So I’m running a war on aphids. Or they on me. I can’t tell anymore in the fog.
I want to keep it organic, non-toxic. Or am I being silly?
Please help.
Yours,
Desperately
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Ladybugs? We use them on the roses regularly.
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Diluted dish soap in a spray bottle or from a fertilizer feeder hose attachment deal-eo. You’ll need to do this about every other day and after it rains until you see no further sign of their presence. For a longer term solution, look into companion planting and attracting beneficial insects with particular plants and/or flowers.
If you’re super desperate, visit your nearest good nursery (not a big box retailer). They usually have the basic chemical compounds and bacterial solutions which will keep your garden in the organic end of the gardening spectrum.
I work very hard each year to keep my garden organic. The only year I had to do something horrible (sevin dust) was the year we were invaded by Colorado potato beetles. Tomato hornworm we spray with Captain Jacks. It’s a bacteria, but it’s not entirely discriminate, so we only use it if those terrible worms show up.
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Yes forgot that one, thats the other thing the spouse uses on the roses.
Nicotine kills them off and is harmless to the plant, as I recall.
In a similar vein, my (letsjustcallthemplantsOK?) have thrips, which appear to be impossible to eradicate. I have no qualms about going full Porton Down on the little fuckers though. Any recommendations?
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Mine goes out to her roses with some tape and patience.
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Isn’t nicotine poisonous to humans though?
It breaks down pretty quickly.
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Preying mantises and, while I don’t know if this is strictly organic, add a few drops of dish soap to a spray bottle and two or three filter less cigarettes. Let sit overnight. Spray plants.
Beaten to it I see.
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That wins just for the cool factor right there.
Tape and patience are a great idea. They are like slugs and snails, they really only explode in growth certain parts of the year. So if can control them then, every year gets easier.
Well, she only has six roses, so it’s not like it’s an all day process. She’s really protective of them though.
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(My SO has at least 60. She may have a problem)
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Do you have to deal with them?
No problem!
Mine’s working up to that, we’ve only been here 18 months.
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The ladybug larvae are meant to be fantastic - I kidnapped hoardes of them from my rose bushes. But then they change, and they fly away.
Also the aphid eggs (aha! Nasty trick!) start hatching well before the ladybugs appear, so they have a seasonal edge.
I’m going to install a bunch of ladybug houses - apparently immensely attractive to them.
We don’t get larva… Full grown ones that are refrigerated/kept cool to make them dormant. You just shake some out at the base of the plant and when they warm up they go oh, look aphids nearby… yum.
http://ladybirdplantcare.co.uk/Thrips.html
They send you little tubes of killer beasties. My chili plants get spider mice on occasion, I get appropriate tubes and the beasties seethe over the plants eating the mites. I want a microscope so’s I can watch in super HD.
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Aha that makes sense"
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