Birch tar from the Colorado potato beetle: rules for processing bushes

21.01.2018 Fertilizers and preparations

To combat Colorado potato beetles on potatoes, birch tar is used from the moment the plant has the initial sprouts. Re-treatment is recommended after 3 days. Birch tar from the Colorado potato beetle - composition, processing technology, preparation, as well as reviews and toxic effects on insects.

Birch tar from the Colorado potato beetle is a common tool that is widely used not only for pest control of agricultural plants, but also in medicine and in other industries. Its action is aimed at repelling insects, due to the release of a specific smell.

Content

1 Birch tar from the Colorado potato beetle
2 Birch tar: composition
3 How to get tar
4 Birch tar: principle of action on the Colorado potato beetle
5 How to prepare a remedy
6 Treatment
7 Reviews

Birch tar from the Colorado potato beetle

Birch tar is the most popular and effective way to eliminate pests in the garden. Its use began a very long time ago and is used to this day. Since the mixture does not harm living organisms, and repelling insects is carried out only due to a specific smell.

Therefore, summer residents and gardeners who advocate the use of only harmless processing methods, birch tar will do just fine.

The main thing is to familiarize yourself with the technique of obtaining and preparing birch tar, then no insects will settle in the garden and the harvest will be rich.

Because any pests, be it Colorado beetles, rodents or birds, can cause significant damage to agricultural plants. They appear, as a rule, suddenly and quickly turn the leaves of potatoes and other vegetables into a real sieve. In this case, you need to act immediately, and in order not to use chemical preparations of insecticides, birch tar will become their best substitute.

Note! If necessary, birch tar can be purchased at a pharmacy and it costs very little.

Birch tar: composition

Birch tar from the Colorado potato beetle is a certain oily, dense mass of black. In the sun it can cast a greenish tint. It has a frightening, pungent odor that insects, rodents and even humans cannot withstand.

The tar composition is quite voluminous and complex, it includes many chemical compounds, most of which are contained in the mixture in a minimal amount. The main part of the composition of birch tar is occupied by the following substances:

Toluene.
Organic acids.
Resin.
Phenols.
Xylene.
Dioxibenzene
Guaiacol.

How to get tar

Birch tar against the Colorado potato beetle is obtained from the birch bark, removing its upper layer. A better product can be obtained by using the birch bark of this tree, which is removed during the juice period, which falls on the 20th of June or the beginning of July.

To get birch tar, they resort to a special method of dry distillation, which is characterized by heating birch bark to a temperature of 600C and a complete lack of oxygen. In industrial conditions, special instruments and devices are used that allow the rapid release of tar.

To get such a tool at home, to scare away the Colorado potato beetles, you should spend a lot of time and effort. As a rule, the yield of the resulting product is minimal. The only method for obtaining birch tar is to perform special manipulations in the fresh air.To do this, you should make a small fire, pre-prepare metal dishes with a hole so that the finished tar comes out through it.

Note! If the technology for obtaining birch tar seems very difficult, you can use a ready-made tool by buying it in a pharmacy. True, recently, it has become very difficult to acquire such a drug.

Birch tar: principle of action on the Colorado potato beetle

Birch tar against the Colorado potato beetle has a pronounced insecticidal effect, but it does not contribute to the destruction of insects, but simply scares off the latter by emitting an unpleasant odor.

In addition to fighting Colorado potato beetles, tar helps protect potatoes and other plantings from rodents, birds, wireworms and other dangerous pests.

How to prepare a remedy

According to reviews, cooking birch tar from a Colorado potato beetle is quite problematic, since the resulting mixture does not dissolve in water due to its compositional composition and specific gravity, which is approximately 0.940 g / cm3.

Therefore, the preparation of the mixture is carried out using 2 methods:

Birch tar is mixed with a small amount of water and mixed quickly, after which it is immediately used for its intended purpose. This method allows you not to wait for the detachment of the composition, so the processing of plants is possible.
The preparation of birch tar is also determined by the following: the mixture is mixed with laundry soap and only after that a small amount of water is added.

Note! The effectiveness of birch tar from the Colorado potato beetle does not depend on the method of its preparation and in any case use the same amount of tar and water.

Treatment

As already mentioned, the processing of potatoes and other plants using birch tar is necessary immediately after its preparation. You cannot use a traditional sprayer for this purpose, since it will clog quickly and fail to fully process.

Therefore, they resort to the common grandfather method, which is the use of a broom. It is moistened in a solution and sprayed with all the bushes of the plant, capturing the entire area - from the bottom to the crown.

During the processing of plantings, you should carefully monitor the tar so that it does not begin to exfoliate, it needs to be mixed more often.

Because tar is completely harmless to humans, animals and various insects. Its main action is based on the release of a fetid odor, which contributes to the expulsion of beetles and other insects on the plant, and prevents further settlement of pests on potatoes.

Important! It is forbidden to carry out processing of plantings in cloudy and rainy weather, since the product is quickly washed off from plants. This is recommended only on a sunny day.

Reviews

Larisa, 39 years old:

“Once, when I didn’t have any chemicals for the Colorado potato beetle, my neighbor, an elderly woman, advised me to sprinkle potatoes with birch tar and told how to cook it correctly. "I am very pleased with the results of such a remedy, all the more it does not harm health and costs a penny."

Nina Ivanovna, 65 years old:

“I have always been a supporter of all natural and did not tolerate the use of various chemicals. This is the case with the processing of crops in the garden. Therefore, I always process potatoes and cabbage in tar, as my grandmother and mother taught me. The remedy is very good, insects no longer appear, and is harmless to humans. ”

Taisiya, 48 years old:

“To combat the Colorado potato beetles, which I just have not tried, chemical preparations alone are worth what. Therefore, after reading somehow the information on one forum, I found out that the plant can be sprayed with tar.And without thinking twice, I acquired such a product and processed potatoes. I’m very pleased with the results, although the product has a specific smell, but you can use it and most importantly, it is harmless to health. ”