pests The aphid battle rages on

Good luck.  I wonder how they would do in my raised beds?  I lack confidence in them sticking around and finishing the job.  Is it cost effective?
 
1st line of action should have been to isolate ALL your plants in a garbage sack with a hot shot no pest strip in it.
Second round IF needed would be screw Ladybugs,use wasps.
Wasps have lasted me several years.
You don't see them,they follow aphids around.
In 5+ years all I see are mummies inside or out.
I only bought wasps once.
 
Roguejim said:
Good luck.  I wonder how they would do in my raised beds?  I lack confidence in them sticking around and finishing the job.  Is it cost effective?
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Out doors I dont worry too much.I seen aphids early in the season but natural predators soon found them and never really seen much of the till they came indoors.
 
smokemaster said:
1st line of action should have been to isolate ALL your plants in a garbage sack with a hot shot no pest strip in it.
Second round IF needed would be screw Ladybugs,use wasps.
Wasps have lasted me several years.
You don't see them,they follow aphids around.
In 5+ years all I see are mummies inside or out.
I only bought wasps once.
Click to expand...
 
I don't get it.  Say you have 40 plants in 7-gallon pots.  I guess you would buy 40 Hefty garbage bags, plus 40 of those pest strips?  I see the State of California issues this warning on the pest strip package: WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer.  
 
smokemaster said:
 
Second round IF needed would be screw Ladybugs,use wasps.
Wasps have lasted me several years.
You don't see them,they follow aphids around.
In 5+ years all I see are mummies inside or out.
I only bought wasps once.
Click to expand...
 
The (wild) wasps are great, they kicked ass outdoors this spring.  Just when I was starting to get worried, I saw a handful of the lethal black assassins going all 'Alien' on the aphids. Within a week or two, all that was left were ghostly clusters of empty cocoons.    
 
Do you know if they can / will persist in an interior environment like a garage? 
 
Geonerd said:
 
The (wild) wasps are great, they kicked ass outdoors this spring.  Just when I was starting to get worried, I saw a handful of the lethal black assassins going all 'Alien' on the aphids. Within a week or two, all that was left were ghostly clusters of empty cocoons.    
 
Do you know if they can / will persist in an interior environment like a garage? 
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maybe, but at $43.00 for 500 and a shipping requirement of FedEx priority overnight. kinda makes them real expensive.
 
 
WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer.
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 Also on that list are air, water, and thinking republican. :shh:
 
Got me a grow tent for $79 to house my hydro overwinters, and, as usual, the plants brought in from outside came with aphids.
$10 for 1500 ladybugs and sealed the infected in the grow tent.
 
Few escapees, and the ones that did got manually installed on uninfected house plants---just in case.
 
CAPCOM said:
I had to bring plants in again this year and with them came the aphids. not going to wait this time. I just ordered 9000 ladybugs in three different shipments. Enough to cover 6000 sq ft for a 100 sq ft room. Will let you know how this goes.
 
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I demand a picture of 9000 ladybugs.. because you know .... I need it for my research ... and stuff.
 
Just give us a picture of 9000 lady bugs! :dance:
 
Chilima said:
 
I demand a picture of 9000 ladybugs.. because you know .... I need it for my research ... and stuff.
 
Just give us a picture of 9000 lady bugs! :dance:
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I doubt all 9000 will be present at the same time as they will arrive in 3 one week shipments. link below
http://www.gardensalive.com/product/sta-home-lady-beetles/beneficial-insects
 
I did get a chance to watch the wasps in action, I may just end up getting some to execute a coup de grace
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EAz43qjH9M
 
So....how do you keep the wasps or ladybugs confines to a plant or section of plants? A net? I have aphids but no where near an infestation ...yet. Just getting in to action with my three plants that I do have outdoors right now.
 
You don't, they will be where the food is. (i.e. Too many predator bugs forces them to migrate when the food is gone). If you have the proper amount they will reproduce, keeping aphids and predators in Balance. Most predators turn cannibal when food is scarse..
 
Roguejim said:
How does one attract aphid predators to a raised bed? Besides lady bugs and these black wasps they I see mentioned, what other aphid predators are there?
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I have quite a few lady bugs on my property, which seem to like the citrus trees, and lots of parasitic wasps which seem to ermm...like the aphids lol
 
Personally for me it was about figuring out what insects are what...which ones to leave alone and which ones to kill..give a helping hand where you can to let the ones you like have more of a chance.
 
e.g. I often pull off old leaves with aphid "mummys" on them. i.e. leaves with parasited aphids on them and now that I know what they are -  I just put them underneath other plants to hatch and do their thing.
 
nzchili said:
I have quite a few lady bugs on my property, which seem to like the citrus trees, and lots of parasitic wasps which seem to ermm...like the aphids lol
 
Personally for me it was about figuring out what insects are what...which ones to leave alone and which ones to kill..give a helping hand where you can to let the ones you like have more of a chance.
 
e.g. I often pull off old leaves with aphid "mummys" on them. i.e. leaves with parasited aphids on them and now that I know what they are -  I just put them underneath other plants to hatch and do their thing.
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Thanks. I was thinking there might be certain shrubs or flowers that might bring in aphid predators to my raised beds. I had a constant fight last season, and used a lot of pyrethrins. Some plants just didn't make it.
 
Roguejim said:
Thanks. I was thinking there might be certain shrubs or flowers that might bring in aphid predators to my raised beds. I had a constant fight last season, and used a lot of pyrethrins. Some plants just didn't make it.
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From what I understand, the plants give off some form of distress signal that the wasps hone in on. Once they have found a food sorce, they will stay til it is decimated.
 
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