My idea of a repellant is to capture the offending bug, puree them in my garden blender, and mix them with a safe spray. This method has been used for years, and makes sense to me. The other effective repellent strategy I use is by planting aromatic companion crops along with the attractant ones - marigolds are often used for this, alliums work with soil-born pests, and fennel and dill are good against flea beetles. The best approach is to utilize as much diversity as possible, including beneficial insects and sticky traps and pheromones as well as the repellant arsenal and garden fabrics. On your person, nothing works like mosquito netting. Here in coastal Maine, we have blackflies, followed by mosquitos, then deerflies, all of which are painful and annoying and in some people can cause dangerous reactions. With the additional danger of Lyme disease, West Nile Virus, and others, including rare cases of malaria still in the US, the most effective approach for humans is to cover your skin well. I wear large old white long-sleeved dress shirts when working in the garden that I buy at Goodwill, and have a wide-brimmed hat with mosquito netting that is tucked inside the collar. Here is a link that might be useful: Bug off!

mgpaquin According to this site, the tomato yellow leaf curl virus does not survive in soil. I'd do some more research to make sure that's what all the research says. I also found the site linked below that describes an odiferous "invention" to repel whiteflies using fermented eggshells and eggwhites as the ingredients. It sounds pretty smelly, if you know what rotten eggs smell like! Here's the process described in the link. I don't know if it could be reproduced by home gardeners or not, since the information given appears to comprise some sort of formula that someone wants to take commercial. I'm also not sure if you're supposed to spray the plants with the resulting smelly mess or water the soil with it. The author says the plants themselves begin to smell of sulfur and thereby whiteflies are repelled, so I concluded the soil around the plants should be watered with it. Yet, in another place the author mentions "placing" it on leaf surfaces. If the plants smell like sulfur, I suppose any fruit would taste like sulfur, and nobody wants tomatoes to taste like that, but who knows? Maybe one tomato plant in a container could be sacrificed as a test! ===== There are many parts of an egg including the albumen or egg white. Typically, the albumen accounts for about sixty-seven percent of an egg's weight. The albumen contains more than half of the egg's total protein, minerals and vitamins. The albumen contains protein, niacin, riboflavin, chlorine, magnesium, potassium, sodium and sulfur. The pest repellant is produced by fermenting eggshells with a portion of the albumen attached thereto. Fermentation is the chemical process that breaks down organic materials. The process is carried out by bacteria, molds and yeasts that are present in the air. It is believed that the fermentation process liberates sulfur from sulfates and sulfides present in the amino acids of the eggshells and albumen. A chemical analysis of chicken eggs was undertaken and the following results were yielded. One-hundred grams of fresh chicken eggs contains approximately 70.83 g of water, 12.14 g of protein and 11.15 g of lipids. Minerals present in the eggs were as follows: 56 mg of C, 2.09 mg of Fe, 12 mg of Mg, 180 mg of P, 130 mg of K, 138 mg of Na and 1.44 mg of Zn. Vitamins included in the fresh eggs were as follows 0.087 mg of Thiamin, 0.301 mg of Riboflavin, 0.062 mg of Niacin, 0.120 mg of B6, 1.547 mg of B12 and 520 IU of A. The chicken eggs also included amino acids in the approximate quantities: 0.820 g of Lysine, 0.392 g of Methionine, 0.289 g of Cystine, 0.596 g of Threonine, 0.759 g of Isoleucine and 0.686 g of Phenylalanine. Methionine and Cystine both include sulfur. Methionine is represented by the following structural formula. ##STR2## Cystine is represented by the following structural formula. ##STR3## Since the eggshells and albumen contain amino acids that comprise sulfur, sulfur dioxide is created during the fermentation process. Sulfur dioxide is a colorless gas with a distinctive odor. The sulfur dioxide contributes to repelling the pests as it is placed on the leaf surfaces of the plant. The plants also absorb the sulfur present in the mixture of eggshells and albumen and give off a sulfur smell that repels pests. Another important element in the pest repellent is sulfide. Sulfide is a chemical compound that contains sulfur and another element. All sulfides contain the sulfide ion, a single sulfur atom with an electrical charge of -2. Sulfide ions are present in some proteins which make up living things. Since eggs are high in proteins, sulfide is present in them. During the manufacturing process of the pest repellent sulfur from the sulfide is liberated by the fermentation process. The best contemplated process for producing the pest repellant, involves collecting eggshells with part of the albumen attached thereto. The eggshells are placed into a metal or plastic container with warm or hot water. Over a period of time, the water coupled with bacteria and other fermenting agents dissolve the eggshells and cause them to decompose and liquefy. The mixture of water, eggshells and albumen are allowed to ferment for a period of time. Typically, the mixture ferments for at least twelve days. Heat may be introduced into the curing time to increase the fermentation process and cause chemical bonds to be broken thereby more quickly liberating sulfur. Likewise, the mixture may be stirred occasionally to increase the fermentation process. Typically, the mixture is tested using a hydrogen sulfide test kit to determine whether it is ready to be applied to plants. The mixture is ready for use as a pest repellant when the hydrogen sulfide is present in at least an amount of 0.424 mg/I. The mixture is then strained to remove visible or non-liquid particles. Silt sized particles may remain in the mixture due to the calcium in the shells. Typically, the calcium carbonate of the egg shells does not breakdown entirely leaving silt sized particles which may be filtered from the mixture. In the preferred embodiment, the silt sized particles are left in the mixture and are applied at the base of the plant adding nutritional value to the mixture. The preferable ratios of chemical compounds in the mixture are 250 ml of H2 O to 24.3 g of CaCO3 to 1.060-5 g of H2 S. The following is the structural formula for the pest repellant. ##STR4## The following are examples of the effectiveness of the pest repellant mixture. EXAMPLE 1 A mixture of hydrogen sulfide and calcium suspended in water, as mentioned above, was applied to a poinsettia plant. The poinsettia plant was placed near a gardenia bush that was infested with white flies. The poinsettia plant was monitored and visually inspected bi-weekly for approximately five months during warm weather. Visual inspections of the poinsettia plant revealed no white flies, larvae or white fly eggs present on the leaves of the poinsettia plant. The plant remained healthy and productive with blossoms and leaves of deep color. EXAMPLE 2 A gardenia bush that was infested with white flies operated as a control. White flies were visibly present on the leave surface of the gardenia bush. A second gardenia bush was placed within approximately a foot of the control. The second gardenia bush was treated twice a month with a mixture containing 0.424 mg/l of H2 S as mentioned above. Visual inspections of the gardenia bushes were conducted over a four-month period of time. While the control remained infested with white flies, no white flies were present during the visual inspections on the second gardenia bush. Further, neither larvae nor white fly eggs were found on the underside surface of the leaf. The second gardenia bush remained healthy and did not become infested with the white flies. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact construction illustrated and described above, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. Here is a link that might be useful: Patent application

