WHY WIPE OUT WORKS
In the grow tip last month, we did a write up on how to use the extremely effective Wipe Out on cannabis. We were wrong though, when we described the product as a 100% organic product. Wipe Out actually contains a base insecticide, however unlike systemic insecticides, Wipe Out is a translaminar product that dissipates in two weeks or less.
Products that kill insects and harmful molds are often systemic. Systemic products enter the plant’s root system, spreading the insecticides and fungicides through out the entire plant, circulating from the roots to all the leaves. The problem with systemic products is that the plant will contain trace elements of the insecticide in finished plants, making them unsafe.
“Understanding how an insecticide moves or doesn’t move through a plant is critical to insecticide selection and proper application. Contact materials cover only the plant’s surface... Good coverage is important – any surface not covered isn’t toxic, including new shoots and the newest leaves in the growing tip.”
“Another problem with systemics is that the amount of toxic material present in the new shoots is very small. Aphids may consume enough toxic material in the sap they feed on to be killed, but chewing insects may not get enough to be controlled. Translaminar materials don’t have surface residues but move into the leaf where a reservoir of active ingredient remains for a period of time providing longer control. Don’t confuse translaminar with systemic – translaminar materials move only short distances, not through the entire plant. Thorough coverage is still very important.”
-Dean M. Krauskopf, Michigan State University
Wipe Out is a surface application that doesn’t enter the plant’s root systems or arteries. For all plants, after being sprayed with a translaminar product, the product will penetrate the leaf tissue and form a reservoir of active ingredients within the surface of the leaf for up to two weeks before dissipating. The advantage with translaminar products is that they are safe to use on cannabis plants up until the last fourteen days of flowering.
Mites, such as the two-spotted spider mite, feed on the leaves and ingest enough active ingredient found in Wipe Out to kill themselves, even after spray residues have dried. Wipe Out will eradicate the eggs sacks after just one application, and is effective at eliminating spider mites, two spotted spider mites, whiteflies, aphids, thrips, slugs, earthworms, mole crickets, and mosquito larvae all without leaving a trace after two weeks.
