Re: Malathion

From: Ken Cusson (kenc@salinas.net)
Date: Thu Jul 31 1997 - 08:44:24 PDT


Date: Thu, 31 Jul 97 15:44:24 -0000
From: Ken Cusson <kenc@salinas.net>
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg2898$foo@default>
Subject: Re: Malathion

Derek,
>

>
>Also, obviously, most of the bugs in the area are either dead, or, for the
>ones who aren't immediately killed by it, probably contain high
>concentrations of Malathion. Is that going to harm the plants if/when
>they get caught? Should I try to prevent them from feeding, and how well
>will these plants survive without ANY insect food? (And on a similar
>note, any suggestions to anything I can go *buy* for the terrarium
>plants? I've read crickets, but having seen how disgusting crickets live
>from also being a herp person, I'm a little leery of that idea.)
>
I would be interested in what is so *disgusting* about how *crickets
live* ?? I have used them as food for my plants (and lizards) but have
always bought what I needed - never raised them.

One suggestion for *safe* food - I can't remember the name, or brand, but
I have seen a product that is made up of freeze-dried flies (no kidding!)
that are coated with a vitamin supplement (it was in 2 or 3 pet stores
locally). It was developed as lizard food and the flies are bred for this
purpose, not wild caught. I never used it, but at least one CP grower
reported that they were doing a *fantastic* job on encouraging plant
growth in his otherwise slow growing plants. It might be just the thing
to help both your indoor & outdoor plants survive *special rain* you are
currently dealing with.

Other Nep growers have also mentioned that Neps seems to enjoy
Superthrive. You could also add this to your water as supplement (it is
not a fertilizer), at least while the spraying continues.

It is really horrifying to think of what this community-wide spraying
must be doing to the insect populations that are normally beneficial
(and, in some cases, necessary to the ecological balance) in what is
normally a rather insect-rich area (I lived in Florida for about 2.5
years). Hopefully, someone will start screaming louder than the citrus
industry ...

Ken Cusson
kenc@salinas.net
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May the "Force" be with you!
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