Will rotenone hurt my guinea hens? I have a TERRIBLE problem with squash bugs and cuke beetles - destroyed my whole squash crop last year. Just got a few guineas but I have heard they like just about every kind of bug EXCEPT squash bugs. UGH! That is the reason I got them.

-- Tiffani cappello (cappello@altelt.net), March 03, 2001

Answers

Anything meant to kill off stuff would be dangeous! You'd be a lot safer using food grade Diatomaceous Earth. It'll kill the bugs, the minerals are good for the earth and I feed it to my guineas for deworming.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), March 03, 2001.

Rogo, how do you use the DE? Just dust the plants with it?

-- jonesey (dajones@cvalley.net), March 04, 2001.

Hi! I'm with Rogo, the DE is the only thing I use other than guineas, ect..

Yes, you just dust it on the plants. Make sure to get under the leaves also. It is a wonderful product, and like Rogo, I use it for many things! It is like baby powder in texture.

Tiffany, did you see the other post on Squash Bugs? I am going to try EVERYTHING this year. Radishes interplanted, Sweet Potaoes interplanted. (and anything else I read/hear about--grin)

I am also going to try this -- Soak my seeds in kerosene before I plant.And Sprinkle powdered sulfer on plants. I read about these two things in an old Amish book, under the helpful hints. Am unsure about powdered sulfer, would this hurt the guineas?? Someone also suggested a cover crop of oats & annual clover--plant pumpkins in these. It is suppose to diminish squash bug problem.

Anyway, good luck and DE is not a problem to anything that ingests it.

-- Wendy@GraceAcres (wjl7@hotmail.com), March 04, 2001.

Duh....sorry Tiffani, I guess you did see the thread on Squash bugs....as it is your thread!! Oops, sorry {grinning}- thanks for the advice, I already ordered my Sweet Potato plants!!

-- Wendy@GraceAcres (wjl7@hotmail.com), March 04, 2001.

Uh..... watch ALL your livestock, pets, kids, etc. Rotenone is deadly to humans, too.... in high concentrations....

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 05, 2001.

Yikes! Sounds like this rotenone stuff should be a last resort if used at all. I have used DE on my cabbage. I now have a solution for squash bugs HURRAY! Will the DE kill cucumber beetles? How about Mexican bean beetles? Has anyone tried garlic and?or pepper spray to deter them?

Oh, How do I get the DE on the leaf bottoms without a major hassle. I grow 100 or so plants.

-- Tiffani Cappello (cappello@alltel.net), March 05, 2001.

A gardener was telling me that he just sprinkles the food grade DE around the plants on the ground and it takes care of the squash bugs. It makes sense; the bugs have to crawl thru the DE to climb up on the plants. Don't forget; the DE has to be reapplied after a rain.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), March 10, 2001.