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pests Unfamiliar Bugs 09-01-09

AlabamaJack

AlabamaJack

eXtreme
Found a couple of colonies of some kind of unknown to me...I see an aphid or two but am not familiar with the others...anybody care to hazard a guess?...I thought there were some wooly apple aphids but maybe not....they may be just green aphid larvae...

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I was going to say woolly aphid. It's hard to tell. It resembles the picture on my Mac's Field Guide of bad garden bugs.
 
Holy Sh*t AJ....Break out the commercial Insecticide! Don't hold back...

*Runs screaming out the door to check my plants*
 
anyone else want to hazard a guess?
 
I see those on almost all my plants, but not to a great extent, nor can I really see any damage I can definitely attribute to them.

Having said that, if there is any moisture on the plants, aphids show up a day or two after these little critters. I used to think of these guys as my pre-aphid warning.
 
If you're talking about the "white bugs", those are the exoskeletons from the aphids. I've got lots of them.

Aphids Leave Old Exoskeletons Near Their Colonies, As Decoys

ScienceDaily (Dec. 31, 2008) — By leaving the remains of their old exoskeletons, called 'exuviae', in and around their colonies, aphids gain some measure of protection from parasites. New reserarch has shown that parasitoid wasps are likely to attack the empty shells, resulting in a lower attack rate on their previous occupants – much like in the popular 'shell game' confidence trick.
Click to expand...


Read more HERE
 
Now that's just creepy...

But they do look like skeletons, and that would explain why I never see them move as I lurk with my magnifying glass.
 
patrick said:
Way to go Blister.
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Sadly I only know this because I have them on my plants :(. I've been battling them for some time now. And as SanSoo said, aphids tend to show up a few days after you see the exo's. They are there, but you don't really notice them until you see the exo's and wonder "what the hell?". Those little bastards really set my hab production back and I can't afford much time considering the short growing season I have.
 
Forget about commercial pesticides!


: O


Here's what to do...



Get yourself a mist bottle filled with dish soapy water and spray the entire plant from top to bottom - getting the top as well as the undersides of the leaves, and stem and branches too.


Let the soapy mixture sit on the plant for 5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with a hard spray of water. Repeat in about 8-10 hours. This will rid them.

To prevent them from returning and building up, you must shower the plants 2-3 times a week until they see that you are not going to give up and they will move somewhere else. Consistency is the key. Sometimes daily showers are needed, if they are a real problem.

The regular showers will blast the few buggers that are trying to build up again right off the plant! They never have a chance to take over because you are always coming at them with water. Helps with mites too.


: )
 
For crawling, chewing bugs in the garden - boy have I got the answer for them...




Get yourself some whole cloves, bayleaf, crushed chili peppers, and some fresh or even granulated garlic. You now have the spices that will send the bugs packing! For earwigs and other creepy crawly critters, make a complete circle of torn pieces of bayleaf around the stem of your plant. The spices shouldn't touch the stem, but be pretty close. If the problem is severe, make the circle thicker.

On top of the pieces of bayleaf, or beside it, make another circle of the whole cloves which will deter ants and other bugs too.


Then add a thin layer of crushed chili peppers, and garlic, if you are really having a nuisance of a problem.


You must be on top of it the rest of the season, adding fresh spices once a week or every two weeks, depending on your results. You must also add new spices after it rains. It isn't enough to just throw some spice down and forget about it the rest of the season, because like anything, the spice loses it's potency over time and needs to be refreshed to be effective.


I have 4 shrubs outside that are one of the bugs' favorites to munch on - Lycium Barbarum. If it weren't for my spices, I know they would be nothing but twigs! They are all growing completely untouched and unchewed because of the spices. I just love it. These shrubs to the bugs, are like steak to a lion, and they would have absolutely devoured them if I didn't do what I do.


Hope this advice helps, because I've been doing it for years, with excellent results. Be consistent, and the bugs don't stand a chance.



: )

 
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