured out (destructive testing) the centre of the root balls on the burned plants were bone dry. As well, the peppermint oil caused a good portion of the damage at that concentration (can't recall where I got it from).

Bronners is safe but after two sprays I do a rinse. Hard water can make a toxic mixture.

I work a dodgy schedule at best and can be out of town with little notice for days or weeks at a time. Rehydrating peat is second nature now. And only treating well watered plants, especially when experimenting.

I haven't treated cannabis with peppermint extensively since. A few drops to a spray bottle of soap solution once or twice to no ill effect. Not much with other oils either. At the time I added a few drops of this or that to rosemary/neem combos but they're effect was unknown.

I did play around a bit with peppers. 0.125% works well on aphids with no burn on chinense. More stable emulsions may function as well at lower concentration.

Every oil is different and I haven't had much call or pest subjects to experiment with others. If you tinker, start low and spray at night. Low re: not 0.5% there are many studies that will give you a rough idea, but the plants tested are obviously not cannabis and many do not mention effect to plant health, if plants were even sprayed to determine toxicity to pests.

Rosemary is safe around 1%, I believe SNS goes up to 2.

Copying recipes from SNS or Dominion is easy stomping ground, bear in mind their emulsifiers/surfactants are more stable and effective than the aloe/proteck or aloe/agsil combos. At the least it saves hundreds of dollars.

I dunk for 15-20 seconds while agitating the plant. Sounds like a good recipe, there's no reason not to try it out. Haven't used lavender but have read a few encouraging articles. If you're worried about burn, test one plant. Anything serious will show within 24-48hrs.

I tried the mix as a spray instead of a dunk a few days ago and got a little bit of burn. Nothing too crazy with some more affected than others and some not showing any burn at all. I only have .024% combined oil in the mix. Honestly, I think its because I did it at lights on. I figured with them being under T12s and quite far from them, it wouldn't be too big of a deal... Rereading where I got this mix from, he states NOT to spray while lights on so lesson learned.

So I sprayed them again this evening and have changed the light schedule so it was at lights out this time. We'll see what happens with that. Hoping all will be alright. I can't tell for sure at the moment, but it seems to be helping I think. Don't see any out sunbathing like I was able to a few days ago.

Now my question is "emulsifiers". I'm not using any at the moment since I don't have any Protekt. I think its suppose to help mix the oil and water together right? I have been shaking the hell out of the spray bottle every couple minutes. What exactly is the emulsifier for?

I was thinking of ordering some Protekt, but was wondering if there is anything else I can use until I get it. I'm LOVING the smell of this mix by the way. It makes my entire house smell like peppermint/lavender/rosemary. Does have a tendency to burn the eyes a little while spraying though.

 

[Mikell]

Always reminded me of the holidays when we mixed up batches of rosemary doped with thyme.

No emulsifier explains the burn, oil and water don't mix well. While you can disperse the oil with agitation it will quickly separate and burn.

There are different types of emulsifiers, but generally speaking they disperse oil in water and slow separation. Some play duel roles as wetting agents.

Liquid or dry potassium silicate, Castile soap, yucca and lecithins are common organic emulsifiers.

There is much discussion and information buried in the forums here, as well as general googling.

Vigorous shaking works well, if you have an immersion blender they're the knee bees.

Low lighting with flourescents does allow a bit of leeway but is highly variable.

Many state plain Dawn dish soap works and the easiest to source. 1/2 to 1 tsp per litre. I've yet to try it but have used Castile for the same purpose, it would be wise to test it out first on one or two plants.

 

[Cobra420]

Always reminded me of the holidays when we mixed up batches of rosemary doped with thyme.

No emulsifier explains the burn, oil and water don't mix well. While you can disperse the oil with agitation it will quickly separate and burn.

There are different types of emulsifiers, but generally speaking they disperse oil in water and slow separation. Some play duel roles as wetting agents.

Liquid or dry potassium silicate, Castile soap, yucca and lecithins are common organic emulsifiers.

There is much discussion and information buried in the forums here, as well as general googling.

Vigorous shaking works well, if you have an immersion blender they're the knee bees.

Low lighting with flourescents does allow a bit of leeway but is highly variable.

Many state plain Dawn dish soap works and the easiest to source. 1/2 to 1 tsp per litre. I've yet to try it but have used Castile for the same purpose, it would be wise to test it out first on one or two plants.

Hmm. So adding some Dr Bronners to the mix would help as an emulsifier?

I have a few different kinds at the moment, Rose, Lavender and Peppermint, one of which I bought solely for the purpose of using in my spray... I opted out of using any though because I wasn't sure if the addition of it would be "too much" with all the essential oils. Less is more. Seeing that isn't always the case.

I shook and shook the bottle often but now I'm hoping the plants will be alright after last nights spray. Not using an emulsifier would make sense, if the oils and water separated while on the leaves, I can totally see that causing the burn. As long as the plants are fine from yesterdays spraying, I'll try this mix again with the added soap. I really hope they'll be alright. May have to let them grow a little before spraying again. We'll see what happens.

Now that I think about it, the wife mentioned the other day it states on the Dr Bronners bottle what ratio to mix it with in H20 for an insecticidal soap. Thinking I will have to try this out next time.