Re: Chili Concentrate and borax

Fred Magdoff (fmagdoff@zoo.uvm.edu)
Thu, 27 May 1999 10:26:01 -0500

Hi,
Keep in mind that borax is an insecticide and is used for roach control in urban settings. Not sure of its mode of action, nor how broadly it is toxic.

FRED

Douglas M. Hinds wrote:

> Hello,
>
> >the addition of the borax worked, aphids disappeared, which led me to assume a boron
> >deficiency, ...as main attractant for bugs
>
> You are implying that the neither the Hot Chili Pepper nor the Garlic present in the solution applied were significant contributing factors to the aphids' disappearance? It would be interesting (and important) to verify this by doing another series of tests with more controls. What are the possibilities of doing that on your end (in deference to the antecedents you already have behind you)? Or perhaps there are others receiving this that may be better positioned to do this sooner. A soil analysis to determine the existence of a boron (or other micronutrient) deficiency would also help correlate your supposition (which I have no quarrel with - my interest is in corroborating it).
>
> D H
>
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
>
> On 27/05/99 at 9:17 AM Argall Family wrote:
>
> >I have in the past combined chili, pepper, garlic, clay, without real
> >benefit, until I added a very small amount of borax, in the opinion of an
> >entomologist scarcely enough to annoy ants working aphids. But the addition
> >of the borax worked, aphids disappeared, which led me to assume a boron
> >deficiency, quite likely in our wet environment. I tend to come back to
> >suspecting soil deficiency as main attractant for bugs, and the need to work
> >on nutrition while getting rid of the immediate problem.
> >
> >Dennis
> >
> >
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> Douglas M. Hinds
> Centro para el Desarrollo Comunitario y Rural, A.C. (CeDeCoR)
> (Center for Community and Rural Development)
> Petronilo Lopez No. 73
> Cd. Guzman, Jalisco 49000 MEXICO
> e-mail: dmhinds@acnet.net, cedecor@acnet.net, cedecor@ipnet.com.mx
>
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