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pests Aphid solution!!

Does your being in Mississippi have anything to do with that? I am checking Hirts right now. although, I just completed a thorough application last night so I will have to see what if anything remains. do not want to bring in 1500 ladybugs with nothing to eat.
 
I tried it all including 3,000 ladybugs. Nothing worked, i finally decided to pull one plant and examine it and i had root aphids. Nothing worked for root aphids because the main colony is under ground. I had to destroy all mine, clean my grow area and replant. If you can't get a hold on them, check the roots.
 
Brain Strain Pepper Head said:
I tried it all including 3,000 ladybugs. Nothing worked, i finally decided to pull one plant and examine it and i had root aphids. Nothing worked for root aphids because the main colony is under ground. I had to destroy all mine, clean my grow area and replant. If you can't get a hold on them, check the roots.
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Maybe they can't get root aphids??
 
Nematodes i bet would kill root aphids.
HP22BH said:
Does your being in Mississippi have anything to do with that? I am checking Hirts right now. although, I just completed a thorough application last night so I will have to see what if anything remains. do not want to bring in 1500 ladybugs with nothing to eat.
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I think Hirts is in Ohio maybe wrong.
 
rebelgrower3 said:
Nematodes i bet would kill root aphids.
I think Hirts is in Ohio maybe wrong.
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I did check Hirts and you are correct. but, being that it is as cold here as it is, I don't feel a live delivery would be possible and I really dont need 1500 ladybugs now. 2 months ago They would have been great. I may reconsider in a few weeks if dosing with the spray places too much more stress on seedlings.  I have a lot of plants up and coming and there could be a potential for a secondary outbreak at which point multiple releases of lady bugs would be in order.
 
Well, I reconsidered. due to the stress inflicted from the pyrithirin spray on the younger plants, and the fact that I didn't get all of the pests I opted to try Hirts. After all, its a 5.00 cure. I can release 100 ladybugs a day for the next two weeks.

The problem is this, "The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on February 5, 2014 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if/when available. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later."

no further info since
 
I've tried all the organic stuff to control the aphids on the 15 OW plants I've got and nothing worked.  Neem, insecticidal soap, pyrethrin, and a few home brews.  I felt that pyrethrin worked the best, but was hard on the plants - gnarled up some tender new growth.
 
So I ordered ladybugs.  I released about 20.  So far they've been doing pretty well making there way around my plants, but there are still plenty of aphids there.  I've been keeping my basement dark so they should have no real reason to leave the plants.
 
Time will tell.  2 months till springs here...
 
FINALLY!
They're here. It does not look like 1500 ladybugs , but it does look like salvation of the grow.
A partial release will take place tonight just before lights out. I am amazed at the sight of these bugs coming to life as the warm slightly when brought out of the fridge, Our temps to day were 7 and -7 as a high and low. still, these ladybugs survived shipping during these extreme temperatures.
 
Awesome! I finally give up and cant stop them. They started on my ows and have moved to my other plants and most likely the seedlings next. I have been thinking about buying some lady bugs but was afraid they would die in the cold. Now that I know yours made it in similar temps I'm going for it. Prolly order them this weekend!
 
I didn't get a chance to release any as I had hoped to yet.
I did let the pack warm a bit last night and misted them slightly for moisture intake from their trip and to see the amount of activity that would ensue. I can say that for the 10 or so minutes I observed the warmed ladybugs, that I could not confirm any deceased specimens. That is even more encouraging. Only one thing remains to be seen before a 100% recommendation of Hirts, but so far, all looks really well. I will be posting pics later today.
 
Well, just another disappointment!
 
I followed the instructions from Hirts regarding release time and misting the foliage with the supplement that  came supplied with the packaging. I opted for a full release as the aphids are to the point of epidemic proportions again and I need immediate countermeasures. Ladybugs are entirely overrated. they had trouble maneuvering across dry planting mixture, had issues maintaining themselves on the surfaces of solo cups and the ones that fell off and landed on the plywood table ended up laying there on their backs and died. others ignored the fact that there was moisture and food present and still with the lights off wandered off, away from the plants. I now have literally a handful of ladybugs at best(if I look hard) that are alive. and even they, ignore the aphids. I was truly under the impression the lady bugs had a ravenous and unsatable appetite for aphids. almost nothing could be further from the truth.
 
I am disappointed to no end. regrettably, I am considering throwing in the towel. I did not start this venture to raise healthy aphids.
 
A week into my release (I only let about 20 loose on my 15 plants) and I can still see maybe a dozen on my plants.  They are cleaning off aphids, but not with amazing speed or thoroughness.  I have been able to actually watch one chomp on an aphid which was cool.  Actually, quite a few of my ladybugs seem more interested in... procreating :scared: ... than feasting.  I'm guessing ladybug nymphs would be a really good thing!
 
I just recently did the ladybug thing.  I wasn't getting the results from Neem Oil and the like so I put a netting around my grow area and released some ladybugs.  It has been awesome.  In about 3 days time, they got rid of the aphids.  Even the dead aphid skeletons that were laying around some seedlings are gone.  Some ladybugs have gotten out, but they have tended to hang out on the other side of the netting so I am able to just pick them off and put them back inside.  I would assume others have gotten away, but I have not seen any ladybugs in any other areas in my basement.  I consider this experience a win.
 
Update...
I contacted Hirts this afternoon and debriefed them of what I had experienced . My initial concerns were, maybe I had not done something I should have or the opposite. I was assured that I had completed all the necessary steps and then some, to a successful release and that the die off may still be a result of the extreme temperatures encountered during shipping. temps in our area are going to experience an upswing in the next week and Hirts is going to replace the suspect shipment.    That is customer service at its best.
 
Sounds like great customer service.  I had an aphid outbreak on my first plants that I put in the ground, but a quick shot of pyrethrin took care of them without any other issues.  If I get in a jam without being able to control them in the future I will look at buying ladybugs, that is for sure.  Great thread to follow.
 
jblo said:
A week into my release (I only let about 20 loose on my 15 plants) and I can still see maybe a dozen on my plants.  They are cleaning off aphids, but not with amazing speed or thoroughness.  I have been able to actually watch one chomp on an aphid which was cool.  Actually, quite a few of my ladybugs seem more interested in... procreating :scared: ... than feasting.  I'm guessing ladybug nymphs would be a really good thing!
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I've got ladybug nymphs!  Boom!  Bye bye aphids!
 
Green lacewings are another option to try ... I believe the ladybug nymphs are the more voracious eaters of aphids as opposed to the adults ... You need ideally to create a habitat where the insects stick around and are happy to reproduce ... Fairly tough to do that indoors under lights with bare reflective walls .... If I was you I would not bother with live control methods until you get them outside .... In the mean time ... Grab some wettable sulphur and pyrethrin concentrate ... Mix them up sulphur at 2/3rd strength pyrethrin at full strength and a drop of dish soap ... Spray the stems, containers, both sides of the leaves and keep the temp of the grow room under 30C degrees for the next week ... At the 8day mark spray a mix of Epsom salt and seaweed extract onto the plant again both sides of the plant to start stimulating natural defence in the plants again ... And a half strength feed of nitrogen rich ferts and probiotics and good microbes to recolonise the soil ...Come back in 2 weeks and let us know how the plants are ... My bet is they will be thriving
 
update...  nothing to report
 
no email, no text or phone contact and no ladybugs.
 
I guess if anything is to be gained by this, it would have to be that an indoor grow is an indoor grow and nothing else. OW has no business in a indoor grow environment. this is a hard lesson learned the hard way. I will never bring outdoor plants into my grow room again. that also means I will have pepper plants that will never see the sun.
 
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