pests The aphid battle rages on

CAPCOM said:
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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I don't even know that we have black(?) wasps here in southern Oregon. Still I thought there were certain shrubs/flowers that bring in lady bugs. Maybe not.
 
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 planted marigolds in my raised beds among my peppers, okra, tomatoes and onions this year and had outstanding results. All summer long I was seeing lacewings (and eggs), hoverflies and ladybugs on my plants. I didn't see ONE aphid all year outside. This was quite a surprise, since my seedlings and OWs and I fought a serious battle with them in the house all winter and spring. 
     This is a link I just found while looking to see what kinds of beneficial insects marigolds might attract. I'll definitely use it when planning the garden for the upcoming season. Good luck! 
 
http://www.farmerfred.com/plants_that_attract_benefi.html
 
dash 2 said:
 
     I planted marigolds in my raised beds among my peppers, okra, tomatoes and onions this year and had outstanding results. All summer long I was seeing lacewings (and eggs), hoverflies and ladybugs on my plants. I didn't see ONE aphid all year outside. This was quite a surprise, since my seedlings and OWs and I fought a serious battle with them in the house all winter and spring. 
     This is a link I just found while looking to see what kinds of beneficial insects marigolds might attract. I'll definitely use it when planning the garden for the upcoming season. Good luck! 
 
http://www.farmerfred.com/plants_that_attract_benefi.html
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Thanks.  I'm going to include some from the list...marigolds, at least.
 
hmmmm i just got some marigolds the other day because my girlfriend likes them...i guess ill be stepping up my marigold growing lol...for her of coarse   :shh:
more beneficial plants can only be good
 
I prefer Earwigs as predators, as they can battle the ants that usually accompany aphids. I never get aphidcalypses as I have loads of Earwigs (I make homes for them; get little terracotta pots and bundles of hay. Pull the hay in the pot with a string, and string them up through the drainage holes. Earwigs need humidity to thrive).
 
You do realize earwigs are pests dont you? And will eat the tender shoots of pepper seedling as well as the new growth of older plants.
 
Our Earwigs don't do that, it might be an other variety than yours? Ours turn herbivore when prey is scarse, but it only limits to some minor nibbling. But they tend to prefer cabage and salad leafs over Peppers. Used them for years as ladybugs get swarmed by ants.
 
^interesting about the earwigs, i moved a brick in the garden other day and there were hundreds under it.
 
I have never considered them pests. You learn something new every day!
 
They can live, until I find them feeding on my pepper plants(so far so good)...then nuclear war will begin.
 
     I never found earwigs to be a problem with peppers, but every year they chew holes in my lettuce and chard. Some years and weather patterns are worse than others, but I usually find them down in the crevices of the plants where the petioles attach to the stems. 
 
I didn't realize that it must be earwigs taking the small holes outta my leaves. Huh.

I got an indoor aphid problem atm. I feel your pain.
 
so I put some marigolds in the raised bed next to some douglah's the other day...   the little wasps seem to love them.
marigoldinaction_zpscf2cf369.jpg
 
     Interesting. Those look a lot like the little hoverflies I was seeing all summer long in my raised beds. Thy must have been there to hang out on my marigolds, too. Next summer I'm going to try to ID them and find out if they were the reason I had no aphids.  
 
From a thread I have going on Gardenweb.com:
 



Lots of flowers is the answer. Study in Michigan has shown that boneset and sweet alyssum are #1 and #2. Notice, lots of minute flowers; they attract the three families of minute wasps (1/20 to 1/50 inch) that do the best work. Regards, Peter.
 
queequeg152 said:
someone needs to build a mini tent made from like... mosquito nets, and tent poles.

one would pour like a cup of ladybugs onto a plant, then place the tent on the the plant and wait a few days.
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Hmm.
That would only work if you had only 2 plants.
 
Got an order generated for Aphidoletes aphidimyza and Aphidius colemani
nzchili said:
so I put some marigolds in the raised bed next to some douglah's the other day...   the little wasps seem to love them.
marigoldinaction_zpscf2cf369.jpg
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This is good info as I have literally 50 lbs of marigold seeds. guess I could spare some for the wasps.
 
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