Pesticides work to prevent and kill insects that damage plants. Insecticide is a necessary product in agriculture and ensures disease control in the wild. Therefore, gardeners use pesticides regularly to deal with those pests that destroy plants. If you use pesticides according to the correct dosage and recommendations from the manufacturer, it will be safe for human health and pets.
There are many questions regarding the recent use of pesticides. One of the most commonly asked questions is the effect of rainwater on pesticides. Does rain wash away pesticides? When is the best time to spray pesticides for plants? What basic principles should I keep in mind when spraying pesticides? In this article, we will provide detailed information to help you answer your questions.
Does Rain Wash Away Insecticide?
The answer will depend entirely on the pesticide you choose. Therefore, you need to check the detailed information on the label of the vial. Currently, there are many different types of pesticides such as liquid pesticides, tablet pesticides, or powder insecticides.
For some pesticides with solid ingredients, water is required to activate and release compounds to kill insects and pests. So a heavy downpour can help save time and effort to dissolve pesticides. Besides, some pesticides need time to dry naturally. If these insecticides are dissolved in water, their effectiveness will be significantly reduced.
On the market today, most liquid pesticides are manufactured with water-insoluble formulations. Its effect is to prevent water-soluble pesticides when it rains or watering plants. However, pesticides when exposed to water or rain will also be diluted and reduce their effectiveness.
The best time for liquid pesticides to dry and fully adhere to the soil is 20 to 30 minutes. In addition, some liquid pesticides with the latest technology can shorten this time. For most pesticides, light rain with little rainfall will not affect their effectiveness much.
When Is The Best Time To Spray Pesticides?
To determine the best time to spray a pesticide, read the directions for use on the package of your chosen pesticide. You need to determine if it is a liquid or solid pesticide. Does this insecticide require a large amount of water to dissolve? Finally, pay attention to some basic factors below before spraying pesticides.
Time Of Day
Early morning or late afternoon is the most ideal time of day when you should spray pesticides. During this time, the temperature will be moderate, not too hot or not too cold. In particular, this time will allow the insecticide solution time to dry before the temperature rises. What’s more, you will also feel less discomfort and fatigue when spraying pesticides in cool times.
Weather Conditions
You should check the weather forecast before using pesticides over a large area. You should avoid rainy and windy days because high winds will cause large amounts of pesticides to be washed away. Moreover, it will also affect the health of plants, people, and livestock in the surrounding areas. Therefore, you should avoid spraying pesticides on heavy rainy days because pesticides can seep into the soil or groundwater. In particular, heavy rainfall will also dilute the pesticide and reduce its use.
Age Of Pests
The timing of using pesticides to kill pests and insects is extremely important. For insects with a life cycle from egg to adult, you should use insecticides at the egg, pupa, or larval stage to achieve the best effect.
If you do not determine the best time to kill insects then you will need more time and dosage of pesticides. Kill insects and pests when you notice eggs, larvae or brown, white patches on the surface of leaves or stems. Therefore, you need to regularly check plants and destroy insects early to save time and costs.
Can I Spray Pesticides After It Rains?
After it rains, the leaves and soil will often be wet and cannot completely dry without sunlight. In particular, if your area is poorly drained, it will lead to waterlogging due to too much water. During this time, you should not use liquid pesticides to spray on leaves and plants. This is because liquid pesticides take time to dry and adhere to leaves and soil. Meanwhile, leaves and soil that are too wet will make this time last longer. Therefore, the effect of liquid pesticides will also be reduced.
If you think that liquid pesticides are not suitable for use after rain, pill insecticides will be more suitable, right? However, you should also not use pesticide pellets if the soil is still waterlogged or too watery. This amount of water will dissolve the pesticide quickly and drift with the water as the excess water in the soil drains away.
For light rains and drizzles, you can still apply insecticides right after it rains. For example, when you use insecticides to kill termites and ants in the soil, a small amount of rain would be ideal to deal with them. Rainwater that dissolves the pesticides will flood their nests and force them to crawl out.
Conclude
Insecticides are indispensable drugs in farming and agricultural activities. Pesticides help kill insects, diseases and control plant health. Before using any pesticide, you need to find out the detailed information on the product’s packaging.
There are many types of pesticides on the market today such as liquid insecticides, pesticides in tablets, or powders. The liquid insecticide will not require water to activate, instead, it takes 20 to 30 minutes to dry and fully adhere to plants and soil. Most liquid pesticides will also not be completely dissolved in water.
In addition, pesticides in pill or powder form will require water to activate the compounds in the drug. You can take advantage of small rains to dissolve pesticides and save time. However, you still need to avoid heavy and prolonged rains because too much water will dilute the pesticides and waste money.