Aphids and chickens and wasps..oh my!

[Mitzi M]

My lovely mustard greens are suddenly covered by a kazillion aphids and also by a lot of ladybugs and larvae. Anyone have any ideas how I can get rid of one and not the other? Honestly it seems like there are way too many aphids for the ladybugs to take out. And...My ripe tomatos are being stealthily gobbled up by neighboring chickens I've heard of people tying net around developing tomatos so that they won't get stung by the wasps. Anyone tried that? Maybe that will work for the chickens too! I'm really glad we have a gardning forum now! - Aloha

[pslamont]

This week was my "attack of the aphids" as well. They do that; nothing today and 40 million tomorrow. I have no idea if it would work, but I would capture as many ladybugs as possible, remove them to a screened container away from your garden then spray with the oil/soap stuff that gets rid of aphids. After a few sprayings and washings you should be clear... then release the ladybugs back.

....or was it the aphids you wanted to keep? LOL... just kidding. Good luck. I did my second spraying of the aphids today (first one Wednesday I think) and they are reduced by about half.

Just keep at it.

Pam

Just another day in P A R A D I S E !!

[scuba_man7]

Wow - ladybugs are usually the cure for aphids on my greens. I'm surprised that they're not keeping up with the aphids.

I use Neem oil when I don't have ladybugs around. That might be the oil/soap that pslamont is talking about. Neem is organic, and it's only a couple of dollars more than the noxious chemical stuff. And the bottle says you can use Neem up to the day of harvest, but I usually give it a week to wash off just because there is a smell to the oil. It's not unpleasant, just particular and not really what I want my limes and lemons to smell like.

Best of luck, and keep us posted as to what does the trick to fix them. Aphids are such a pain...

[Mitzi M]

Thanks Pam and Scuba Man!
I got some neem oil and the label actually said it wouldn't harm plants or ladybugs. But since I only believe part of what I read, I took Pam's advice and scooped up as many of the larvae and mature beetles as I could and then sprayed. It rained some last night and after spending the night in a big plastic jar with some branches and screen on top (the ladybugs - not me), I let the them go back onto the mustard. They seem fine so far - can't tell about the aphids yet. I'll keep ya posted! - Aloha

Here's an aphid update... The neem seems to have worked. The first mustard leaves kind of shriveled but there is a lot of healthy new growth that is pretty much aphid free and the ladybugs and larvae are still around. Whew! Thanks for the advice.
Mitzi


Edited by - Mitzi M on 04/21/2007 19:05:14