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2022 Outside-In

Bou said:
@CraftyFox Jeez, it looks like you're at war and fighting on many fronts; don't you ever get a break from pests??
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Sure doesn't seem like it, does it? I've even found a few pods with holes in them, but no culprit, so I'm hoping the spiders did something beneficial with all the killing they've done in there. I haven't done the math lately, but I'm pretty sure I have more predatory species than pests though.

I culled over a hundred aphid 'wingers' at the window yesterday, and saw over a dozen each of Orius and Aphidius.. Some of my plants still like hell, but others don't seem bothered at all.
Today ends the reign of the aphids though.. The fresh Harmonia beetles have already been at them hard, and I'll be adding about 150 more Convergent beetles to the mix today.

I haven't pulled that Nettle out yet, but I'd be willing to bet there isn't even a spider mite egg left on it now.
 
CraftyFox said:
Sure doesn't seem like it, does it? I've even found a few pods with holes in them, but no culprit, so I'm hoping the spiders did something beneficial with all the killing they've done in there. I haven't done the math lately, but I'm pretty sure I have more predatory species than pests though.

I culled over a hundred aphid 'wingers' at the window yesterday, and saw over a dozen each of Orius and Aphidius.. Some of my plants still like hell, but others don't seem bothered at all.
Today ends the reign of the aphids though.. The fresh Harmonia beetles have already been at them hard, and I'll be adding about 150 more Convergent beetles to the mix today.

I haven't pulled that Nettle out yet, but I'd be willing to bet there isn't even a spider mite egg left on it now.
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👌 You are an example of tenacity my friend!! I had an aphid infestation that quickly got out of control in my grow tent a few weeks ago. As I wanted to avoid them escaping and reaching my household plants, I threw all the seedlings (9) to the compost pile...!
 
Bou said:
👌 You are an example of tenacity my friend!! I had an aphid infestation that quickly got out of control in my grow tent a few weeks ago. As I wanted to avoid them escaping and reaching my household plants, I threw all the seedlings (9) to the compost pile...!
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I really couldn't imagine having the flora without the fauna. I love plants, but arthropods were my first and forever love. Sooner or later, I'll get unlucky and get some diseased seeds that contaminate my whole grow.. Or so I've heard. Fires happen too, so I imagine if I had one occur, the other would soon follow. :flamethrower:Trouble travels in threes, and I'm already here.

I don't really try to snuff the aphids out, just control them. I even keep a few sanctuary plants for them.. Not that the others honor that.

I might have more Aphidius and Orius if the window had good seals, but who can say. The Aphidius do most of their parasitizing right after emergence.. And Orius usually don't hit the window until they are adults. Both have shown they can persist in the living room and kitchen areas, if given enough plants and moisture maintenance.

The eyestrain is starting to tax me though, or maybe using these handheld LED magnifiers.
 
CraftyFox said:
I really couldn't imagine having the flora without the fauna. I love plants, but arthropods were my first and forever love. Sooner or later, I'll get unlucky and get some diseased seeds that contaminate my whole grow.. Or so I've heard. Fires happen too, so I imagine if I had one occur, the other would soon follow. :flamethrower:Trouble travels in threes, and I'm already here.

I don't really try to snuff the aphids out, just control them. I even keep a few sanctuary plants for them.. Not that the others honor that.

I might have more Aphidius and Orius if the window had good seals, but who can say. The Aphidius do most of their parasitizing right after emergence.. And Orius usually don't hit the window until they are adults. Both have shown they can persist in the living room and kitchen areas, if given enough plants and moisture maintenance.

The eyestrain is starting to tax me though, or maybe using these handheld LED magnifiers.
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As an applied ecology technician & biologist I fully understand what you are saying CF but in the other hand, indoor is an artificial paradise (MY artificial paradise!) and it should (read must) stay free from aphids and other pests at all cost 😅 Outside I mostly let Mother Nature do her thing and up to now, the balance between pest and prey always seems to catch up somehow. In a few occasions I had to use biological treatment (pyrethrin, soaps and other "green" stuff) so the preds could control/overcome the rest but it always gave moderate results to be honest.

I remember maybe 10-12 winters ago a spider mite outbreak took a serious toll on all my house plants (and my mental health) and when I finally got rid of them I swear to myself that this shit won't happen again👊 I currently deal with gnats but they are under control and I'm keeping an eye on them!
 
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I have multiple checks in place for the gnats, and they all revolve around a compost bucket.. Beside the mites, there are tiger flies and these tiny rove beetles that reside in the compost and worm bins. The sweet thing about the compost bucket is you can drop the plant in there, right in the pot and 'bottom water' it with predators. I don't see too much of what goes on under the surface, but the few gnats that make it to adults don't seem to last very long in here. Of all the insects I usually count at the window, I can't recall the last time I saw them in any real number.

While I'm sure bottom watering most of the time has helped to keep their numbers down, I think the compost buckets are the real key because they not only provide a predator base, but also a more alluring habitat for them. If I ever have the time for it, I'd like to culture the fungal gnats to culture the tiger flies in a more tailored environment.

Honestly, I think my time would mostly be divided between select divisions of mycology and entomology, if I had the funding to finance the facilities.. I've got about a 1:302,575,360 chance of that happening currently, so I enjoy what I can afford, until I get really lucky.

Just harvested most of this yesterday, and still more to come..
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Well I'm no expert here but your odds do seem pretty low to me, I mean you probably have a greater chance of winning the Powerball!!
 
Harmonia vs. Hippodamia: Seems like every time I purchase some arthropods, I'm sorely disappointed. The convergent beetles that came in were really sluggish, and a lot of them were DoA and many of the others followed over the first few days I had them. There were a few lively ones, even saw quite a bit of breeding for a few days, but very few of them seemed interested in the aphids. We found a few young around, but we were finding larger Harmonia larvae, which have eliminated all the others now, and put the aphids into remission.

I've started putting little drops of honey in key places now, an offering to keep the remaining Harmonia larvae from being eaten before they go thru the last molt. We've probably got a solid two dozen Harmonia now, maybe even 3 or 4, but I won't have a final count until they are all beetles. There are still a few of the original Hippodamia beetles around too, but a lot of them have disappeared, likely into the eaves.. To finish hibernating. I've also found many dead ones. It'll be interesting to see how many show up in the yard next year, they sure aren't doing much here in the winter.

It's hard to even compare the Hippodamia to the Harmonia, much as I love the natives.. Hippodamia convergens are pretty fragile, for a beetle, and they don't have nearly the appetite a Harmonia carries. I'd be willing to gamble that it would take at least 3 Hippodamia to match the control one Harmonia does in one day. On top of that, they are very clingy and tedious to move around and work with.. Perhaps just less 'handled', as I'm on my 6th or better generation of Harmonia (though I don't recall them ever being really difficult to work with) I can have a selective memory at times, and I feel like this can't be completely true, as I say it. I have Harmonia that greet me, and rush to me when I beckon them, and go onto wherever I offer them when taxied.. It's hard to top that, especially when you compare it with a beetle that tries to run up under your sleeves and grabs your other finger when you try to brush it off of your hand onto the target area, after initially having to corner and chase it onto your hand in the first place. Maybe they didn't get a fair shot, but who does?

Currently I don't find any aphid fliers on the window.. Just Orius and Aphidius, along with a few other random insects and the beetles. Probably about time to drop some seeds.
 
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