How to Use Pesticide B.T. as a Safe and Effective Way to Rid Pests from Your Garden

B.T. has no relation to the better known E.T. (the movies' Extra Terrestrial) from outer space, but is intended to keep bugs from occupying any space in your garden. B.T. means Bacillus thuringiensis, which is contained in natural, environmentally safe insecticide products. These items are formulated specifically to combat certain garden pests, desired by gardeners who dislike using chemical insecticides. A Gainsville, Virginia company, Reuter Laboratories, has developed a complete line of safe, natural ways to kill insects. Including beetle grubs, whiteflies, gnats and mosquitoes with what it has named "Attack" products.

B.T. is as safe and effective as natural products that were developed from insect pathogens. Microbial insecticides are much more specific in their target, are nontoxic to man, and produce no harmful effects to parasites and predators or to the environment. B.T.-, he said, is the most widely used microbial insecticide. It was first detected m dying larvae of silkworms in 1902, first used in 1935, and was registered as an insecticide in 1959.

It is effective only against leaf-eating caterpillars, which makes it ideal for conserving natural enemies. In effectiveness, B.T. is the nearest thing there is in a nonchemical substance to petroleum- based insecticides. Sprayed on the leaves of a plant or tree, B.T. mortally affects the leaf-eating larvae of many moths and butterflies. The caterpillars stop feeding within hours and die within days. Birds, pets and humans, however, are not affected by the substance. B.T. can be purchased as a wettable powder or spray under the brand names Attack, Dipel or Thuricide in garden shops and seed catalogs. Applied directly to foliage, B.T. reportedly controls bagworms, tent caterpillars, cabbage loppers, Tomato hornworms, sod webworms, spruce budworms, tussock motile, and gypsy moth caterpillars.

B.T. may be applied, the same day the crop is to be harvested, and is effective for only 24 hours. B.T. is produced by fermentation on an artificial medium. A protein crystal is formed which breaks down after ingestion by the insect, and leads to a halt of feeding and death.

Reuters was founded in 1975 and has specialized in research and development of safe natural biological pesticides. The Reuters Attack line is the alternative to chemical pesticides. This natural pest control is now being used for mosquito abatement control in New York, New Orleans, and Hilton Head.

Source: Bohmont, Burt L. Standard Pesticide User's Guide, The (7th Edition) 2006