Home & Garden 101–Fighting Back with Sevin Dust! (and a Giveaway!)

One thing I hate…bugs.

Sorry, bug lovers. I know some of them are good. The good ones are fine, so long as they don’t crawl or fly into my house, or make little nests in my basement, or look at me with those creepy eyes while I’m sleeping. I just know they are plotting to shimmy into my ear at night while I am in bed, ready to set up a community of hatchlings somewhere in my brain, kind of like that girl in Brokedown Palace.

Yuck.

They also eat my plants. I do not appreciate that.

Take for example the hostas right outside my back door. For the past five years I have watched as these plants thrive and grown into big beautiful bushes, and then in June, little tiny holes start to appear on the leaves.

And then bigger holes.

And then two weeks later, these once green beauties are eyesores.

Bugs.

So, this year when I was contacted by Pennington with an offer of some products to use in my garden, I was on board. Sevin® 5% Dust was in the shipment…and I knew JUST what to do with it.

Sure, I’ve heard of Sevin® Dust before. it’s been around for ages it seems. And the guys at the Farm Bureau swear by it. So why had I not used it on the hostas before? Stubbornness is the only thing I can think of. Or laziness. Or it could be that I just need something to complain about, and the hosta eating creepies continue to win out.

But not this year.

Jon has treated them twice now with the Sevin® Dust, and so far, so good! (These photos show the plants that have just been retreated with the dust.) We first applied the dust when the little holes first appeared…that was about 6 weeks ago. By my calculations, the hostas should be a shriveled up mess by now.

But they’re not!!

The little holes are still there, of course – and got a tad bit larger as the plants grew – but they seem to be healthy and thriving! I am thrilled, too, because those are the first plants you see as you enter my house, and it really sucks to have cruddy old eaten up stumps of dead leaves lining the patio.

Which is typical.

We also applied the Sevin® Dust to our Asiatic Lilies and the squash plants. For some reason, we have a couple of bugs that just adore eating the vines of the squash, but again, so far, so good this year! I know a lot of you (and me too) don’t like using pesticides on garden plants, but sometimes, something has GOT to give. I can’t just keep planting a garden and watching everything get eaten up by the insects. The Sevin works really well, and I get to keep my garden. To me, that’s just plain worth it.

Tips for Using Sevin Dust

You can purchase Sevin Dust in a really convenient little shaker bottle – love that thing. But just in case you need broader coverage or can’t find the shaker, you can purchase it in a bag, like the one pictured. But then, how to spread it? I have answers.

• Recycle an old Baby Powder bottle.
• For really small areas, recycle an old spice container.
• Recycle a pair of pantyhose, and use it to shake onto the plants.

Just be sure to spread the dust on days that aren’t windy, and try not to walk IN to where you are spraying, just move backward to avoid getting yourself covered in the process. Thoroughly wash your hands and arms after spraying, and for fruits or vegetables that have been treated, wash them well before consuming.

Here’s a little more info on Sevin:

GardenTech® Sevin® Brand Insecticides have been trusted by homeowners and professionals to control a wide variety of outdoor insects, including ants, caterpillars, Japanese beetles,
white grubs, Lyme disease-transmitting ticks, and other listed insects.
· Formulated with carbaryl, the Sevin® line is one of the most effective synthetic insecticides on the market.
· With a dual mode-of-action, Sevin® Insecticides break down easily in the environment and can be applied throughout the growing season right up until the day before harvest.
· While Sevin® Insecticides are designed for outdoor usage, they can be applied on household plants so as long as the plants are taken outside for treatment; once dried, the plants can be brought back inside
· Ready –to-use formulation ideal for container gardens and potted plants, Sevin® effectively prevents more than 100 listed nuisance insects.

The Giveaway

How would YOU like to win a little $25 AmEx, and treat yourself to some garden loving from Pennington’s? You would, wouldn’t you? Maybe pick up a little Sevin Dust to use yourself? Maybe some SmartFeed?

Of course you would.

Just leave me a comment here, letting me know your favorite lawn or garden tip or trick. Then voila, you are entered to win! Don’t you love when things are easy??

Yes! So enter!

As mentioned above, this post was sponsored by Pennington’s. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Prize courtesy of and shipped by Pennington’s. US Addresses only. Giveaway closes at 11:59pm EST July 1, 2013. Winner will be notified via email address provided. Good Luck!