BATS(imidacloprid) effects the bugs nervous system.Plants don't have nervous systems so you will be fine with a heavy dose.Mealies can build up a tolerance to imidacloprid so use at least a tablespoon per gallon of water.I use Dominion for termites which has 21.4% imidacloprid, and use a teaspoon per gallon,and the plants love it. Bats has only 1.47 % I believe,so a heavy dose wont harm the plant.

I believe it can be used every 6 weeks? The Bayer Rose and flower all in one is s great product as well because it also includes a fungicide which is helpful in the summer months.

Sometimes the product just takes time or if your infestation is pretty bad you can spray with pure iso propyl alcohol or neem oil until you can treat again with Bayer.

i just treated a couple hanging baskets that I will have to bring inside the house (from the screened porch) as the temps will be too low at night this week. I don't want them around my other plants just in case. I used the granular product sprinkled lightly on top of the soil, watered well and sprayed with alcohol. I feel better about having them near my other plants.

I have used upwards of four tbsp. per gallon of water to treat my hoyas and other houseplants. The winter of 2013, I was visited by the Scale Fairy, and she must've dumped at least 30 gallons (slight exaggeration) of scales and scale eggs/babies onto my poor houseplants. I used 4 tbsp of BATS per gallon of water, and retreated in 3 months. They started dying off that very day, but it took a good 2-3 weeks for the infestation to clear. No ill effects.

Also buy the concentrate not the ready to use. You get way more bang for your buck.

Full disclosure- my husband works for Bayer CropScience. (He also says neem oil doesn't really work but a lot of people don't like to use chemicals)

I have no concerns about insecticides as a lot of insects cause more danger to your health than the insecticide such as, fleas, ticks, mosquitos etc.. We found a dog tick on our baby golden doodle (1 year old) and my husband was out spreading TopChoice all over the grass within an hour of finding the tiny (not engorged) tick. He brought the tick into work and showed it to a couple of entomologists and confirmed it was a dog tick not a deer tick that causes Lyme disease. Dog ticks cause Rocky Mountain Fever which is horrible to dogs. Next month I'm having him spray every tree, shrub, flower etc for mosquitos because I'm paranoid about the Zeka virus. My property may glow in the dark but we shouldn't have any issues with bugs! lol

I never heard of it but will check it out. Thanks for the info.

I may be a little neurotic, but since you only have one plant infestes you may want to go at them with rubbing alcohol and a qtip for some spot treatment. I do this anytime I see one of those blighted things. Only saw one all winter, not bad considering how many plants I have, but I plan on picking up some BATS myself to have on hand should my plants make any nasty little friends again this summer.

I just wanted to let you all know these posts helped this "lurker" this past weekend. Thanks so much!!!

Welcome, Carla! And you are most welcome!

Thanks aurorawa!!!

TG, I had to go look up Brand X and it seemed kinda pricey on their website, so I went to Amazon. (By the way, it's a lot cheaper on Amazon...) I know you really like it, but the reviews weren't great. I can't resist sharing one that made me laugh out loud...

"Having been suckered into buying PM wash myself, I can only warn you not
to be as foolish. When I got the product home, I looked at the label,
and the ingredient statement reads as follows:
Water . . . . . . . . 99.9999%
Inert Ingredients . . 0.0001%

In
other words you're paying $15 (plus shipping) for pure water. (I paid a
lot less than Amazon's price.) There are NO active ingredients.

To
be certain it was mere water, I actually took a mouthful. After
tasting nothing unusual, I called the idiot hippie that sold me the
quart and complained. According to him, this water is subjected to
"ionizing radiation" which gives it magical properties which kill mold
and mildew.

"Sort of like a force field, huh?" I replied in
mockery, but he agreed. When I told him that I had drank some, he began
murmuring darkly, but I cut him off. "Why not drink it? It's purer than
what comes out of the tap!"

