Best Earwig Killer: "Indoor Pharm" experiment

[missann]

Ohhhh I bought some stuff today that kills earwigs in 5-15 seconds. It is called: "Indoor Pharm" with pure rosemary oil. The active ingredients are cottonseed oil and, of course, rosemary oil. There are also products in the line with peppermint oil, cinnamon extract, etc. It comes in a clear bottle and I got it at Fred Myer.

I have not yet tested it on my orchids. It says not to use it on waxy leaves. I am guessing that my gardenia and stephanotis have waxy leaves, so I tested it on a small portion of each of those, and I will test it on my orchids tomorrow.

So far I am loving this stuff. Even if I can't use it directly on my orchids, I will just spray it all around my greenhouse so they die if they cross the magic barrier. It works better than malation, Bayer rose and flower, better than Safer 3 in one. At least for earwigs. Since these are the bugs I hate the most, (besides hobo spiders) I am super excited about this product.

THere is also a garlic oil barrier spray which I think works well, but I sprayed it in front of the earwig after he was already pretty messed up from the rosemary spray. He didn't cross it though.

Oh, and one more thing, the product claims to treat powdery mildew, horticultural fungus, gnats, aphids, spider mites, whiteflies, scales, leafhoppers, thrips and mealybugs. It also says "Food oils smother mites and prevent fungal spores from travelling." It also says you can dilute it to 50 percent if needed.

Now, I am not saying this stuff is any kind of miracle cure the way physan is suppossed to be, and I know most of you are against the use of chemicals, but this stuff is all food and pharmacy grade oils, so it seems to be the safest thing to use around the house and with pets etc. Also, I am not the kind of person to make my own stuff because I can never remember the dilution of soap to water etc. So, if you are like me and you can't stand earwigs, and you are not a do it yourselfer in the way of of "cooking" bug spray, this stuff, although a bit spendy (10 for 35 oz) is probably the way to go. Also, it doesn't smell bad, and that is a big plus for me.

[missann]

Day two: I have sprayed the product on part of my gardenia, part of my stephanotis (madagascar jasmine) and a cymbidium leaf last night. So far there is nothing bad happening, but I don't think the damage happens very fast. We will have to wait and see.

[patlee]

I think PhalPal uses "indoor Pharm" on her orchids--you might want to check her results. Thanks for the info,though

[jay]

I have sprayed my orchids with indoor farm before. They were fine. The only thing I did not like was that it left an oily/soapy like residue on the top of the LECA. I did some extra flushing of the media, and all was fine. Not even sure if I had to do that.

[arleneg]

I've been using Indoor Pharm for a year or so on my orchids. Definitely do not use on waxy and hairy leafed plants. I've damaged several.

I tend to dilute mine to 50% with water. It's work just fine. If you want to quickly kill scales, mealies and such, don't dilute it.

[lmartiny]

Is Fred Myer like a garden store? I'm not familiar with that here in Florida. I've had alot of earwigs in the house for some reason. I think all the rain has driven them in. I call them pincher bugs. Do they hurt orchids? It's the snails that are wreaking havoc on my plants. I'd seen a thread on snails and tend to go look for it.

Did you get your moss?

[missann]

Fred Myer is not a garden store. It is a store like Wal-Mart and such. They just have a big gardening section which is really nice, but kind of expensive.

Yes, I got my moss. I thought I sent you a pm, and I feel really bad that I didn't. Thank you so much.

[missann]

Oh yeah, if any of you use this, which one/s do you use, and have you ever had a problem with it?

Arleneg-what kinds of plants have you damaged using the spray?

[arleneg]

missann,

Thinking back, I think it's more damaged from heat. I've lost a few Phrags (large seedlings) and others (sorry...can't remember at this moment).