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Chemical - Acetamiprid - safe on Lilies? Help, please!

ninac-zninac-z Posts: 18
in Problem solving

Hello Kind Plant People!

Need help asap, please: all kinds os PESTS on my ornamental garden! 😬

I managed so far with no chemicals and the tulips came and go with the aphids kindda under control. But now the Lilies are about to bloom - almost 70 of them - and it's Lily Beatles, some small light brown flies i don't recognize, black 1,5/2cm scary 2 thorny crawling beasts, aphids galore - and I'm afraid the Lilies won't stand a chance.

So, tho I'm highly concerned withe the idea, I'm about to use the Bug Killer Ultra Gun (Acetamiprid) on the whole garden.

I know it's not ideal and i wish there was another option. But by now I've tried all the natural methods. I love my bees. So...

Question #1: will my plants - specially my about to bloom Lilies, survive this monster? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Question #2: what's the best time of the day to spray it, trying to make the less amount of damage to the wild live? 🤞🏻

I've never used chemicals before. Bought  a professional Pressured Pump, latex gloves, protective googles and a real safe mask. I'm all geared up but still insecure. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Would love to have some advice. 🙌🏻

Thank you guys! 💜

Cheers from Scotland! ⭐️

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Posts

  • chickychicky Posts: 10,410
    edited June 2021
    Sounds like your “scary thorny beasts” could be ladybird larva ......just waiting to get their fangs into your aphids.  You’ll wipe them out too if you spray.  Can you just squish the lily beetles and leave it for a few weeks to see if nature restores a balance?  Put up a bird feeder to encourage blue tits to eat things?  That’s what I would do.

    once you start spraying the natural balance is destroyed, and you’ll be spraying forever more ☹️
  • ninac-zninac-z Posts: 18
    chicky said:
    Sounds like your “scary thorny beasts” could be ladybird larva....
    Hi there,
    thank you so much for you reply!
    I look at images of Ladybird larvae and no, it's not what I have in here. I have 4 bird feeders very well kept... and I do agree that chemicals are not good at all. But the situation is bad. Never seen a garden that ill. Otherwise would not be thinking on spraying. Really need to know the best way of doing it 'cos I've done A LOT OF RESEARCHING and prob will all be back next year if I dont manage to solve it... and my Lilies... will they bloom? I do need help there.
    But huge thanks anyways.
    💜
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I have 1 pot of asiatic lilies and confess I use Bug Killer Ultra on it about 2-3 times in the season, but it's the only plant I spray in the garden unless my echinops gets a bad attack of aphids in early spring and 1 spray is enough for that before the ladybirds arrive.
    The beetles are buggers to catch and I can't bring myself to squish them.
    I only spray when it's almost too dark to see when most of the good bugs have gone to bed.

    As for all the aphids - they're food, and if you don't spray something will feast on them and do a much better and safer job than sprays.
    It's a bumper year for ladybirds here - they're 'at it' all over the garden. It must be the extra energy they've got from munching through all the aphids on my plants :)

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • ninac-zninac-z Posts: 18
    Thank you, @Pete.8!
    When did you sprayed your lily? Think doing so right before blooming will do any damage?
    See, i don't have many ladybirds in here, weird as it seems. I think there are too many mean bugs around, maybe?
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    To answer your questions:

    Question #1: will my plants - specially my about to bloom Lilies, survive this monster? 

    Yes if you mean the lily beetles, just pick off as many as you can. No if you mean the Acetamiprid - never spray open blooms of anything in the garden. Sounds as if you have left it too late, you ideally want to start tackling the lily beetles before they are mature. As adults though, they also fly in from elsewhere, so you will never be rid of them entirely.

    Question #2: what's the best time of the day to spray it, trying to make the less amount of damage to the wild live? 

    Never. No time. The wholesale and indiscriminate spraying of your whole garden with a harmful neonicotinoid chemical may temporarily eliminate the lily beetles, but will be harmful to all bees and other pollinators, garden good guys who hoover up the pests, ground bugs and beetles, ladybirds, aquatic life (it will find it’s way into the watercourse eventually) and the birds that feed on the insects in your garden. You will never win the war that way as you will be destroying all your allies as well as your enemies.

    You say you have over 70 lilies. I suggest growing a wider range of plants to attract the predators of lily pests and perhaps reducing the lilies to more manageable proportions. Additionally, speak to a professional lily nursery about the best way of pest control for large numbers of lilies without resorting to widespread ecological destruction! ☢️ 

    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    edited June 2021
    Can we see photos of these mean bugs? Nothing preys on ladybirds as far as I know, possibly spiders? 
    Please don’t spray, wildlife will balance itself out if you give it a chance. Just hang on in there. I only kill lily beetles and vine weevils and I do that by squishing. I have aphids but I also have ladybirds and blue tits and even pigeons eat slugs.
    And no, it’s not safe, otherwise why all the protective gear? 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I sprayed it 3 days ago when I noticed some holes in the leaves and then spotted a few bright beetles, but I held off until late evening before spraying.

    Once they're in bloom I'm not too concerned about subsequent beetle damage, so I try to only spray about 6 weeks before flowers appear. So chances are I won't spray again this year as they'll be flowering in less than 6 weeks.
    It's best to spray about 6 weeks before they bloom, as after 6 weeks the plant and its pollen should be free of chemicals that may be harmful to pollinating insects

    I'm sure the ladybirds are around in your garden, just give them and their offspring some time to clear the aphids.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • ninac-zninac-z Posts: 18
    Nollie said: Acetamiprid - never spray open blooms of anything in the garden. 
    Thank you @Nollie!
    Just to clarify, my lilies are not open yet. And the Lillie Beatles are far from being my only problem. 
    I've tried to tackle the problem since the beginning, but no success. I'm aware the grown Beatles will most likely fly away.
    i've also spoken with lilies nurseries - and trust me, you don't wanna know. Either they're a completely sealed environment or... you'd be shocked. 
    Again, I don't like the idea but I have everything - from thrips to spider mites and vine weevils...
    cheers!

  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Just to add to @Nollie advice, there is rarely any point in spraying unless you have actually identified the "pest" you wish to eliminate and then you need to be specific rather than spraying everywhere.
    It's not always easy to work out the good jobs from the bad in the initial stages so extra care is needed.
    If you have equipped yourself with goggles, masks, gloves etc. you are aware of the damage the spraying of chemical may do to you so it may well not help your garden either :)
  • ninac-zninac-z Posts: 18
    Oh, just found out, my "thorny crawling beast" are Earwigs. 
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