Properties, preparation and use of tar from the Colorado potato beetle in the garden
Our distant ancestors have grown vegetables and fruit crops for centuries, receiving excellent harvests from them. Due to the fact that there were no chemicals then, they knew many environmentally friendly folk methods of getting rid of garden pests. In particular, they used birch tar from the Colorado potato beetle and other harmful insects.
Birch bark tar composition
It is a viscous oily liquid of black color with a blue-green tint. Differs in a specific, not very pleasant smell. In small quantities, it contains about 10,000 organic chemicals. Most of all phenols, toluene, xylene, guaiacol, organic acids, resins, phytoncides were found in it.
Properties of birch bark tar
Due to its unique composition, birch tar has been famous since ancient times for its various useful properties. It is used in medicine as an insecticidal, antimicrobial, antiseptic drug.
In cosmetology, it is used to strengthen hair, shampoos and various masks are made from it. In the chemical industry - as a raw material for subsequent processing, in horticulture and horticulture - for protection from pests.
The principle of action on the Colorado potato beetle
Gardeners and gardeners are in constant search of such means that they can save their crops and not poison themselves. Most of them overlap and act in the same way on various insect pests. In particular, the tar extract was effective against the Colorado potato beetle.
The effect of tar is based on the fact that it does not kill the insect, but scares it away with its pungent smell. The pest flies to the scent of a potato leaf or other plant, but if the smell of tops is interrupted with birch tar, then the beetle will not want to sit there.
How is tar obtained?
It is extracted from the bark of birch - birch bark. At the beginning of summer, during the period of sap flow, birch bark moves well from the main layer of the bark. During this period, tar with better properties can be obtained. For this, the dry distillation method is used. With this method, birch bark is heated up to 600 degrees without oxygen. In industrial production, special equipment is used to extract tar.
At home, you can also carry out the procedure for its extraction. But this process is long, and the output will be a small amount of the required liquid.The procedure is performed only outdoors in order to avoid fire and poisoning with resin vapors. A fire is made, metal utensils with holes and a tray are prepared, into which the finished product will flow.
However, you can save your time and effort by purchasing a ready-made preparation from the extract of birch tar at the pharmacy.
How to prepare the product?
It is difficult to prepare an ordinary solution due to the fact that tar is poorly soluble in water. After mixing the ingredients, it is necessary to immediately process them without waiting for the separation of substances.
Second way:
- mix tar with laundry soap;
- then mix everything in water;
- quickly coat the plants with it.
Processing
The resulting liquid is oily, so the holes in the sprayer will be clogged and no further processing will be possible. Therefore, you need to use a broom. Dip it in the solution and lubricate the plant. In this process, the liquid is constantly stirred to prevent delamination. If it does start, you will have to prepare the product over again.
Before boarding
To acquire a good harvest, potato tubers are treated with a solution of birch tar. They are dipped in a product that includes 1 tbsp. spoon of this product and 1 bucket of water.
When planting, grooves are also processed. This provides additional protection for potato tubers from the Colorado potato beetle and wireworm.
After landing
The emulsion from the Colorado potato beetle is used at the stage of germination of shoots, it is reapplied every 3 days. Gardeners find the optimal proportion of ingredients themselves, in most cases it is 30 ml of birch tar per 1 bucket of water.
Processing is carried out in sunny weather. Before the rain and directly during it, you should not process the plants. Water will wash off the emulsion and there will be no effect from the previous manipulations.
Use in the garden
Birch tar copes with a large number of garden and garden pests without the use of chemicals.
Potatoes
It drives well the Colorado potato beetle on potato, eggplant and pepper plantations. A solution of tar or birch soap is used, which also effectively acts on pests. The advantage of the soap solution is that it does not clog the spray bottle, which means that the processing of plants is faster.
Tomatoes
The Colorado potato beetle loves to eat the tender leaves and stems of the tomato. The spray emulsion is prepared in the same way as the potato solution. The following tool will be effective: add 10 mg of tar and 50 g of laundry soap to 1 bucket of water, after which everything is thoroughly mixed.
Sorrel
It would seem that sorrel is sour, and it should not interest pests. But no, he is very fond of the sorrel leaf beetle. It is a small green bug that gnaws holes as soon as the sorrel appears on the soil surface.
The processing of the plant must be done immediately, otherwise the gardener may be left without this green culture. It is necessary to spray with the same solution as tomatoes.
Use in the garden
Birch tar is used not only for cultivating a vegetable garden, but also for fruit and berry crops in the garden, and with the same efficiency relieves gardeners from problems with insect pests.
Apple tree
The moth and hawthorn butterfly love to eat this tree. Caterpillars hibernate under the bark of an apple tree, and in spring they turn into butterflies and lay eggs in the lower part of the leaves. Moth moths hatch and eat the apples, reducing yields by up to 30%.
The method of struggle is as follows: in late winter or early spring, the tree is sprayed with a solution prepared from 1 tbsp. tar spoons, 40 g of laundry soap and 10 liters of water. Treat the soil under the apple tree with the prepared liquid.
The hawthorn acts in much the same way as the moth. It is located in the leaves, which are wrapped in cobwebs. These nests are removed, then the apple tree and the ground underneath are treated in the same way.
Pear
This tree is loved only by the hawthorn. Measures for the destruction of the pest are similar to those described above. If a tree is affected by scab, it is sprayed at the first appearance of leaves. After a week, the procedure must be repeated.
Plum
The same moths and hawthorns love her. Control methods are the same as above.
Cherry
In addition to the moth and hawthorn, the bird cherry weevil loves to feast on plums. This beetle is gray in color, 5 mm long. He eats not only leaves, but also ovaries, inflorescences, buds, fruits. As soon as the first leaves sprout, the tree is treated similarly to other trees.
It splashes again after flowering, when the first fruits are set.
Raspberry
The bushes can be harmed by the strawberry-raspberry weevil and spider mite. They hibernate under fallen leaves. Raspberry processing is carried out before the ovaries appear.
Controlling other pests
In addition to the above-mentioned pests of horticultural crops, plants can also be damaged by some other types of insects, as well as rodents.
Cabbage fly
To protect against this pest, sawdust is processed, with which the soil is then mulched. Composition of the product: 1 tbsp. fly in the ointment for 1 bucket of water. Insist 2 hours.
Onion fly
To prevent fly attacks on onion sets, it is processed before planting. Place 1 kg of bulbs in a plastic bag and add 1 tbsp. fly in the ointment.
If the onion has already been planted, it is processed from above when sprouts appear. For this, a solution is prepared from 1 tbsp. tar spoons, 30 g of laundry soap, 10 liters of water. After 2 weeks, the procedure is repeated.
Cabbage butterfly
Damages cabbage beds. If you place pegs with rags treated with tar solution along the rows of cabbage, this will scare off the cabbage butterflies.
Wireworm
Harmful to root crops. It is not difficult to eliminate it. Tubers before planting are processed in an emulsion solution: 1 spoon of tar for 1 bucket of water. Kept in solution for about 1 hour. If potatoes are sown, then the prepared agent is applied to the soil.
Various rodents
Trees suffer not only from insect pests, but also from various rodents. To protect against them, sawdust is processed with a solution of tar, which is used as mulch. The procedure is carried out until autumn.
Means for protection against hares - whitewashing trees. For the solution, take: 1 kg of slaked lime, 10 kg of mullein, 50 mg of tar. Water is brought to the consistency required for whitewashing.
The use of birch tar from the Colorado potato beetle and other pests is safe for humans and animals. The solution, with its unpleasant odor, drives away pests from green spaces, and does not allow them to settle there again.
