Limonene repels Tomato White Flies

[DirtMechanic]

Marigolds repel whiteflies, and how it works has been shown.

 

[Chuck]

Marigolds repel whiteflies, and how it works has been shown.

It has long been known that limonene is an insect and ant killer. The only thing is that to spray it on plants will burn the plant as limonene is an oil. Many people around here use diluted limonene in their homes to kill those pesky sugar ants. Limonene is sold just about everywhere under the name Orange Oil. It is also a fantastic cleaner and grease remover plus it also acts as a great air freshener. It says in the article about repelling thrips and spider mites. I wonder what would happen if I would soak cotton balls in Orange Oil and place them around tomato plants or soak some mulch and put it under the plants? I have tried using marigolds and to a degree they are effective but they also bring in other unwanted insects as well.

If you have fire ants that you want to kill mix 1/2 oz per quart of water and pour over the mound,

 

[Ian]

Very interesting!

I use limonene for so many things around the home, it's especially good at removing the grease left over from sticky labels . I bought a couple of spray cans a couple of weeks ago, as it's great for quick degreasing in the workshop .

 

[DirtMechanic]

I would think finding out about what the vapor temps that work best would be useful. Placing the scent traps to the upside of the prevailing wind direction would also be my first effort and then surrounding the area as I could get to it.

 

[Chuck]

I would think finding out about what the vapor temps that work best would be useful. Placing the scent traps to the upside of the prevailing wind direction would also be my first effort and then surrounding the area as I could get to it.

I get spider mites once in awhile on my tomatoes. If I did find out about the vapor temps I couldn't do anything about it. Scent traps is a good idea for a small place but my tomato patch is usually about 5000 sq ft. I was thinking about soaking a wheelbarrow full of mulch and then putting about a shovel full under each plant. This year I will plant 128 tomato plants so thats about 10 or so wheelbarrows full.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I get spider mites once in awhile on my tomatoes. If I did find out about the vapor temps I couldn't do anything about it. Scent traps is a good idea for a small place but my tomato patch is usually about 5000 sq ft. I was thinking about soaking a wheelbarrow full of mulch and then putting about a shovel full under each plant. This year I will plant 128 tomato plants so thats about 10 or so wheelbarrows full.

When I use my non contact thermometer at work, I often measure the environment surround a car as well as the car itself. On a 90 degree day the grass and mulch can easily be even hotter than ambient temps. I imagine the sun heating the mulch would have the desired effect. Turning or scratching the mulch from time to time to expose unoxidized limonene might be the way to do it.

 

[Chuck]

When I use my non contact thermometer at work, I often measure the environment surround a car as well as the car itself. On a 90 degree day the grass and mulch can easily be even hotter than ambient temps. I imagine the sun heating the mulch would have the desired effect. Turning or scratching the mulch from time to time to expose unoxidized limonene might be the way to do it.

Yep, you are correct about the mulch and ambient temps. The mulch acts as sort of a heat sink. The soil under the mulch stays much cooler so turning or raking the mulch should give a longer effect