Hi Axel, You mention a few things that I'd like to respond to. I'm really not sure why I'm responding because these topics are like religion or politics. Nobody's mind is changed. But just a few observations: "many synthetic chemicals have been shown to cause cancer" For my part this may be true of some pesticides, but it means very little. Gasoline is listed as a carcinogen. That doesn't cause most people to stop pumping gas. I don't even see them wearing gloves. Or any protection to keep them from breathing the fumes. The real issue is what dosage does it take to cause cancer. With pesticides the residue, even on commercial fruit is measured at ppm (well below the carcinogenic threshold. Just because something is labeled a pesticide doesn't mean it's highly toxic to humans. Hair spray is toxic to insects, yet we spray pounds on our hair (hopefully not that much daily.) My point is pesticides are designed to be toxic to the pest, yet as safe as possible for the consumer. "they are bad for the environment because they degrade very slowly." This is both true and false. Some things like DDT stay around for a long long time, others have a very short half-life. The same is true for organics. Some are very persistent, others not. "Also, they accumulate in the body." I disagree with this statement. Most synthetics are rapidly excreted out of the body. "But organic techniques have come a long way" I agree and hope progress continues in this area. However, it is also true continued progress has been made in synthetics. Newer ones are safer and in some cases more pest specific. I use a product called Intrepid. It is highly specific, lethal to just moths, and very effective. This is an advantage of synthetics, that man can engineer them to fight specific pests. "Many people don't realize that there are a large plethora of organic pesticides that are equally as effective. While they too are toxic they degrade so quickly that by the time the fruit is ripe, the pesticides are long gone." Many people don't realize how much spraying it takes to grow fruit organically southeast of Miss. Read the latest article in Fruit Grower News (I think available on-line.) There is a piece about the only existing commercial grower in the southeast. Even though he uses all the modern organic tools, he admits to spraying three times the amount of chems. as a conventional grower. My thought when I read it was, what is he doing to his land? I can't imagine what the sulfur, copper, and aluminum (Surround)buildup is doing to his soil. If our country took that approach, I'd hate to think what we would do to our rivers and watersheds.

I'm going to assume that since you gave absolutely no information that you're not "organic" but rather "neglectful". Organic is a tough row to hoe, especially since you've already let the diseases and insects get a foothold. You should consider minimal spray IPM with chemical sprays and barriers with bagging or Surround. But if you really want organic. Clean up all fallen leaves and fruit in the fall ship them out or burn them. Start your dormant sprays sometime in February and March with dormant oil and sulfur or copper. Of course this requires a time machine since you have to wait about 2 weeks between those sprays and without knowing your zone, in 2 weeks disease and/or insects may be starting to come alive and organic is all about prevention not putting a bandaid on a gaping wound. Then bag the fruit when it sets and hope the bugs that have already found you don't find you. Set out some traps to monitor the bugs and set out even more traps to reduce their populations because there really is no effective organic spray for many of the insects that go after fruit when they are going after the fruit. BT may be effective on some when they are in the larve stage and on the ground. In short you're too late for organic. Spray chemical fungicide and insecticide now. Continue spraying the insecticide until the fruit is big enough to bag or set out traps and only spray when the bugs show up in the traps. Bag the fruit and spray fungicide as needed for prevention during disease weather or as a cure if disease hits.

Languard, I'm not trying to talk you out of organic, but please don't assume, organic = safe. Some formulations of sulfur are more acutely toxic than many synthetic pesticides. For example lime sulfur has an LD50 of around 500 mg/kg body weight. Similarly, Bordeaux (copper sulfate and calcium hydroxide) has an LD50 of around 500 mg/kg. Most modern synthetic pesticides have an LD50 > 2000 mg/kg. I'm on another fruit forum tailored for commercial growers and researchers Following is part of a post from a commercial grower on that list named Mo Tougas: "We too use lime sulfur and I agree that the benefits are numerous. Twenty years ago we bought sulfur by the ton as our non synthetic fungicide of choice for the production of peaches here in the humid northeast. That ceased when a friend was hospitalized due to a severe allergic reaction to my peaches. I was told it was an allergy to sulfur. I decided not to argue with the emergency room personnel."

Sheri, You're welcome. I hope the info helps. Ladybugs are often easier to find in the spring, at least around here. You might want to call around and save yourself frustration and gasoline. You can always order online too. They are shipped in a semi-dormant to dormant state. Once you release them, it will take a few days for the adult ones to reproduce. When the larvae hatch, they will look like little oblong alligator-type creatures. It is the larvae that really eat pests like crazy! Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Example of Online Ladybug Supplier