# Littlefrog - Imidaproclid Question for you



## Heather (Jun 30, 2006)

*Littlefrog - Imidocloprid Question for you*

Rob - 
you mentioned that you had mite issues with Imidocloprid, can you elaborate? Isn't it (and Merit/Marathon/Bayer) a miticide? 

Thanks!


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## littlefrog (Jun 30, 2006)

Heather said:


> Rob -
> you mentioned that you had mite issues with Imidaproclid, can you elaborate? Isn't it (and Merit/Marathon/Bayer) a miticide?
> 
> Thanks!



Quite the opposite, actually. There are peer reviewed publications showing that imidocloprid actually enhances mite population. I'm not sure of the mechanisms. Actually I can't get the papers without paying for them, so I've only read the abstracts, but it correlates well with my own personal experience. I almost lost all of my cycnoches and catasetums last summer after spraying them with the bayer spray. Not direct toxicity, but an explosion of spider mites. Since then I've heard of others having the same problem. Wish I'd heard it before I sprayed.

Could be that we are reducing mite predators, or there could be a direct biological effect on the pest mites. Or both? Regardless, I did just spray on Tuesday for that *&%!##! boisduval scale (and thrips... never seen thrips before a few weeks ago), and I included a miticide (Kelthane) in the mix, hopefully to prevent last year's problem. And I tried to avoid spraying the catasetinae, too.


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## Heather (Jun 30, 2006)

Thanks Rob. I wonder why? the predator reduction idea sounds plausible...

What'd you use for the thirps? 
I don't have a mite issue now, but I recently bought some of the Bayer stuff in case I had to re-treat for the thrips (so far, I have not.)


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## littlefrog (Jun 30, 2006)

Heather said:


> Thanks Rob. I wonder why? the predator reduction idea sounds plausible...
> 
> What'd you use for the thirps?
> I don't have a mite issue now, but I recently bought some of the Bayer stuff in case I had to re-treat for the thrips (so far, I have not.)



I used the imidocloprid for thrips and scale (and maybe the occasional aphid) similtaneously. Never seen thrips before, but that is what they were (no idea where they came from). And for some reason i have a few mealybugs on some paphs (must have come in on a purchase, I hadn't seen one in many years).

I was told before I put the greenhouse up that 'greenhouse = bugs'. Hah, I said. I never had a problem with bugs in the basement, why would i have a problem outside? Turns out it is true. Maybe they come out of the dirt, I don't know. I can see where it would get out of control pretty quickly if you weren't paying close attention, though.


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