Chief
05-11-2007, 02:24 PM
I thought I might mention my efforts at natural pest control this year. Aphids on roses are a plague out here so anything that eats the aphids is very welcome.
I just released 3000 ladybugs into the front and back yards. I picked up 2 packages from Shorty's this morning, and treated them with diluted sodapop to stick their wings shut, and once they dried, I seeded them into the shrubbery. It will take a few days for the sugar to rinse off, and by then many of them should have laid their eggs. Their larvae are what go after the aphids. It's kinda creepy letting them go, because there are hundreds of them walking up your arms....
Last week I also picked up a nematode sponge, mixed it up in the watering can, and sprinkled them in the flowerbeds and the lawn. Nematodes go after all kinds of beetle grubs and other pests that live in the soil. Kind of hard to see them in action, but the results are what counts...
I also got 4 praying mantis egg cases and stuck them in various parts of the yard as well. Mantids eat anything they can catch, and they are very aggressive about it.
There are others you can get, but those are my three favorites, and seem to take care of the worst of the pests for me. Sure cuts down on the amount of chemicals I need to use. Lately the only pesticide I use on a regular basis is slug bait, and only because nothing else works.
Last week I had to add another row of pop-ups in my treelawn, so I was cutting the sod and laying it back to put in the pipe. I took a break, and when I came back out, there was a nightcrawler stretched out sunning itself in the fresh dirt, that was 14" long! Big fat one!! I think all of the compost I've added over the years to the flowerbeds has brooded some enormous earthworms that are out there doing a lot of good for my lawn...
And if the neighborhood kids need bait, they know where to come and dig....
;D
I just released 3000 ladybugs into the front and back yards. I picked up 2 packages from Shorty's this morning, and treated them with diluted sodapop to stick their wings shut, and once they dried, I seeded them into the shrubbery. It will take a few days for the sugar to rinse off, and by then many of them should have laid their eggs. Their larvae are what go after the aphids. It's kinda creepy letting them go, because there are hundreds of them walking up your arms....
Last week I also picked up a nematode sponge, mixed it up in the watering can, and sprinkled them in the flowerbeds and the lawn. Nematodes go after all kinds of beetle grubs and other pests that live in the soil. Kind of hard to see them in action, but the results are what counts...
I also got 4 praying mantis egg cases and stuck them in various parts of the yard as well. Mantids eat anything they can catch, and they are very aggressive about it.
There are others you can get, but those are my three favorites, and seem to take care of the worst of the pests for me. Sure cuts down on the amount of chemicals I need to use. Lately the only pesticide I use on a regular basis is slug bait, and only because nothing else works.
Last week I had to add another row of pop-ups in my treelawn, so I was cutting the sod and laying it back to put in the pipe. I took a break, and when I came back out, there was a nightcrawler stretched out sunning itself in the fresh dirt, that was 14" long! Big fat one!! I think all of the compost I've added over the years to the flowerbeds has brooded some enormous earthworms that are out there doing a lot of good for my lawn...
And if the neighborhood kids need bait, they know where to come and dig....
;D