yep, probably gonna get some Terro tonight. I thought about making the peanut butter/boric acid mixture but didn't want raccoons/possums getting into it.
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pests Ants & aphids, when to take action
- Thread starter jhouse4755
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I tried using lady bugs and other various bugs. They all died and the aphids and white flies took over again. I got tired of the organic approach and realized if I didn't break out the big guns the plants where going to suffer. Those a$$holes almost killed some of my plants last year. And set some of my ghost peppers back so much, that by the time they produced pods winter had taken hold 
. You have to go after them with the fury, or one will become 100 before you can blink.
. You have to go after them with the fury, or one will become 100 before you can blink.What is the non organic choice? I am fighting aphids/spider mites and since I am seeing flowers I do not want to go full nuclear and am sticking with organic as much as I can. I say this because I saw some local pesticides that said it should not be used when peppers are begging to flower and I have to wait almost 3 weeks to harvest after using it.SvtCobra said:I tried using lady bugs and other various bugs. They all died and the aphids and white flies took over again. I got tired of the organic approach and realized if I didn't break out the big guns the plants where going to suffer. Those a$$holes almost killed some of my plants last year. And set some of my ghost peppers back so much, that by the time they produced pods winter had taken hold
If you don't want to do insecticide - which is admirable, and undoubtedly, the better choice in the long run - is to do a daily under leaf spray with a water hose. You can also put down aluminum foil as a "mulch", to reflect light to the underside of the plant. (so long as it's not in the shade, this works great)
Worst case - if you don't have a lot of plants - you can cover the plant with a garbage bag, force out the air, and fill the bag with bottled CO2. Let that sit for 10-15 minutes, and uncover. Nothing survives, no residual effects.
Don't get too scared by the stories of other peoples' non-success with beneficial bugs or other so-called "organic" methods. It's the internet, and there are all kinds of people n here. If you didn't see it with your own eyes, it probably didn't happen.
Worst case - if you don't have a lot of plants - you can cover the plant with a garbage bag, force out the air, and fill the bag with bottled CO2. Let that sit for 10-15 minutes, and uncover. Nothing survives, no residual effects.
Don't get too scared by the stories of other peoples' non-success with beneficial bugs or other so-called "organic" methods. It's the internet, and there are all kinds of people n here. If you didn't see it with your own eyes, it probably didn't happen.
I use bug b gone from Ortho. It kills something like 150 different kinds of bugs. Especially the most important kinds for pepper plants I.E mites, aphids, white flies, snails, ants. Plus the other 144 I can't remember off the top of my head. It can be sprayed up to 7 days before a harvest. So not 3 week waiting period. And it has not had any effect on my plants when flowering. In fact my plants are going full out..bman900 said:
I try and stay away from using a hose gun. As peppers do not like to be kept wet, and it leaves an open door for spotted mold to hit your plants. And well then you would have a whole new problem on your hands
No I don't. Unless you don't eat fast food, commercial meats, commercial vegetables. So basically you only eat food from animals and plants you raised organically on your own property I don't see the argument. I mean do you know what the farmer put on the jalapeno plant at his farm before selling it to a supermarket? In all likely hood they used pesticides to keep the bugs at bay. The meat you eat from anywhere now a days? Need I even go there? And I am going to worry about a bug spray that is 99% inert ingredients? And only about 1% active bug killer..... Not to mention it is made for vegetable gardens. This is not some home defense bug killer that is made for spraying on the sidewalk. It's made for plants. I mean the water your drinking at home and showering in probably has worse in it. And in the end I tried organic and it simply does not work for bugs in California... I spend hundreds of dollars trying all the organic crap, and my plant and my wallet suffered. Well not anymore, 7.00 and see ya later bugs.solid7 said:
Well, I don't eat fast food, and I try to be as conscientious as I can about everything else. As you just pointed out, knowing that there are so many other potential sources, I guess my personal strategy has always been to eliminate as many as I can. (aside from the fact that the food we buy is seldom as tasty as the food we grow - depending on methods)
1% active ingredient isn't as harmless as it sounds. It's that 1%, after all, that does all the killing. Nature makes its own rules about what will hurt/kill/maim you, in specific quantities.
But OK. Sorry about your indestructible mutant bugs out there.
1% active ingredient isn't as harmless as it sounds. It's that 1%, after all, that does all the killing. Nature makes its own rules about what will hurt/kill/maim you, in specific quantities.
But OK. Sorry about your indestructible mutant bugs out there.
You have Ants BECAUSE you have aphids. They form a symbiotic relationship since the ants are literally nursing the aphids, for their howney dew.
Fortunately, aphids are one of the easier pests to get rid off!
What I do: Mix insecticidal soap (sometimes also called potassium soap) 2% with warm water. Now mix 0.1-0.2% Neem oil in it. (Check instructions for whatever Neem product you're using for the right dosage).
This has a double effect! The insecticidal soap kills them on contact, the Neem oil acts preventive, it disrupts their cycle.
Spray WELL, at first in 2-3 days intervals, then maybe once a week until everything is under control.
Insecticidal soap and Neem has the advantage is entirely non-toxic and doesn't damage plants or beneficial insects in any way. The insecticidal soap also disintegrates into potash, eg. a fertilizer. IT'S GOOD, GOOD STUFF.
You're asking *when* to spray. I have never seen any harm from spraying this mix, so nothing speaks against spraying preventatively. In other words, if you spray once a week or so even if you don't have an obvious infestation this is good since it keeps them away. Don't give them a chance to even come! The Neem also strengthens resistances of plants. My pressure sprayer cost like $15 or so (don't remember), more than worth the investment!
