Meadowville Garden Centre Naturally Green Page

BUGS !!
PROBLEM	SOLUTION PRODUCT	INFORMATION
aphids, spider mites and mealybug	Safer's Insectical Soap	Contact spray that disrupts the insect's cell membrane leading to death. Apply at first sign of problem and repeat weekly for 2 or 3 times and thereafter as required.
aphids, mealybug, whitefly, spider mites and scale (applied at the crawler stage)	Safer's Trounce and Safer's End-All	Pyrethrins are a natural insecticide derived from the painted daisy. Apply at first sign of disease and again 10-14 days later if required. Pyrethrins are biodegradable but avoid using near ponds and streams as they are toxic to fish.
slugs and snails	Safer's Slug and Snail Bait	Ferric Phosphate is harmless to pets and any undigested bait breaks down into the soil.
grubs and surface pests like webworms Iris borer, leaf miner and thrip	Terranem™	Nematodes are nature's most abundant life form. The two species of interest to the gardener are Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and Steinernema carpocapsae. These feed on many soil pests, are harmless to people and pets, as well as beneficial creatures like worms. They are easy to apply using a hose-end sprayer. Because nematodes are a living organism be sure to pay attention to the storage and usage directions on the package.
ants	Wilson's Home Pest Control	Easy-to-use water based liquid insecticide with adjustable applicator for spray or spot use. Controls a wide range of insects: Cockroaches, ants, silverfish, spiders, crickets, earwigs, fleas, carpet beetles, clovermites. Long lasting residual action. Permethrin — 0.25%
fungus gnats, thrip and whitefly	Safer's Sticky Strips	These are bright yellow plastic cards coated with an adhesive. The bugs get trapped in the adhesive.
many insects slugs	Green Earth Insect Dust	Silicon Dioxide or diatomaceous earth, can be used indoor as well as outdoors. Apply as a barrier against slugs around susceptible plants like Hostas
insects on plants	Safer's Neem Oil	Neem Oil comes from a tree native to India. It doesn't kill insects directly, but interferes with feeding and breeding and therefore is an indirect control. Also, it affects only insects that eat plant tissue, and does not harm bees and butterflies. It has been shown to have fungicidal properties.
beetles and wasps	Safer's Japanese Beetle Trap Scotts EcoSense Yellow Jacket Trap	Pheromone traps use a scent based lure to attract and trap beetles & wasps. The traps should be placed away from areas that people frequent. While very effective, these lures may actually attract these pests to your garden so if you don't have a problem, avoid using them.
caterpillars	Safer's BTK	BT Bacillus thuringiensis is packaged in several formulations which are used to control many types of caterpillars on and crops and ornamentals.
mosquitoes	Aqua-Bac	This is used to control mosquitoes by killing their larvae in standing water. It is considered very safe to use since it has little or no non-target effects.
Euonymus Scale	Green Earth Horticultural Oil Safer's End-All	Horticultural oil is also used to control in the growing season. Apply to cover all parts of the plant.
over wintering insects and disease	Green Earth Horticultural Oil Wilsons Dormant Spray Kit	The mineral oil must be applied in early spring before the leaf buds open and when there is no risk of frost. It can be used alone or in combination with lime sulphur to control insects and disease.

FUNGUS !!
PROBLEM	SOLUTION PRODUCT	INFORMATION
mildew, black spot and rust on ornamental plants scab on fruit	Safer's Sulphur Dust (powder) Safer's Defender (liquid spray )	Apply at first sign of disease and repeat at 10-14 day intervals as required.
disease and fungus organisms on plants	Sutton's	Copper Sulphate is effective against blight, leaf spot as well as peach leaf curl, anthracnose and other diseases
Combo - Aphids and Mildew on roses and some other ornamentals	Safer's 3-in-1	A spray that is both an insecticide and a fungicide.

WEEDS !!
PROBLEM	SOLUTION PRODUCT	INFORMATION
various lawn weeds including crabgrass and dandelions	Amaizeingly Green™	This turf fertilizer is a 100% natural pre-emergent seed germination inhibitor made with corn gluten. It is constructed from a blend of ingredients that balance the nutrient content for optimum turf grass performance. Corn Gluten Meal has a natural NPK rating of 10-0-0. Do not use this product until seeds that you have sown are growing.
anything green	Scott's Eco Sense Safer's Topgun	Acetic Acid is non-selective contact herbicide for use on driveways, patios and in gardens. It must be sprayed on foliage and kills anything green. It acts quickly and controls many weeds. Avoid using it in lawns except as a shielded spot spray to control perennial weeds and avoid spray drifting onto desirable plants or surrounding turf.

In General:

Many of the above problems can be dealt with using common sense cultural practices.
If you see an infection on a plant prune it out before it spreads and then monitor the plant to see if a pesticide is needed.
Keep your lawn thick with regular applications of fertilizer, infrequent but deep watering as needed, aeration and mowing high. This inhibits weeds.
Hand pull weeds before they become an infestation.
If you're not sure, bring a sample in to one of our experts for identification.

As long as you're going green, consider buying a re-usable sprayer and getting concentrated organic products. Most types mentioned above come in a concentrated form. This not only saves you money. It saves on packaging.

NOTE: Just like any other pesticide, Read the label and use the product according to the directions.

The City of Toronto has a great resource page on their web site with many fact sheets outlining cultural practices and organic alternatives to pesticides.