Nicotine bug spray

[Johntodd]

OK, I have some nice 100mg/ml Nicotine. And I have corn beetles* eating my sweet corn. And I have a pump-up sprayer. And no money.

How much nic@100mg do I need to make a gallon of bug spray? I can do it safely, it's just a matter of making it strong enough but not too strong. I can measure it by weight.

Thanks!
-Johntodd

* I said corn beetles, not Corny Beatles:

 

[Katmar]

Nicotine — Botanical insecticide. Pure nicotine is a tobacco extract highly toxic to warm-blooded animals. The insecticide usually is marketed as a 40% liquid concentrate of nicotine sulfate, which is diluted in water and applied as a spray. Dusts can irritate the skin and are not normally available for garden use. Nicotine is used primarily for piercing sucking-insects such as aphids, whitefiles, leaf hoppers and thrips. Nicotine is more effective when applied during warm weather. It degrades quickly, so can be used on many food plants nearing harvest. It is registered for use on a wide range of vegetable and fruit crops.

Organic Pest Control for Organic Gardening - Natural Insecticides

Hope that helps.

 

[Johntodd]

WOW! Black Leaf 40 should be diluted 800 times?

Potato Plant Lice and Their Control - William Swift Regan - Google Books

 

[Katmar]

Have you tried just dish soap and water?

 

[Johntodd]

That has never worked for me. I get industrial strength bugs around here.

None of the home-made "organics" or "naturals" have ever worked here. Sevin works, but the bugs are already up on the ears.

 

[erratum]

from a Google search ...

(snip)
The great advantage of home-made nicotine tea is that it is very short lived, retaining its toxicity for only a few hours after spraying. It is relatively nonhazardous to bees and lady beetles because of its short persistence.
Protection Offered: Nicotine is effective against ground and soil pests, especially root aphids and fungus gnats, and on many leaf-chewing insects, such as aphids, immature scales, leafhoppers, thrips, leafminers, pear psylla, and asparagus beetle larvae.
(snip)

So .... I'm not sure nicotine will work on beatles. Beetle larvae, maybe ... but beetles, maybe not so much. There are even beetles that eat tobacco.

 

[Johntodd]

I'll give it a try with the Nic. Looks like I need to dilute the 100mg down to 2mg/ml Nic to match the BL40.

Can anyone double-check my math? Me not gude wif nummers.