Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
christie_sw_mo

Sevin Question

christie_sw_mo
11 years ago

The stuff I bought to kill my Phlox Plant Bugs isn't working. I think it's making them fatter. I'd like to try Sevin and I'm wondering if you get the powder form. Does it come in a spray and does one work better than the other? I think I'd rather get a spray. I need to use it on my hostas for Blister Beetles too.

I usually ignore bugs and have only used pesticides maybe twice in the last 20 years but I think the combination of bugs and drought is going to kill my hostas. Phlox Bugs will definitely kill phlox I've found out. They suck sap like aphids but they move fast and are almost impossible to squish. I only have them in one flower bed and want to get rid of them before they spread to my other flower beds.

Comments (5)

  • helenh
    11 years ago

    There is a red plastic bottle of Sevin at Lowe's for about $14 that connects to the hose. It is easy and that is what I will use to spray around my house for ants. I used that to spray the area under my elm to kill cicadas so I don't get copperheads. One time I got the wrong bottle. That one has a measuring thing at the top so you can pour a small amount to mix with water and spray. That is more trouble for me because there are several steps to getting a pump sprayer ready. Sunny mentioned one that is a spray bottle I think. I don't like the look of powders and unless you have a duster device which I had but let rust, you can't get dust on evenly. The dust is cheaper but I feel like I breath it and don't get it on evenly. I guess you could dust, the bugs would die, then you could hose it off. Gardens Alive has a good product for hostas but it is expensive. I put that on in the spring. My hostas are so ugly now that a few holes don't make any difference.

  • helenh
    11 years ago

    I forgot you said blister beetles - use
    Sevin.

  • sweetwm007
    11 years ago

    yep, walmart has a small red bottle with a trigger handle that is fairly inexpensive. yes, i would use the spray rather than the dust.
    william

  • mosswitch
    11 years ago

    I have a problem with phlox bugs too, so I looked them up. Info I've found says they have two generations, early spring and a second hatch in July. The bugs lay eggs in the leaves and stems of the plants, and once they hatch out they are hard to kill as it takes a contact poison. Malthion is supposed to work to some extent, but the best control is to cut down all stalks of both phlox and neighboring plants in September/October, clean up all plant debris thoroughly and dispose of it. (from MoBot)

    I usually leave most of the garden cleanup until spring but this year I'm going to clean up all the phlox in the fall and put new clean composted leaf mulch on the beds and see what happens in the spring.

    If cleaning up in the fall solves the problem, it would be too easy! Might take a couple years to get rid of them all.

    Then in the spring spray early to control any nymphs that do hatch out. Spray again in July as soon as you see any new hatches.

    Sandy

  • gldno1
    11 years ago

    Sorry to be so late to see this.

    I buy the concentrate at Race Brothers and use my 2 gallon hand sprayer or my 15 gallon one. I use 1.5 to 2 oz. per gallon.