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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Datura

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  • From: "Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Datura
  • Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2005 19:17:45 -0700

One of the oldest recipes for repelling insects I ever found was to collect a bunch of the insects in question and blend them up in a blender with water, then spray that mix on the plants. Supposedly, the scent of the insect fooled others of the species into thinking the plant was already "taken" and they would move on. In my case, by the time I could collect enough to try it, there weren't any left on the plants anyway.
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003.
On Jun 10, 2005, at 7:09 PM, kieran or donna wrote:

I don't know about detering insects, but it sure won't work on goats. I
have also watched goats eating pokeweed plants. Makes the milk taste bad.
Datura makes me wonder if many many common toxic plants could be used for
deterrents. Pokeweed is one, others might include Sweet Annie and Mexican
wormseed. Or even ragweed! I wonder if any of these have been tested to
see if they reduce attacks by some of the more noxious bugs, not just
curculio, but in the garden, flea beetles, squash bugs, aphids. You all got
into a big discussion of the horrors of stink bugs a couple years back. I
never realized how much damage they do because it doesn't really show up
till later. I thought the black places on my okra stems were a fungus!
Donna




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