Topic: Help - Beset with Grape Leaf Skeletonizers

[HuntressRose]

  :o

Oh boy!  Didn't nitce the blue small moths beforehand...  Saw a fe leaves going a bit THIN...  Looked underneath - NICE....  Yellow and Black striped caterpillars...

HOLY HANNA in a HAND BASKET!!!

GRAP LEAF SKELETONIZERS!!!  I'm going to buy me that little green caterpillar (hand size) bottle (forgot the name) who's main ingrediant is Chrysanthenum...  And also a lawn sprayer...  Already have the linseed oil (for sticking)... 

What I would like to know, where can I get pure Chrysanthenum oil to use instead of buying an adulterated version from Walmart...  I have a very ntaural ecosystem here in the Las Vegas area (get skinks, chuckwalla's, racer snakes, hummingbirds, roadrunners, quail, those endangered spotted woodpeckers, hawks, falcons, owls and a pair of golden eagles...)  It's all about NOT using industrial pesticides...  I'm looking for the type of chrysanthenum product used to kill caterpillars by causing them to bloat...

This is an emergency (buggers are 3/4" long) and my grape vines have maybe three more days to live..

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. 

[manicscousers]

Hiya, rose..lovely part of the world you live in, only visited
never heard that chrysanthemum oil  kills caterpillars, I'll watch this thread with interest and get some as well
hope your grape vines survive  :)

[jennym]

Crumbs that sounds bad - don't think we get that pest here in England.
Hadn't heard of it, so did a bit of googling, and you can get a biological control for it evidently, Bacillus thuringiensis. Might be worth a try, here's a link : http://www.homestead.com/ipmofalaska/files/BTprofile.html.

For Chrysanthemum extracts used ad pesticides, we'd know these as insecticides containing Pyrethrum. Can't advise on your question, about oil but maybe these links would help: http://www.bugfreebackyards.com/pyrethrum.htm  http://www.biconet.com/botanicals/takedowngarden.html
It looks like the neat oil itself might be a teeny bit strong!