Ok, you know we are biased here - but obviously our own product lineup is the best! ....In most situations when it comes to insecticides and fungicides. But not all. Time to discuss the best approaches to indoor and outdoor pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, repellents, etc.
In an ideal world we would all grow perfect veggies, fruits, and buds that are bug free and healthy. But in reality growing - whether it's indoors or outdoors - is an ongoing battle against nature. From animals to bugs to mold, everything likes delicious fresh plants.
How you approach what we call Integrated Pest Management depends on your priorities. How close are you to harvest? Are the plants for eating, smoking, or something else? Are you concerned about synthetics and chemicals, do you want all organic, or do you just want the best performance? Do you even want to use sprays, or do you want to buy beneficial predators/insects to fight? These are all things to consider when approaching pest management.
At Lawless Grow, we focus on prevention as the first approach. That's why our first product is called Plant Bodyguard. Our formulation is mostly plant-derived natural oils, mixed with a cleaning agent/soap, an emulsifier to help disperse ingredients, pH balancers, and recovery agents for the plants. We approach our formulations first from the EPA minimum risk pesticide ingredients, look at top recent research from educational providers like Virginia Tech, then pay top experts to combine the best benefits and amounts of each ingredient to specifically target certain pests and other issues like mold/mildew. We also keep in mind the environmental impact of not only the sourcing of the raw materials, but also the ecological impact of actual use of our products. We essentially do our best to balance between natural & safe and actually effective. After all, a product has to actually work!
Some simple solutions you can try at home are water mixed isopropyl alcohol, natural/insecticidal soap, various oils, or hydrogen peroxide. The problem with many home remedies is that advice on ratios varies, as does their efficiency. The reason we use several combinations of items is because they have a compounding effect or can approach management for many different species. There are over 4,000+ different species of aphids alone! 18,000+ of flies. 6,000+ of thrips. 1,200+ of spider mites. Findings a formulation that can work on every single one is impossible, but we work hard to produce a product that can manage the most common trouble makers! And often when different types of materials are properly mixed, they work better together than alone against various species.
While our products are technically safe through harvest, we do not recommend or personally use any sprays the last two(ish) weeks before harvest. This is reduce the risk of any residue on produce/etc, and because many ingredients have not been fully studied for smoking vs. eating. Many ingredients (such as neem oil) have been approved for use through harvest on edible produce that can be washed, but have NOT been studied for effects if smoked. The chemical exposure on ingestion vs. inhaled is very different, and in general we think it's best to avoid any extra residue/chemicals on any plants planned to be smoked or eaten. For those last two weeks, we suggest use of beneficial live predatory insects like lady bugs, predator mites, green lacewing, nematodes, pirate bugs, and praying mantis. We also recommend produce/fruit/bud washing after harvest before drying.
Stay tuned to our product lineup as we expand. Plant BodyGuard is just the first step in pest management that we use. Soon to come is a whole lineup of products that set up a barrier of protection and control against nature attacking your plants!
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