Pest Control
After intensive research I found a much safer approach to using pesticides and more effective way of killing pest without killing the beneficial insects too
It s used a lot in America and its called IPC Identifying ,Prevention & Control
Identifying
We all know what our common aphids look like and when our plant is infested with black and green fly so we are half way there already. But the hard task is identifying the predators like the one above a fly used in green houses to control aphid the same as Encarsa Formosa wasp
There are also other predators that feast on the insects like the lace wing fly and of course the lady bugs and hover flies
Prevention
- When planting out avoid over feeding the plant with nitrogen as the rich sappy attracts them,If the plants need a pickup then go for a general feed or one that used for tomatoes like fushias but with a ratio of 1 to 2 gallons of water to encourage flowers .
This is because it contains phosphates for flowers and fruit with very little nitrogen
- Plant resistant variety of veg or flowers
- Remove soft tip broad beans
- Buy Autumn sown plants these are much hardy than one sown in spring
- on fruit trees use grease bands to deter the ants that from protecting the aphids from there predators
Control
Ounce you recognised that you still got the infestation you go to controlling them either synthetically or organically .
- Biological control
This is includes using the predators insects that I mentioned above in the indoor environment except for the case of the lady birds and the hover fly & of course birds The wasp and the lace wing needs to inside for it to be effective.
These methods here are ways to attract them to your garden
- Blue Tits are voracious feeders By putting a bird feeder out amongst the plants will encourage the tits to feed on the plant whilst they are waiting to get on the feeder .Grow sedums and Allium and sunflowers and leave the seeds to ripen would attract birds to your garden
- encourage Lady bugs by placing a raisin in a dish and around your plants see picture bellow
For Some strange reason they are attracted to it either cause its sugar taste or they think its female. either way it works
Then if you feel inclined why not buy or build your lady bug house.bearing in mind that need somewhere sheltered but near the food source
this can be easily made out bamboo canes and half a log with holes
This house not only attracts ladybugs but other beneficial insects too like lace wing and hover flies who need shelter
Control in the Green House
If plants get in the infested in the greenhouse there are several ways to dislodge the insects. Some are like what i mentioned above like spraying with water first thing to knock them off, spraying them inside this can be risky to your health as you will be enclosed place best to wear the protective clothing .
You could also use Bombs that fumigate the area to do this best make sure that all your corners are sealed and leave the smoke to die down. This too might be bad for your health
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TT9sW1PiL4r health
Then you got predator control
- is a tiny wasp that lays its eggs inside the whiteflies pupae then the larvae eats what in the pupae leaving a shell before flying off and starting the cycle again
- Now there a new line in research using fungi called Mycoinsecticide
This does the same thing.Encarsa but this time it can be applied outside as well as in .
And as for I know it is not dangerous to our health.
It is only produced in the America unfortunately whilst the west looks on
Cultural control
Companion planting
where you plant marigolds next to runner beans to distract them and when the plant is covered you pull the marigolds out and incinerate or place them in the bags and dispose of them in dump.
Here in this picture you have lettuce growing with a mixture of plants like marigolds & callandulas a good guide can found at this website. http://www.small-farm-permaculture-and-sustainable-living.com/planting_companion_vegetables_and_herbs.html
Do not compost them as you only be spreading the aphids in the soil and you be back to square one.
- Cut out any infested leaves and shoots and burn them
- Squirting them with water will dislodge the aphids from the plant and wash off the honey drew as well and most will not be able to return to the plant afterwards
The best time for this is in the morning then the plant can quickly dry out
Chemical
There are two types of chemicals on the market one is synthetic ie made in a factory and the other one is organic .
- Synthetic :-
- There are two types to look for one is contact the other is systemic .
- Contact as the name says means it will kill on contact via either poisoning through their skins or drowning them however these don’t truly get rid of them problem as many more will come after the other have died,
- Derris Dust is a good example comes in a puffer can and is applied to leaves
- Then there a systemic pesticide which is absorbed by the plants leaves and poisons the aphid through digestion thus staying in the plant over a course of weeks
White Fly
These are the annoying pest of all not only that they are supper immune to everything we spray on to them .They are supper sensitive too one touch of the plant and they fly off and come back to settle on the plant as soon as it stop moving.Thus alluding our effort to control them by using spray of any sort .
