Natural Outdoor Plant Insecticide
The struggle to protect outdoor plants from pest infestations is one that many gardeners know all too well. Different pests not only extract essential nutrients but also have the potential to spread diseases that can severely damage plants.
Environmental Plant Management acknowledges this difficulty and offers Protection Plus™, a natural insecticide designed to protect your outdoor plants efficiently.
Using Protection Plus™ outdoor plant insecticide helps you maintain the health of your outdoor plants while effectively managing pest problems.
Efficacy testing proves
Protection Plus insecticide spray kills:
98% russet mites, 89% spider mites, 98% aphids, 90% thrips & 99% whiteflies (as documented in lab tests)
Common Pests That Threaten Your Outdoor Plants
Outdoor plants face threats from various pests, with certain types being particularly notorious for infestations. These pests can cause considerable harm by extracting essential nutrients from plants, ultimately leading to their decline. It's important to understand common insects like aphids, whiteflies, and spider mites to manage them effectively. Familiarity with their behaviors and life cycles helps in choosing the right insecticide, implementing control measures, and ensuring your plants remain healthy and vibrant.
Whiteflies on Outdoor Plants
Tiny, winged insects, whiteflies significantly impact outdoor plants by weakening them as they suck sap. This feeding behavior not only reduces the plant’s vitality but also makes it more susceptible to diseases.
- Egg Stage: Whiteflies deposit their eggs on the undersides of leaves, where they can remain hidden from predators. A single female can produce hundreds of eggs in her lifetime, typically arranged in circular patterns. The ideal conditions for hatching occur at temperatures around 70 to 85°F (21 to 29°C), with eggs hatching in approximately 5 to 7 days.
- Growth Period: Whiteflies progress through five distinct stages during their growth period: starting as eggs, then developing into four larval instars, and finally reaching adulthood. This life cycle usually lasts around 40 days, depending on various environmental conditions. The early larval stages are particularly important, as the larvae feed on sap, leading to rapid population growth if not controlled effectively.
- Mature Insects: Adult whiteflies on outdoor plants have a lifespan of approximately two to four weeks, and they significantly contribute to the spread of infestations. Their ability to fly quickly to adjacent plants for egg-laying enhances their potential to create new outbreaks. This combination of rapid mobility and high reproductive capacity makes them a persistent menace to plant vitality.
Spider Mites on Outdoor Plants
Often difficult to spot, spider mites are tiny pests that produce fine webbing on the foliage of outdoor plants. Their infestation is usually recognized through visible symptoms like yellowing, speckled leaves, and bronzing.
- Egg Stage: Spider mites on outdoor plants secure their eggs to fine strands of silk webbing on the plants they infest. Each adult female can produce hundreds of eggs in her lifetime. Under favorable conditions—generally at temperatures around 80ºF—the eggs typically hatch within about three days.
- Growth Period: The growth period of spider mites, from egg to adult, can vary significantly, lasting anywhere from five to twenty days based on environmental factors. Their life cycle consists of multiple stages: egg, larva, two nymphal phases (protonymph and deutonymph), and ultimately, the adult stage. This rapid maturation enables spider mites to create large infestations quickly, often resulting in several overlapping generations throughout the year.
- Mature Insects: The lifespan of adult spider mites ranges from two to four weeks. In this time frame, they are essential in perpetuating infestations, as they produce hundreds of eggs. Their rapid reproduction and voracious feeding can result in substantial harm to plants.
Aphids on Outdoor Plants
Small, soft-bodied insects known as aphids come in shades of green, black, or brown and are usually seen in clusters on the stems and undersides of leaves. Indicators of an aphid infestation include curled foliage, stunted growth, and a sticky secretion called honeydew.
- Egg Stage: Aphids typically lay their eggs in targeted locations, such as the undersides of leaves or in clusters on stems. Depending on the species and environmental factors, a female can produce anywhere from dozens to hundreds of eggs. Warm temperatures and high humidity provide the ideal conditions for hatching, facilitating the rapid development of eggs into nymphs.
- Growth Period: Under favorable conditions, the transition from nymph to adult for aphids can occur in just seven to eight days. This brief growth period allows them to reproduce at an accelerated rate, leading to significant increases in their populations.
- Mature Insects: While adult aphids on outdoor plants have a limited lifespan, their capacity for asexual reproduction enables rapid infestation growth. Additionally, they play a vital role in disease transmission, as they can pass on viruses to plants in just a few minutes of feeding.
Protection Plus -
High Kill Rates on First Application
- Earth-friendly: natural, food-based ingredients
- Lower cost: Eliminates excessive treatments and the need for product rotation
- Guaranteed pure: Quarterly testing to be free of over 400 forbidden ingredients to ensure our products are safe and natural for tough hemp and cannabis testing requirements
- Free of all Proposition 65 ingredients
- Residue-free, non-oil based formula doesn’t clog pores or hamper plant growth
- Industry high kill rates
Protection Plus™ Advanced Pest Control for Outdoor Plants
With a strong track record in pest management, Protection Plus™ has become the go-to insecticide for outdoor plants. Its combination of effectiveness, user-friendly application, and plant-safe formulation ensures it targets pests at all stages, promoting robust plant health.
Formulated with natural ingredients and subjected to strict formulation quality control testing, Protection Plus™ excludes over 400 restricted substances, including those identified in Proposition 65. This formulation makes it a safe and eco-friendly option for pest management in outdoor plants, ensuring it poses no harm to plants, humans, pets, or the environment.
With its wide range of application options, including foliar sprays, soil drenches, and dips, Protection Plus™ proves to be incredibly versatile. This ease of use makes it a practical choice for pest management, from small garden setups to large-scale commercial operations.
Its efficacy and lack of residues ensure that Protection Plus™ doesn’t contribute to resistance, lowering the need for excessive applications or rotations. This leads to a more sustainable, low-cost pest control solution.
In addition to pest control, Protection Plus™ promotes plant health and resilience by minimizing biofilm buildup on roots with regular low-dose applications. This improvement in root health enhances nutrient absorption, fostering long-term plant vitality.
The Myth of Insecticide Rotation
Many growers employ rotation strategies to prevent pests from developing resistance to specific insecticides. This method consists of periodically switching insecticides, which helps keep pest populations from acquiring immunity.
This strategy is based on the idea that varying modes of action can disrupt the genetic adaptation of pests, thereby preserving the long-term effectiveness of insecticide applications. However, the necessity for extra treatments can lead to increased costs and extended timelines, giving pests more opportunities to develop resistance.
When pests have become resistant, growers are forced to apply alternative pesticides, often increasing the use of