** A small, manual garden sprayer can be a total pain in the ass, especially since you should spray your leaves WELL, top and underside. A pressure garden sprayer makes a HUGE difference, it is 1000x easier and more effective to spray than with a hand sprayer.
Fortunately, aphids are one of the easier pests to get rid off!
What I do: Mix insecticidal soap (sometimes also called potassium soap) 2% with warm water. Now mix 0.1-0.2% Neem oil in it. (Check instructions for whatever Neem product you're using for the right dosage).
This has a double effect! The insecticidal soap kills them on contact, the Neem oil acts preventive, it disrupts their cycle.
Spray WELL, at first in 2-3 days intervals, then maybe once a week until everything is under control.
Insecticidal soap and Neem has the advantage is entirely non-toxic and doesn't damage plants or beneficial insects in any way. The insecticidal soap also disintegrates into potash, eg. a fertilizer. IT'S GOOD, GOOD STUFF.
You're asking *when* to spray. I have never seen any harm from spraying this mix, so nothing speaks against spraying preventatively. In other words, if you spray once a week or so even if you don't have an obvious infestation this is good since it keeps them away. Don't give them a chance to even come! The Neem also strengthens resistances of plants. My pressure sprayer cost like $15 or so (don't remember), more than worth the investment!
** A small, manual garden sprayer can be a total pain in the ass, especially since you should spray your leaves WELL, top and underside. A pressure garden sprayer makes a HUGE difference, it is 1000x easier and more effective to spray than with a hand sprayer.
Well, here's an update if the information is helpful to anyone. . .I have 17 tomato plants, maybe 20 hot peppers of various kinds -- I was beginning an aphid infestation and had millions of ants. (Ants were there when we tilled the new soil).
I had seen one or two aphids, and they seemed to quickly grow in number, so I figured I was in the beginning stage of a more serious infestation. We're hot and really humid, I always have to fight early blight on tomatoes as well.
So, I've been spraying preventatively for blight with Daconil (fungicide) since we're pretty much going to get blight here, also grew disease resistant tomatoes from seed -- seems to be working great, the tiniest bit of blight but not much at all, I pruned lower growth, weed fabric and mulch. So far, good control of blight.
The peppers haven't shown any blight and I haven't sprayed, I guess they can get it but I've never had a problem with it on peppers so I'm taking my chances there.
I also sprayed tomatoes and peppers with the Azamax (had seen a few aphids on the peps also) last Tuesday, and laid out ant traps from a box store as well. Hated to do it, but I thought the ants might protect the aphids from predators, and I haven't seen any sign of predator activity, no aphid "mummies" etc.
So far today, hard to tell with my eyesight, but I couldn't find an aphid. I didn't want to fool with wet leaves much on the tomatoes after spraying Daconil again, I'll go out later with a magnifying glass, but I'm hoping the aphids are headed off. We did have a fierce thunderstorm/high winds last week, I wonder if that might have had the same effect as hosing the plants and knocking the little suckers off, I know those tomatoes blew around a lot.
And, maybe the Azamax is that effective.
Ants seem to be gone, not sure if I killed the colony on not. They were there prior to the aphids, we probably just placed the garden where there was a colony or colonies.
So maybe the Azamax is good stuff -- it's supposed to be organic and the same thing that's in Neem oil, shouldn't kill beneficial predators -- I'll probably do one more application. I did get a little burn on lower foliage, I applied it mid day with sun, but that was the only window for storms we were having. I was able to shade the peppers after spraying Azamax since I built a "low tunnel" with shade fabric, no damage whatsoever from the Azamax spray.
I had seen one or two aphids, and they seemed to quickly grow in number, so I figured I was in the beginning stage of a more serious infestation. We're hot and really humid, I always have to fight early blight on tomatoes as well.
So, I've been spraying preventatively for blight with Daconil (fungicide) since we're pretty much going to get blight here, also grew disease resistant tomatoes from seed -- seems to be working great, the tiniest bit of blight but not much at all, I pruned lower growth, weed fabric and mulch. So far, good control of blight.
The peppers haven't shown any blight and I haven't sprayed, I guess they can get it but I've never had a problem with it on peppers so I'm taking my chances there.
I also sprayed tomatoes and peppers with the Azamax (had seen a few aphids on the peps also) last Tuesday, and laid out ant traps from a box store as well. Hated to do it, but I thought the ants might protect the aphids from predators, and I haven't seen any sign of predator activity, no aphid "mummies" etc.
So far today, hard to tell with my eyesight, but I couldn't find an aphid. I didn't want to fool with wet leaves much on the tomatoes after spraying Daconil again, I'll go out later with a magnifying glass, but I'm hoping the aphids are headed off. We did have a fierce thunderstorm/high winds last week, I wonder if that might have had the same effect as hosing the plants and knocking the little suckers off, I know those tomatoes blew around a lot.
And, maybe the Azamax is that effective.
Ants seem to be gone, not sure if I killed the colony on not. They were there prior to the aphids, we probably just placed the garden where there was a colony or colonies.
So maybe the Azamax is good stuff -- it's supposed to be organic and the same thing that's in Neem oil, shouldn't kill beneficial predators -- I'll probably do one more application. I did get a little burn on lower foliage, I applied it mid day with sun, but that was the only window for storms we were having. I was able to shade the peppers after spraying Azamax since I built a "low tunnel" with shade fabric, no damage whatsoever from the Azamax spray.
Azamax is that good! Regular neem oil/incecticidal soap did nothing. My regular arsenals are azamax and spinosad.