Garden Pests in New Zealand: A Popular Manual for Practical Gardeners, Farmers and Schools
John Stuart Mill · en
Sprays and dusts are of three kinds, and act upon pests accordingly:
they are either stomach poisons, or act externally on the animal by
actual contact and corrosion, or cause death by fumigation. The kind
used is governed by the feeding habits of the pest; if the latter is
possessed of jaws (woodlice, caterpillars, beetles, etc.), and feeds
by chewing the plant tissues, then a stomach poison is applied and is
swallowed with the food; if the food is the nutrient sap of plants,
and so could not be poisoned, a spray acting by contact is used, as
against such animals as aphids (green fly), scale insects, etc., in
which the mouth-parts are not adapted for chewing, but for puncturing
plant tissues to feed on the sap, much the same as a mosquito punctures
one’s skin and sucks the blood. Fumigants can be used against both the
chewing and sucking pests, the fumes passing into the breathing system.
STOMACH POISONS.--The chief of these are arsenate of lead and Paris
green, though the latter has practically gone out of use. Arsenate of
lead is sold as a paste and as a powder, and is mixed with water to
form a spray, 3lb. of paste, or 1-1/2lb. of powder, to 100 gallons
of water being the proportions used. For garden purposes, smaller
quantities must be kept to this strength.
CONTACTS.--The chemicals used in contact control are red oil, kerosene
and lime-sulphur, but all are also fumigants, lime-sulphur being also a
stomach poison to a limited extent, though best known as a fungicide.
Commercial red oils can be purchased ready for mixing with water
without the necessity of emulsification, and the strength at which each
brand should be used is given by the manufacturers. Though red oils
have mostly replaced kerosene emulsion, many horticulturists still
prefer the latter. It is prepared by dissolving 8oz. of soap in one
gallon of hot water, and then adding two gallons of kerosene, stirring
briskly until emulsification is complete. This is the stock emulsion,
and must be diluted before use, the strengths being one part to six of
water for use in the winter, and one part to fifteen of water for use
in the growing season. Commercial brands of concentrated lime-sulphur
are on the market, and the manufacturers’ directions for their dilution
should be followed.
FUMIGANTS.--The chief fumigants are black-leaf 40, carbon-bisulphide
and calcium cyanide.
Black-leaf 40, in which nicotine sulphate is the effective principle,
is the most useful fumigant on the market, and acts as a most effective
control for sap-sucking, and even some chewing pests. The strength at
which this fumigant is used is one part in 800 parts of water, and is
applied as a spray.