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Western Pa.

I've just read that nematodes that were carried on board for testing on the space shuttle, have been found alive among the shuttle debris. Some tuff little buggers!

5/1/2003 2:58:40 PM

[email protected]

Perhaps it's time we start packaging our astronauts as well as their commercial payload. That is an amazing story.

Steve

5/1/2003 4:44:05 PM

Utah

it would be impossible to pack them that well.
The vehicle would be to heavy to get off the ground.

5/1/2003 5:27:40 PM

South Hill, Virginia

So I guess the ones in my patch aren't going to be that easy to get rid of after all.

5/1/2003 7:28:37 PM

minnesota

What is a nematode? Does all soil have them? I think Neptunes Harvest sells crushed crab shell to fight them ,has anybody tried this?

5/1/2003 8:21:51 PM

Colorado

Them are some lucky worms! Need them in my patch.wwwould be good for fishing to.

5/2/2003 12:09:00 AM

Arizona

Hey, did you all know there are some good nematodes? They kill the bad soil bugs like grubs, gnats, and all kinds of things over 100 other soil bugs. They eat the bad bugs but they never harm your plants roots. . I know they sell them somewhere if you want to know just post a reply and I will tell you.

Jeff Lowman

5/2/2003 12:40:40 AM

Lake Stevens, WA, USA

The "good" ones are called Beneficial Nematodes. I put some in my vegetable garden last year to kill wire worms. It didn't get rid of all the wire worms, but it did help alot, as I had much less damage to my potatos and beets. If you are thinking about buying some, be warned, they are expensive. I got a half pint container, which was supposed to contain about 10 million nematodes, and it cost just under $40.00

I bought them at a local nursery / garden supply center called Molbaks.

David

5/2/2003 1:39:50 AM

Chico, Ca

nemotodes can kill pest up to grub size. they kill;white fly,aphids, fungus gnats,termites, fleas, borers (think about it). You can also check them out at WWW.Greenfire.net

That is were I bought mine. Folks I talk to were i work say they do really work.

Robert

5/2/2003 2:08:03 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

Also seen were nematodes can be injected into the vine to kill SVB larva...the one's that cause "root knots" small nodules en Masse in the root system are the main culprits....see niagara wasn't just about drinking beer!
Grow Em BIG! Chuck

5/2/2003 6:39:15 AM

South Hill, Virginia

The root knot ones are the ones I have.....did you stay concious long enough to find out how to get rid of them Chuck? ;)

5/2/2003 10:05:08 AM

Billerica,Massachusetts

I get them from Gardensalive.com

Grub-Away™ Nematodes pkg of 5 million (treats 100-150 sq. ft.) $16.75
Grub-Away™ Nematodes pkg of 10 million $28.45
Grub-Away™ Nematodes pkg of 25 million $54.95
Grub-Away™ Nematodes pkg of 50 million $99.95

Glenn

5/2/2003 1:07:50 PM

Tipp City, Ohio

Our local paper ran an article also. They said that the life span of these (the paper acrually said "worms" not nemotodes) live for only 7 - 10 days. So the ones that they found alive were actually a third or fourth generation offspring. Still it is amazing and yet so traggic....Tom

5/2/2003 8:46:21 PM

South Hill, Virginia

Borer,

Did you count them before you put them in the ground? They may have shorted you:)

5/2/2003 9:32:20 PM

Chico, Ca

nemotodes can go up to 90 days without a host.

5/3/2003 2:27:26 AM

[email protected]

Back in 1994 we used to sell the Vector brand of parasitic nematodes for control of White Grubs. These were only marketted to professionals. They shipped UPS Next Day Air (expensive) alive in liquid. Packed in insulation & dry ice. These early offerings had to be used within 24 hours of receipt or they would die. Vector is out of business today I think.

Later versions were shipped "dormant" in a gel like balls that were a little smaller than a pea. These jelly balls were dusted with a flour made of dead nematodes to keep them from sticking together. These didn't reqire refrigeration & would last for several months in their original packaging.

As I recall, all these cost around $500 per acre to use. As such, we ultimatley had to pull the plug on them. There wasn't enough demand to justify this expense of carrying nematodes.

All nematode treatments were/are most effective when made on an overcast day because sunlight will dry & kill them quickly. Watering in immediately is mandatory.

Spray equipment required coarse strainer selection & tanks should obviously be free of strong insecticide or namacide residues. No other modifications were required.

Efficacy was around 65% at best in the university trials which was pretty pathetic considering the cost. Perhaps things have improved for parasitic nematodes. I don't know.

Steve

5/3/2003 8:04:39 AM