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pests Pests are out of control!

Edmick

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Its been a wet winter here in southern california and the pests are out of control! I have a couple large rose bishes near my garden and its a haven for all the bugs. Ive tried spraying heavy with seven insecticide and they just seem to laugh at it. I would pull the rose bushes out if i could bit i rent my house and im not allowed to. I have a feeling the majority of my bugs (mainly aphids) are coming from the rose bushes but i have no idea what other products are good. Im thinking of using a systemic insecticide on the roses but i know i cant use them on edible plants. Does anyone have a suggestion for heavy infestations? Ive used neem in the past with fair results at best but im afraid it wont put a dent in the heavy infestation im experiencing. Thank you in advance.
 
A good blast with the hose on the daily.
 
You ain't gonna kill 'em or nothing, just dislodge 'em... and make each and every day a really bad day for 'em.
 
Using the rose bushes as trap plants... smart move... I'd just be spraying 'em down with soapy water, though. Try to avoid insecticides as you don't wanna smash any predators that might be hanging around (i.e. ladybugs, hoverflies, etc).
 
You'd be surprised just how good a job predators do at keeping enemy populations under control.
 
gasificada said:
A good blast with the hose on the daily.
 
You ain't gonna kill 'em or nothing, just dislodge 'em... and make each and every day a really bad day for 'em.
 
Using the rose bushes as trap plants... smart move... I'd just be spraying 'em down with soapy water, though. Try to avoid insecticides as you don't wanna smash any predators that might be hanging around (i.e. ladybugs, hoverflies, etc).
 
You'd be surprised just how good a job predators do at keeping enemy populations under control.
 
This is pretty much what I was gonna say.  Daily hosings are super effective.
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It's always been my experience - mostly by watching other people - that when you nuke one pest, you just eliminate competition from some other.  And then, you end up in a vicious circle, of trying to systematically eliminate one type of pest at a time, while trying not to poison yourself, phytotox your plants.
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+1 on the hose.  Good garden sprayer, shower head spray pattern, full force. 
 
I would post a picture of what im dealing with but i cant figure out how to upload a pic..
 
Ive also had some snail issues with the flowers i planted a couple weeks ago. Does anyone use beer traps with success? I would rather avoid snail bait cuz i have pets and i had two dogs get snail bait toxicity years ago. I feel like i spend more time battling pests than i do actually enjoying my plants.
 
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Edmick said:
Ive also had some snail issues with the flowers i planted a couple weeks ago. Does anyone use beer traps with success? I would rather avoid snail bait cuz i have pets and i had two dogs get snail bait toxicity years ago. I feel like i spend more time battling pests than i do actually enjoying my plants.
 
>I Got Slugs<
 
lek said:
beauveria bassiana and metarhizium anisopliae
 
 
If you are going to continue to throw out the names of microbes and fungi, you should really start recommending specific products, or inform people on how they might acquire your recommendations.  Because here in the US, these particular strains of fungi are not highly available - especially to the hobbyist.
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Otherwise, you are just going to become known as "that guy who says those words all the time".  :party:
 
The_NorthEast_ChileMan said:
In lek's defense when he uses GOOGLE he gets ที่เป็นภาษา: (Thai GOOGLE), a bit tough to find things in the US to recommend, no? YMMV
 
Except that I've mentioned before, that those strains, as well as a couple others that he has mentioned, are not readily available, or not available in a cost effective format for hobbyists.  That's right, you aren't reading that wrong - I actually did the research to try to find these laboratory-grade-weaponry sounding terms.  Yes, they exist in the US.  But try to get a quantity that covers less than 250 hectares.  That aside, I personally think it's a sin sending a distressed grower on a wild goose chase.  So I stand by my recommendation to BE SPECIFIC.
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If you're going to throw out advice to a group of people, of whom the majority are well outside of your locale, it behooves you to speak on some common ground.  Lek became infamous for his post on worm castings, complete with a lecture about how we need to be more knowledgeable about how there are different ways to feed worms to produce quality vermicompost - only to go on to admit that he, himself, had never actually produced his own worm castings. (to several of us who are actually quite well versed in vermicomposting)
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Now see what your mixing in did.  You made me have to explain the situation at lek's expense.  Shame on you.  :shame:  :shh:
 
Edmick said:
Its been a wet winter here in southern california and the pests are out of control! I have a couple large rose bishes near my garden and its a haven for all the bugs. Ive tried spraying heavy with seven insecticide and they just seem to laugh at it. I would pull the rose bushes out if i could bit i rent my house and im not allowed to. I have a feeling the majority of my bugs (mainly aphids) are coming from the rose bushes but i have no idea what other products are good. Im thinking of using a systemic insecticide on the roses but i know i cant use them on edible plants. Does anyone have a suggestion for heavy infestations? Ive used neem in the past with fair results at best but im afraid it wont put a dent in the heavy infestation im experiencing. Thank you in advance.
 
you can use the systemic insecticide on edible plants..just take note of the withholding period specified on the packaging.
 
 
Thank you good point. Never thought about the withholding period. Just a good wash out and it should be ok too
 
I've heard that most bugs go after plants that are low in carbohydrate and spraying them with molasses could help
Would be interesting if anyone has tried it. I did it on mine and it seemingly worked - however not at all scientific
 
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