Imidacloprid

Imidacloprid is a product of Bayer, It is the active ingredient of MarathonÒ Granules and AdvantageÒ flea drops for pets. It is relatively safe, but as with all chemicals, it is best to minimize your exposure just to be on the safe side.

MarathonÒ Granules are simply clay particles soaked in imidacloprid. Imidacloprid is highly water-soluble.  When you use MarathonÒ Granules, the chemical leaches out into water in the soil or water you pour over the granules when you water your plant. When using imidacloprid, it is important to keep in mind that any excess water run-off will carry off some imidacloprid with it. This is not a problem if you wick water since the chemical would be reabsorbed into the soil through the wick. Otherwise, when you apply imidacloprid you should avoid excess runoff for the first few watering so that you do not leach the active chemical from the soil. 

Imidacloprid is a "systemic" insecticide. It is absorbed into the roots and carried though out the plant in this manner. Insects ingest the chemical when they eat your plant or suck it's juices. For this reason, Imidacloprid is particularly good to treat sucking insects such as soil mealies, aphids, scale, etc.  Imidacloprid would not be good for thrips hiding in blossoms since it would be hard for the chemical to get up to the blossom. However, Imidacloprid may  work against trips if you disbud all flowers so that the thrips would feed on the main plant. However we have not tested this application.

Imidacloprid is not a contact insecticide. A soil drench will not immediately kill insects. The chemical works only after the plant absorbs the chemical and  the insect eats from the pant.

 Because imidacloprid is a systemic insecticide that is absorbed into the plant, it has a long duration of effectiveness. It would be particularly effective on new growth  at the time of treatment. It would not be effective on new growth after the chemical has washed out of the soil. It would also be less effective on existing leaves  which should be treated with a spray for maximum effect in cases where an insect is eating your leaves. Imidacloprid is very effective on soil mealie bugs since it is absorbed into the root system and delivered to the mealies when they eat.

Imidacloprid has no known effect on mites of any kind. If you think you have mites, you should verify that fact and treat appropriately.

As with anything new you do to your plants, you should be cautious at first (even though our experience is that Imidacloprid is very safe for plants). As a matter of prudence, we suggest that you test your treatment on one plant before treating your entire collection.

The Imidacloprid we are shipping you is 1.47% active ingredient. ¼  tsp per gallon should be effective and good for spraying (avoid breathing or contact with eyes). However if you have an active infection, we would suggest a stronger initial treatment (1/2 tsp per gallon). You can mix 2-4 drops per 4 ounces to apply to treat individual plants.  This mixture works well in reservoirs and mat watering, however the chemical will not contact kill insects in mats unless they feed. For active infestations, we suggest two successive applications at watering time. The soil should be on the dry side  so that the chemical will be absorbed in the soil and not overly diluted by existing moisture in the soil. You can also use Imidacloprid as a spray if you have leaf feeding pests.