Eww, thatÂs terrible Shelley, are you sure it's the Off? I spray all the time out on the deck.

Looks like a fungal disease. Has it been cool and wet there lately?

Sharon

It seems reasonable it could be Off. It's pretty strong smelling stuff. Either way, yikes! Your poor tunies! :0(

It can't be a coincidence. My goutweed patch in the area where I've been spraying myself is looking very similar. Only in that spot is it affected. I've been using Deep Woods Off. I hate using the stuff, but I can't survive out there without it.
Without your post, Shelley, I would never have made the connection.
Food for thought, eh? Marie

I've been using that Off Lantern thing rather than spraying myself and it seems to work okay. I just drag the thing around with me as i work in the yard. It's awful to think what we do to ourselves and our kids, but as Marie says, it's hard to live without the stuff.

However, Marie, you may have stumbled across a way to kill goutweed! LOL

My in-laws have a Deet stick. It's Deet in a stick, like antiperspirant. It's like 30 years old. I wish somebody would manufacturer something similar again, because we've never been able to find anything like it.

BTW i was told last year that a good way to get rid of chickweed was to spray it with Off.
I never tried it, but I'm thinking that it would work.

Who'd a thunk it?? I think we all spray that stuff regualrly and that's the first time I've seen it affect the plants that way. Mind you, maybe that's the reason that sometimes some plants act poorly. And here, I thought it was just because I wasn't a good gardener. lol I tend to spray myself and then, like Marcia, I drag around a citronella candle bucket with me, especially in the evenings. They are really brutal this year (and every year, I know) and the bite is affecting me differently now. It stings more than it used to.

Shauna

When I mentioned this to my DH he said that when you are on a golf course, you are not allowed to spray Off when on the course, but you can arrive wearing it already.

I didn't know that.

Shelley, hope your petunias recover.

Brenda

I highly recommend Off Skintastic lotion. It's all I have used for years - can't stand the oily spray. When I break down and use it that is, I have my doubts about the safety of DEET. I also doubt the safety of being bitten by 594 mosquitoes all at once like 2 nights ago when I was planting - LOL.

I've also had safety concerns about Deet, and spraying it on my kids especially. This is why last week we broke down and bought a Mosquito Magnet for the back yard. A friend of ours recommended it so highly(he hasn't seen a mosquito in his yard for 3 years now)that we thought we'd give it a try. At least I won't have to spray the kids down just to go play in the yard. It's so hard to know which is worse for you, the possible effects of Deet later in life, or West Nile disease? Sheesh, what a decision!

Laurie,

I have never seen a Mosquito Magnet. What does it look like, how does it work, etc, etc?

Brenda

Brenda, it's about 2.5 feet tall, and we've set it in the shelterbelt, just off the lawn in our backyard. It covers an acre, so it should be good for right around the house and into the veggie garden. It works by emitting carbon dioxide, which the mosquitos are attracted to, so they fly close to it and then get sucked up into a net, where they dehydrate and die. It works on propane, and the tank has to be refilled every 21 days. We did a lot of research(as our friend has also)on the internet about which of these brands did the best job, and the Mosquito Magnet Liberty Plus always seemed to get the best recommendations.

Here's what it looks like:
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We have to empty the net every other day, and have been getting about a cup full every time.
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They say within 4-6 weeks that you'll see a dramatic decline in the mosquito population. It's not cheap, but if it works the way they say it does, then it'll be worth every penny in my opinion. What a relief it would be to be able to sit out on the deck or by the pond in the evening without having to have a can of Off next to you to spray yourself down with.

Laurie

Laurie, did you win a lotto and are not telling us, buying a Mosquito Magnet Liberty Plus and a Itoh Peony in one season! ;)

Them sure are alot of skitters in that mesh bag! Wow, I'm shocked!

Sharon

Nice toy Laurie! ;) I think those mosquitoes deserve to be composted and turned into peony food!

I am wondering if the plants that were damaged will, in time, recover and put out new growth? I guess it depends on the amount of "Off" that was sprayed on them? Maybe rinse the leaves and keep watering well? Reminds me of when I accidentally got a bit of weed killer spray on my shrubs. They put out almost deformed looking growth for a while.

Interesting to hear about the mosquito magnet, I am tempted but wasn't sure of the effectiveness. From what I read they usually cover quite a good sized yard (so, if you live in the city and your neighbor has one you probably will benefit from it too).

Years ago my parent's had a plug-in bug zapper at the lake. Apparently they don't work that well because they attract alot of bugs, but not so many mosquitoes. We used to joke that we had nothing better to do at the lake than to sit at dusk and be entertained by the zapping of bugs hitting the bug zapper. The poor moths were the most entertaining when they got zapped.

Glen

Sharon, re: winning the loto..........I wish!!!lol We had been saving up for a Magnet last year, hoping they would go on sale at the end of the season. But of course, that didn't happen, so when we found this one on ebay, we grabbed it. We saved a $130 over paying full retail, so it was better than nothing. We've since heard that you can get them even cheaper in the States even after paying duty. But we hardly ever go south of the border, so ebay was the cheapest route. I'm sure now, after the fact, there will be sales galore on them......that would be our luck!lol

We were talking to a guy yesterday who has a bug zapper, and apparently he feeds the "toasted" appetizers to his pond fish........they love 'em!

Another good feature about the Magnet is that it doesn't kill any beneficial bugs like those zappers do. Heaven knows, we need all the beneficial insects we can get!

"Them sure are alot of skitters in that mesh bag! Wow, I'm shocked! "

Hmmmmm.....maybe we should have one of those contests.....how many mosquitos do you think are in the bag?......maybe not, I don't have time to count them all with a pair of tweezers and magnifying glass!lol

Shelley, hopefully your plants will come back and be twice as bushy as before.;^) Are they in full sun? I know even sprays like Raid, they say you can spray on the plants, but you have to keep them out of the sun for awhile after it's done.

As I understand it you're not supposed to spray Raid straight on the leaves. Most plants you can put in a drycleaner bag and spray into the bag - but some are sensitive even to that.

Ty...needed to know what off would do to my plants. Sorry 😞 about yours..I love my plants so I understand. Hopefully they will spring back. Best of luck!

Hell of a bump!

Anyhow, I now use products that contain picaridin. It’s much safer in general.