You will notice that nowhere does NPK
Industries, the bottler of this magic water, make any claim as to what
it might cure or correct. The label merely states that it "may be used
as often as needed through all phases of plant life up to and including
the day of harvest." It doesn't say that it can be used to treat, much
less cure, any plant, animal or human condition.

This is what
happens when you vote Republican. Thanx to the glories of
"deregulation," scam artists such as NPK Industries are given a free
ticket to dupe as many unsuspecting people as they wish."

Denise in Omaha, still laughing

LOL I'm dying but no, PM wash is not Brand X (not sure why Amazon is linking it that way). For the record, I got suckered into buying PM wash at my local hydro store to remove an aggressive application of neem oil that was burning my plants, but yeah. Mostly water.

Anyway, you can only buy Brand X via their website as far as I know. I've been using it since the early aughts and I've never been disappointed. A pint easily lasts me about a year, but I generally don't have issues with pests these days and mostly use it to clean the hard water marks off my plants every couple of months. I don't have quite as many plants as you, Denise, but for me it's been an economical non-toxic alternative. I'd be happy to send you a sample! I should do a before and after so you can see how lovely the plants look, and the few plants I do bring in with mealies or scale just slide right off when I apply it. Plus, once applied, it deters pests as the slippery surface makes them unable to attach.

I seriously should shill for this company. lol

Oh, yes I see that the PM came up instead of Brand X when I used "search" on Amazon. That IS weird! Well, then no wonder it's half the price! I guess I thought I WAS looking at Brand X!

It sounds intriguing... I like the idea that it's non-toxic. How long have you been using it?

Denise in Omaha

I first started using it in '03 or '04 at the advice of a master horticulturalist. It's amazing stuff, hand to the sky. It's not meant for fuzzier plants, can be hard on thinner leafed plants (like ficus) or tender new growth, can cause some photosensitivity (if applied in direct sunlight), and is very slippery, but if used correctly it works wonders, especially on the fleshier Hoyas. It suffocates mealies and scale on contact too, so no waiting around. It's perfect for mealies because you can spray right into all the little cracks and crevices.

I don't remember your physical address, but I'll email you and if you want I will send you a generous sample. It's my secret weapon. :D

ETA: I don't have any great before/after examples right now because I sprayed all my plants a couple months ago, but here is my new H. persicina before and after using Brand X, along with a few of my plants I sprayed at the beginning of the year.

Oooh, I think you sent me some of this in a spray bottle tawny? It fell behind my desk and I just found it again while rearranging furniture and was wondering what it was. Need to try it.

Yep! If I recall, I added enough for that entire bottle. Just watch your new growth and stay away from your AV's and bug eaters. ;)

That DOES leave a nice shine! I can see how it would "pretty up" a lot of my Hoyas...

Denise in Omaha

Hey, thanks for the info...I think the company should send you a FREE bottle for referring all of us to their site..I could use something good like that too, since I hate Neem...I wonder if it would be good on orchids and the leaves to citrus?

Just ordered some..I hope I like this stuff..I don't have bugs but I would like to have shiny leaves without harm.

Tawny, what about thinner leaved Hoya, like the javanica? And fuzzier ones, like DS-70 and australis sp australis?

Woohooo, off work early and gonna shine up my Hoyas. Thanks!!

As I mentioned upthread Kimberlii (I just made myself giggle), I'd be careful with thinner leaf anything as thewebsite cautions about ficus dropping leaves after application. (I did use it on the multijavaniflora you sent me with no problems tho.) No bueno on fuzzy leaves, and it can "burn" really tender leaves so you have to pay attention how you apply. I wouldn't use it on DS-70. When in doubt, spot test it and see how you like it. Make sure you do not spray in direct sun and let it dry completely before exposing it to direct sun.

@mikerno_1micha, let us know how you like it! It's awesome on orchid leaves, and I think it would do fine with citrus as well, just be careful of the aforementioned new growth/sun exposure. The website is fairly thorough about how to use, along with a ton of reviews. I used to buy it before it was available online because I'm an old, and the owner was super friendly and helpful over the phone.

My work is done here people. :D