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Lily Beetle
Dorcascents
Posts: 132
This year I had numerous lily beetles, both those in one section of the garden and my large Lily Triumphator which is in large container.Every day I would be checking. The ones in the garden were worse despite my daily checks all over the plant and under the leaves. some days I would find 6 and one day I did find 12 beetles, I have taken the lilies out of the garden, but I did want to place my Triumphator in the garden next year, but when I found LB on it I am very wary. I did make sure the beetles were dead after collection. What do you suggest?
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I grow quite a few types of lilies and don't have a problem with lily beetles anymore.
I use a spray of diluted neem oil .... it is totally organic and is derived by pressing the seed kernels of the neem tree.
I also use it for sawfly on gooseberries, solomons seal and aruncus .... and if the aphids get too bad on the roses.
See this link for further info.
http://www.discoverneem.com/neem-oil-insecticide.html
and this one for how to make it.
http://www.discoverneem.com/neem-insect-spray.html
I use it as soon as growth starts in April and I drench the foliage. Any spare solution goes onto the soil below as the earthworms are supposed to love it. I repeat spray every few weeks.
Neem is best used preventatively .... but will work on pests that have already arrived. It does not hurt beneficial insects. Only chewing and sucking insects are affected. The main reason is that insects need to ingest the neem oil to be affected, and beneficial insects don't eat your plants. However, you can still kill beneficial insects if you smother them with neem oil, so I tend to spray late evening to be safe.
It does stink a bit ... but is easy to mix up and apply.
I got mine off ebay .... wasn't expensive for a big bottle which will last ages. At room temperature it is solid, but goes liquid again within a couple of hours in the airing cupboard.
Worth a try.
Bee x
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Collecting lily beetles by hand really worked for me this summer. As soon as I saw a small hole in the leaves, I knew where I need to look. They are normally easy enough to find, it's only important to hold a hand or a container under the leave as they will drop down at the smallest movement of the plant. I then fed them to my carnivorous plants - the irony, they were there to eat plants, but got eaten by plants instead
I found it best to remove the grubs, as they were easier to see, and they 'stick' to the plant. It's a bit messy, but highly satisfying.
This is the first year I've been bothered by them. We only see one or two now and again here normally.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...