Oh my goodness! California has not yet set their best do gooders on the kill Sluggo and Escargo mission. The Swiss are ahead of them. I have used Escargo for years. My worm count at it's best three years ago was twelve to twenty in the turn of a single garden spade from an organic content of seventeen percent. That also was at the height of the largest one time observation of egg laying I have yet to witness. Escargo has been in use here on the same ground for as long as it has been available without any noticeable harm to anything but the slugs. The robins and moles eat more worms than Sluggo or Escargo harm. On that great garden soil I have grown nine hundred pound Atlantic Giant pumpkins, ninety eight inch Long Gourds and up to five pound tomatoes. The Long Gourd was the largest such gourd grown in Pennsylvania a few years ago. The genetics in that seed produced more over a hundred inch gourds in the history of the sport. All of these items grew with the protection of Escargo in close and continuous use to protect them from an army of slugs.

Yes I did repeat my Marigold experiment...Last two years I had other flowers mixed in with Marigolds/ This year I only planted ALL Marigolds...Results: Most of our roses have hardly any rose slug damage right now.... But we do have 3 roses still being eaten by rose slugs but the damage is still on the milder side at this point in time ....So?... So next year I'm going to mix other plants in with Marigolds like before... Plants that will attract more Predatory wasps etc. that will feed on the rose slugs... I also had finches etc. landing on our roses to help eat rose slugs... I feed and keep water here for birds so they stay... SO....I think a large part of the secret is attracting Predatory wasps etc, and birds to feast on rose slugs. Whether or not the stinky smell of Marigolds helps in any way I still really have no idea...??? All in all had 3 straight seasons of not much damage so will continue the practice...