However they are other means to control them organically :-
- Introduce or encourage their predators other winged insects that feed on the wing a good example is the lace wing . this is done by building a insect house where they can hibernate and shelter during the winter
This encourage other insects like bees and beetles to take shelter
- Constructing a white fly trap
Here the yellow card attracts them like a beacon where they get caught and stuck to it sticky surface This also works with aphids too
acts rather like a pheromone trap for months
- Another method is a cultural one is if you know where these flies hibernate , then avoiding planting anything in the vicinity of them
Organic Pesticides
Since I gone into the other organic natural way of controlling aphids I will now tell you the other ways which are cheaper but more laborious as the plant will have to resprayed several times on infection
- One way is to squirt aphids with soapy no fragrant water this gets into their cuticles and it dries them out.also it operate by suffocating insects such as scale insects. In general, soap sprays are effective for soft-bodied insects including mealybugs, aphids.
To a varying degrees, soap sprays are also effective against chiggers, earwigs, fleas, mites, scales, and thrips. They are not effective, however, on chewing insects such as caterpillars and beetles.
- This can mixed up with another aphid killer called pyrethum ( a daisy family ) these together act as contact herbicide if You’r in the Americas or other part of the country that not england you can get Neem oil it is banned here in the UK
You can make your own just by stewing the petals
The How to is linked here Pyrethrum
The best time to use this is early morning or late evening as it can effect other beneficial insects as well
Of course you could just buy it over the counter in a big garden centres not this products but other brands but take note of the caution too
There is cause many homebrew remedies that people claim work ,there is one which I remember from college and that’s rhubarb leaves
Rhubarb I mentioned earlier there are several ways to get rid of aphids in the garden and leaves contain a chemical called oxalic acid which is toxic to pest and kills them whether you can use that recipe now due to the regulations I don’t know so i wont go into detail about .
But further research has shown that you can brew up sorrel and oxalic too which both have the oxalic acid OXALIC acid is TOXIC I used this as example and would not recommend trying it out
like all homebrews these are unregulated and without researching fully can cause health problems
Chemical pesticides
If you choose the chemical approach then there only two thing to remember ;-
- There are two brands of insecticide on the market one being a Contact insecticide meaning if the spray gets in contact with the insect it will kill via its nerves system this ideal for caterpillars
- And there systemic insecticide this the one that absorbed through the leaves into the sap of the plant and kills the suckers via ingestion ( ideal for aphids and green fly)
- However there is another organic method I was taught at college but it comes with a warning cause the use of it was banned here in the UK and that is make a brew of rhubarb leaves and spray the plant with that.
The leaves contain a chemical called oxalic acid which is known to be killer,but you don’t have to use rhubarb there are other plants like oxalis and sorrel contain a high percentage
Footnote After intensive research into some products like neem oil as insecticide I found out that it been banned over here so You can’t get hold of it
So if there any references to this product it mainly for the american market and not for the UK unless thing has changed
Neem oil
Although Neem oil isn’t sold for domestic uses yet here in the UK it is used in the professional industries like hydroponics stores as a way to get rid of pest
What is Neem oil
Neem is derived from the azadirachta indica tree which grows in Asia and
Africa. The Azadirachata Indica or Neem tree is truely a hardy tree
that has many characteristics that bugs do not like. Neem is a medium
sized to large tree characterized by its short, straight bole, furrowed,
dark brown to grey bark, and dense rounded crown of pinnate leaves.
What does it do
Neem comprises of 40 different active compounds called
tertranortriperpernoids, or more specifically liminoids. These liminoids
create hormonal disruptions and prevents the insect from feeding,
breeding or metamorphosing
How to use
Neem oil is best applied during the vegatation stage of the plant and not when flowering in a spray form where it will coat the leaves with it oily texture
related articles
- Organic Pest Control Versus Pesticides: Is There a Better Way? (prweb.com)
- Smart Ideas: Pests Revisited (zohrbak.com)
- Importance of Pest Control Techniques (fascinatedrainb11.wordpress.com)
- Top 100 Pest Control Companies – Breaking Down PCT’s List (bulwarkpestcontrol.com)
- Integrated Pest Management (futuregrowing.wordpress.com)
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