Recommended Anti-foaming agents

[Themadd1]

Hello,

I recently switched to spraying some of my customers with MPede for aphids and wondered what other people are using for this insect. Also, can people recommend an anit-foaming agent to keep down the amount of foam in my tank? I know there are alot of different agents out there.

I was thinking that a small amount of hort oil would work but am unsure.

Thanks,

Themadd1

 

[BonsaiJedi]

We use Fighter F-10 made by Loveland as a defoamer. Its pretty cheap. You can contact me if you want to order some.

 

[alanarbor]

ZAP! is a silicone defoamer that works quite well. Just a few drops will defoam a 200gal tank.

 

[Themadd1]

Thanks I appreciate the help. How do you feel about insecticidal soap to deal with aphid infestations? I have been spraying smaller trees under 20 ft and have had sood results so far. On my largest trees, beech, maples, etc I am sticking with the mauget product for now. I cant really see getting complete coverage with a spray product. What are your thoughts?

 

[BonsaiJedi]

putting down soil applied imidicloprid (I, of course, recommend Xytect! ) in the fall or spring will give season long control of aphids on large tree with out having to wound the tree and you get full and complete coverage. It can also be sprayed for control on the smaller trees.
We go with injection on trees only in niche situations such as the client calling in midsummer with a serious outbreak. Inject then but then set them up on a preventative, soil applied treatment schedule as you certainly do not want to be drilling a tree on an annual basis for insect control.

 

[alanarbor]

I'm of the opinon that aphids rarely require a control, particularly on a very large tree. Most aphids cannot pierce plant tissue with their mouth parts after the leaf hardens off, and stop feeding. If you have continual high populations that do require control, the soil applied imidicloprid is a fantastic preventative, but be aware it can stimulate mite population explosions over time.

A recent product, Safari, has a much faster uptake via soil application than imidicloprid, and might be a good fit for when you need quicker control on larger trees.

 

[BonsaiJedi]

Good call, AlanArbor. Safari is a good option but do note that it costs about 3x what imidicloprid does right now but you can use it for niches like we were talking about with injections above.

 

[Themadd1]

Soil drenching for me is an option but with soil leaching, runoff ("should be none I know") and impact on micro-marco fauna I like the injection for the shear fact that everything is contained within the system. I know the basal pattern etc but there is still the issue of killing beneficials, children playing in the soil, run off, and leaching. I am just not comfortable yet with soil drenching large trees when I have other options.

Good luck to you and thanks for the sales pitch. :biggrinbounce2:

 

[BonsaiJedi]

Any time!

 

[Themadd1]

Back to the point of this thread, I am not happy with the MSDS on the ZAP! product, any other products out there that do not require a respirator? If I was mixing this with a pesticide that required a respirator that would be one thing but I am not going to use a defoamer that requires a higher level of protection.

 

[BonsaiJedi]

Allow me to throw out my sales pitch for Fighter F-10 defoamer.
No respirator required unless required by the pesticide being used. Just 1-6 oz/100 gal. I can send you the label & MSDS...wait I think I can post it....yes..seems to have worked.