bugs r driving me nuts!

10 years ago

HI,
Balcony gardener here. I got aphids in my containers last year from a rose cutting. Then they died out. This year they came back with a vengence. I tried BT israelensis for soil drench and BT kurstaki for the foliage. I did this every week. From the flying aphids came the crawly ones, then the green ones that suck on the leaves came and now they are red. I am so angry I might do something like buy chemical insecticides. I dont have the luxury of using a hose to spray them off my plants. I squish as many as I can till even I get squeamish . And today I found this. What is this? Is it beneficial or a pest? I am going to drench them all with a pyrethrin based spray today once I get it. Should I? I am budget constrained. Thanks for listening. :)
{{gwi:65837}}

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Comments (11)

CaraRose
10 years ago
Can't be 100% sure from that photo, but it looks to me like you got an aphid killing friend. Ladybug larvae. They're aphid eating machines :O)
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CaraRose
10 years ago
Also, I'm pretty sure BT is not effective on aphids and other "sucking" insects. It's good for foliage eaters.
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Thanks for sharing.
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This situation requires a 3 part approach: you need to kill the larvae in the soil, the adult gnats (who promptly lay more eggs to become larvae) and remove or correct the conditions that results in the gnat infestation in the first place. 1) Larvae control. Hydrogen peroxide is an effective control. Use 3% hp at 1 part hp to 4 parts water. Wait until the soil dries a bit then water thoroughly with this solution. 2) Adult control. Adults have a very short lifespan - only 7-10 days - but during this period, females are constantly laying eggs. Covering the soil surface with a layer of coarse sand will discourage females from laying eggs on the container soil. No eggs = no larvae = no adults. 3) Finally, you need to adjust watering practices. Fungus gnats are attracted to consistently damp soils. Generally, populations will be most heavy if the plants are being watered too frequently and the soil not allowed to dry out between waterings. At least the top two inches should dry thoroughly between waterings. The females won't lay eggs on dry soils (what the sand fools them into thinking) and the shallow larvae will not survive in dry conditions. Your houseplants will probably thank you for it as well - more issues arise with overwatering houseplants than allowing them to become too dry. Cinnamon can help as well. Dusting the top of the container uniformly with ground cinnamon will destroy the fungal organisms the larvae feed on, killing them as well. Also useful for damping off problems. But you must address all three parts of the problem to have successful control.
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digdirt2
10 years ago
Bt isn't listed for aphids. Bt has to be eaten to work and aphids don't "eat" they only suck moisture from plants. So not sure why you would expect it to work on them.

But there are numerous pesticides available for aphids - both organic and synthetic chemical. Safer makes a good organic one. You can also use one of the homemade spray recipes IF you use it carefully as it can harm plants if over-applied or applied in the direct sun. However most sprays will kill just as may good guys as bad ones so make sure you have a real problem before spraying anything.

1 T liquid dish soap in 1 gallon of water, shake well, pour into spray bottle, mist the bugs lightly. Do NOT drench the plant leaves, aim for the aphids. Plants are quite tolerant of some aphids so there is no need to get aggressive unless it is a really major infestation. And the larvae there isn't hurting anything. He's helping so leave him alone.

And you don't need a hose to blast them off with plain water - just a spray bottle.

Dave
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lgteacher
10 years ago
The creepy thing does look like a ladybug larva. Rejoice! They eat aphids even more than the full grown ladybugs.

Insects damage plants by either chewing or sucking. Bt is used for caterpillars that chew on plants. Aphids suck plant juices. Water with dish soap or an insecticidal soap is effective for controlling aphids. It coats their bodies.
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archoo16
Original Author
10 years ago
I tried the soap solution once and gave up. Will try again. BT in soil keeps the larvae population down. I use the BT spray for caterpillars. And was hoping these evil green things would die too because they are sucking out my leaves :( I will try the soap soln again.

Btw aren't lady bug larvae supposed to have little legs? This thing was crawling like a caterpillar. I haven't sprayed the Pyrethrin sol, used a soln of soap and water with little mouth wash in it. :D
The green aphids, do they die if they fall off the plant into the soil, or do they just climb on to the next leaf?
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CaraRose
10 years ago
Caterpillars have little legs too, you know :) This fellow most certainly has legs too.

Depending on the species, leg size varies. Red-spotted Lady Beetle larvae have smaller legs than a convergent or asian lady beetle.
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archoo16
Original Author
10 years ago
:) lol yeah, my bad. What I meant to say was long legs.
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
10 years ago
Any chance of a decent picture of that critter? It doesn't look like a ladybug larvae on my computer.
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jean001a
10 years ago
The insect in your image is a syrphid fly larva. As was said previously, it is an aphid-eating machine. The adult flies resemble bees in that they have yellow & black coloration.
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archoo16
Original Author
10 years ago
No, I couldn't find find it again. Am hoping it is one of the beneficial ones. If I spot it again , I will take a better pic.
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archoo16
Original Author
10 years ago
Today I found a brown lace wing larvae on my bell pepper plant. Now I know that is beneficial. May be it was the pupa I found? I crushed some orangey eggs on my leaf surface. Now I think they may have been lady bug eggs :(

Is there a good site to know beneficial insects, their eggs, pupae and larvae by looking at them?
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bugs r driving me nuts!

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CaraRose

CaraRose

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bugs r driving me nuts!

Comments (11)

CaraRose

CaraRose

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