Question about spraying an insecticide (Sevin)

[iant]

I had a lot of sawfly damage to pine and cedar and a lot of aphid eating (as usual) this year on the new shoots of my chaenomeles, malus, and prunus so I decided to go for the big guns. It was mainly the sawfly thing that got me worried.
Prior to that I'd sprayed Neem oil every few weeks since spring.
So I did an application of Bayer Advanced (imidacloprid) to the soil. I understand that it can take a while (weeks) to get up into the plant.
So yesterday I also sprayed with Sevin.
Here's my question:
It left a residue on the leaves that's a little ugly. It's a white dry residue. My understanding is that Sevin (carbaryl) works right away and kills on contact. Do I need to leave that residue on the leaves to keep it working or have I already got the benefit so it doesn't matter now if it's rinsed away. (I know it's bad for the environment if it gets rinsed into drains...) I'll try to avoid that as much as possible.
Thanks,
Ian

 

[edprocoat]

I would be more worried about that little beauty in your avatar getting near it. The white residue is mcommon in applications like this, if only you would have used Eight instead, its at least one better!

ed

 

[iant]

Yes Ed, my thoughts exactly. My daughter is 3. You see her holding the neighbor's chicken. She likes my two Cotoneaster microphyllus 'cooperi' that are a few inches tall and at the edge of the bench. She pets them like they're babies and tells me they're hers.
Needless to say I already rinsed those off!
Ian

 

[Bill S]

ian, either way, as you said contact poison for the bugs, but take it off and you are open til the plant gets the Bayer into it's system. Try the Carls soap solution as a short term contact solution to the bugs, it will help wash off the deposited 7.

teaspoon of dishwashing detergent, teaspoon of rubbing alchol, if you have it you can also add neem oil, or a vegetable oil, last year I used volk oil, to a 2 liter soda bottle, all work well at ridding your trees of pests.

 

[Fangorn]

I was told years ago by someone whose was the nursery business for years and someone I trust completely that Sevin breaks down very quickly and is one of the safer products out there. It's been around for about 30 years or so I think

 

[edprocoat]

Yes Ed, my thoughts exactly. My daughter is 3. You see her holding the neighbor's chicken. She likes my two Cotoneaster microphyllus 'cooperi' that are a few inches tall and at the edge of the bench. She pets them like they're babies and tells me they're hers.
Needless to say I already rinsed those off!
Ian

Thats a good thing Iant. Sevin has been around since 1958 and is a very harmful pesticide to insects as well as humans and animals. It will kill honeybees and earthworms too, which are beneficial insects as you know. In humans it causes repression of your immune system, is a carcinogenic and can cause pyshcological damage as well as impair kidney function and liver function and can harm reproductive functions. The dust type is the worse as it can spread in the wind. The liquid type is still harmful in the white residue form you mentioned, washing it off removes it from your plant and deposits it into the soil and eventually the water table. I think its one of those products there are no real replacements for so they allow its use despite the harm it can do when improperly used.

ed
ed

 

[davetree]

Insecticides are not really safe, especially for children. Why use it if you don't have to ?