Ladybugs vs. Aphids - need advice
18 years ago
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- 18 years ago
- 18 years ago
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Aphids vs. Ladybugs---Aphids Winning!!
Comments (14)I noticed for the first time in 15 years that my clematis plant had little black bugs all over the trellis and old vines, and osme one leaves. They are the size of a tick. I think I finally found out that they are aphids. The odd thing is that after an unusal amount of rain this year, the big fir tree branch hanging over the Clematis, dropped a ton of sap all over my leaves. I have tried soapy water, but that doesn't last too long. Has anyone heard of aphids, in every size, coming from the sap of fir tree? what is the best homemade remedy I can use for both the sap and the aphids. Thanks, Jan...See Moreaphid advice please
Comments (8)Your strong sprays of water will dislodge some LB larvae, make no mistake. But the population will soon recover. Their eggs are a bit more difficult to knock off, so you'll have a fresh batch of hungry soldiers to help out. The adult beetles will fly away temporarily, but will return to the banquet, too. On a plant like your clematis, sometimes Mother Nature needs some help from YOU in order to return things to a healthy balance. The black sooty mold will wear away, but only once the aphid population has really been diminished. Be sure to do a good housekeeping job when you cut your clematis back in the fall. If you don't cut your plant back, then you should spray it with horticultural oil over the winter in order to help get rid of aphid eggs. In the early spring, when new growth emerges, use horticultural oil again. Neem applications, also, can assist greatly in controlling early aphid populations with little affect on the beneficials. Much less so than insecticidal soap, I think. But your challenge will be to prevent a population from taking over in the first place. Then you won't have the problems you're experiencing now....See MoreAphids, Aphids & More Aphids!!
Comments (55)Deebs, I have 5 trees planted, 2 in the back, but it'll be awhile before they get large enough for the birds to nest in them. They used to use my large climbers too. With all the cats they'd have to make them up really high. One is a redwood though hitting close to 20 feet tall now, not as easily climbed so maybe. I can't distinguish really between all the worms on the roses, most eat holes through the buds and eat the roses, others the foliage too. I'd like to think the ones I miss are eatting aphids:) Duchesse, they tried to petition the subdivision owner on the claim they didn't know the ponding basin was going to be there. That's a lie, I went through the same process they did to pick the house I wanted. It was right there on the site plan and the layout. In fact we paid extra to get a larger lot to be sort of behind it, about 20ft. They bought their houses knowing that was behind them, they were all sold at a premium price for that much yard. They wanted the basin filled in. Won't happen, by city law there has to be a basin at each new subdivison for the water to go when it rains to help on flooding. The only activity I ever see at the basin area is a couple times a year they come through with a tractor and take out all the weeds. The basin is home to mud ducks and others and geese off and on all year. I like to hear the honks and bullfrogs over dogs barking anytime. I think some of them walk around and squish them on purpose. I saw one of the neighbors vacuuming them up with one of those shop vacs one year. These are all relatively young people that have never owned a home before. They have no idea what they're suppressing and the price they'll pay. They just want to complain about nature. This was a walnut orchard and home to all the birds in the past. I imagine there are so many toads because nature is responding to the masses of white flies. I imagine over time the number will diminish especially with all the poisons/chemicals they'll put out on their yards and bushes. Sorry, pet rant:) I've admired your roses and gardens Patricia, I'm only resistant because they've already ruined those roses, I can't reclaim that now. It's too late. That one rose in the pics above is Irresistible, a mini. There isn't a bud that doesn't look like that. I found 14 ladybugs on it yesterday. The white looking bush behind it is a floribunda hitting over 5' tall for size on this rose. You can barely see the canes behind the redwood even taller. This was last night and these bushes just don't photo well for me in the sun and not enough light, but it gives you an idea of how large. I did try the flour on some of them yesterday skipping where the ladybugs were. That was almost as much fun as blasting with water, some were startled into flight. Some washed off easier, but others are crammed into every nook and cranny of the buds and leaves and new growth. It irritated the bees, lucky they don't like me:) As far as Murphy's Law goes, I was too pleased with early spring and all the healthy looking bushes. I was last year too and spider mites devastated them about this time. So, yeah you better knock on wood, LOL* I know what you're talking over on the Hover Bees but I think they're called something else, Deebs, still I have all different colored ones. Dark green, light green, stripped not stripped. This one had stripes too, from last year's infestation:) I have a terrible memory so if I find one of these, I kill them. Thanks for all the help, I do appreciate all the advice and thoughts on this. Patricia I may yet resort to that spray....See MoreNeed an Aphid killer!
Comments (33)Last year, I had a tremendous aphid infestation as soon as I moved into a new house and set up the garden. For weeks, I was fighting it with every available method out there and I was baffled as to how they were back on my plants each following day! finally after many weeks of playing the soap spray game, I finally discovered the real problem.... It wasnt ants.... It was another neighboring landscape plant. In this case it was a Lupine bush. Ive never seen such an insane aphid infestation. There were millions of them, maybe hundreds of millions!!! no kidding. So I moved into quarantine and removal mode. cut the plant down, while i did aphids were literally raining down on my head! any shake to the plant and thousands of them would fall off so as im cutting the thing, aphids and their dooky were falling all over me. . I mean this was insane, i was at war and I was not about to lose this one. I pulled the giant greenwaste container out to the location of the plant and tried to stuff it in there with as many of the buggers still on the plant as possible. I had to jump on the thing to push the plant down and aphids were falling everywhere!!!! But mostly contained to the location of the plant. I managed to get the whole thing in there barely, then I took the greenwaste container to the street and left the cover on all the way. They took the container the next day and the majority of the problem was gone immediately. Next I moved into spray mode and sprayed down the whole yard with soap for the next 3-5 days. on the location of the infected plant i used the nuclear toxic stuff. problem gone. now its just normal maintenance. I have some that find their way into my greenhouse when the doors are open, quick soap spray 2 days in a row and theyre gone....See More- 18 years ago
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