Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Essentria_IC3

Essentria_IC3
http://www.envincio.com/essentria/product-dload/Essentria_IC3_PIB.pdf
This product uses an Octopamine Blocker which is a lot like adrenaline to an insect.  It over excites their nervous system and kills them.  I became interested in this product when I had a severe outbreak of ants in my aquaponic green house.  While it is safe for mammals and fish I would worry about using it around crustaceans.   It is broad spectrum so you must also be careful not to kill beneficial insects like ladybugs and bees.

I used this product in my house and green house.  I did find one dead cockroach in the garage where I dumped a very large amount of Essentria_IC3 mixed at the lowest recommended strength of 1/2 oz per gallon of water.   This same ratio did nothing to the ants and aphids I wanted to kill.

I then mixed 6 oz per gallon (the maximum recommended dosage) and sprayed heavily in the green house, and on a heavy infestation of aphids on my cabbage. Once again the product failed to kill anything including the aphids which received a heavy drenching.  I waited 5 days and then mixed the Essentria_IC3 at  96 oz per gallon.  Sixteen times the recommended strength.   The good news is it did not harm the fish and it did kill the ants.  The bad news is it destroyed many of my plants and the aphids have increased.  It may be a better herbicide than it is a pesticide.

I would not recommend Essentria_IC3.  It's was ineffective in my green house and garden.  The smell is horrid, and required that I air my house out for two days when mixed at the lowest ratio.


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