Hey @philippasmith2, you're totally right, there was two bugs - well, one bug and one fly - i could not identify. the bug i know now it is the Earwig the light brown fly i'm still working on. but the list of what I'm sure the garden has is long: - spider mites - Lillie Beatle - vine weevil - aphids - mealy bug - whitefly - greenfly - flea beatle - thrip (And it goes on...)
btw, starting to believe the "light brown flies" are squash bugs...
I think most of us have most of them but with a variety of plants rather than a monoculture, you don't notice them so much as they tend to stick to their plant type of preference. Aphids on the roses, thrips on the mint, lily beetles on the lilies and so on.
Right, earwigs are Switzerland and sometimes allies. They eat aphids, good. They can eat buds and foliage of certain plants, bad. But not usually lilies, good. On balance, they do less harm than good but for those plants they love to munch, there are tried and tested methods of controlling them non-chemically.
Aphids are pests of lilies, but can be easily controlled by spraying late in the evening with a spray bottle of water with a dash of added insecticidal soap (try Dr Bronners liquid castille soap or a squirt of ecover washing up liquid). Hose off all the dead aphids in the morning.
Lily Beetles - ok, you could spray your lilies selectively, as Pete does, but I would advocate picking off.
I think the most important thing is to discover why the pests are so bad this year and plan how you can restore the eco balance without indiscriminately killing everything, good and bad. Is it a relatively recent garden/lily collection? Have you or your neighbours got rid of a load of plants that previously attracted the predators of plant pests?
Are your lilies in the ground or in pots? Control strategies may differ depending on this..
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
hey @B3, yeah, usually, right? but as I have lots of tulips - aphids victims - that just died by the time the lillies are about to bloom, the aphids are all over the place now. That’s just an exemple. I’ve never seen thrips on my garden before, nor red spider mites - have no idea where they’re coming from. But the combo of all of them is making a massive slaughter. I just wanna make sure i get to save the bulbs before even they are destroyed for good. And if I’ll do it, may as well do it before the lillies bloom, right?
Right, earwigs are Switzerland and sometimes allies. (LOL! LOVE IT! 🤣💜)
Aphids are pests of lilies, but can be easily controlled by spraying late in the evening with a spray bottle of water with a dash of added insecticidal soap (try Dr Bronners liquid castille soap or a squirt of ecover washing up liquid). Hose off all the dead aphids in the morning. (Thanks, will look for it for all the other plants! 😉)
Lily Beetles - ok, you could spray your lilies selectively, as Pete does, but I would advocate picking off. (Leaning to do so, only spaying the lilies - i have MS, just cannot pick them up...)
I think the most important thing is to discover why the pests are so bad this year and plan how you can restore the eco balance without indiscriminately killing everything, good and bad. Is it a relatively recent garden/lily collection? (Sevond year, a bit bigger this one. Used to be all tulips before...)
Have you or your neighbours got rid of a load of plants that previously attracted the predators of plant pests?
(No, my neighbours gardens are beautiful and the same for year, and they’re alll vary ill this year too, nonidy knows why...)
Are your lilies in the ground or in pots? Control strategies may differ depending on this.. (All on the ground.)
Thank you so much @Nollie big he@Nollie indeed! 💜💜💜
I thought red spider mites were in greenhouses? I had thrips a few years ago I threw away the affected plants and they didn’t come back. Never had aphids on lilies.
Earwigs are in every garden harmless mostly.
The spray,your choice but I wouldn’t want flowers covered in poison ☠️ in my home or garden.
Healthy happy plants can fight off most pests so maybe look at any changes you have made that have weakened them.
I think it’s been a bad year for the pests generally, probably the cooler, wet weather earlier on has favoured them. I have had a lot of aphids this year and I don’t normally - I squish and spray very weak soapy water if it gets really bad. My nemesis is rose sawfly larvae, which also get squished on sight. The RHS says that ‘birds, frogs, wasps and predatory ground beetles will eat the larvae and sometimes the adult [lily] beetles’ that’s why it’s a bad idea to annihilate everything and a good one to try and provide a welcome habitat for the good guys. So I’m very glad you are leaning towards the selective spraying. Plants in the ground are generally more resilient and recover quicker from attacks such as you describe, as are those more established, so that’s a positive to hold on to for next year.
I totally understand if you are not able to pick off the lily beetles because of your illness, but I wonder if anyone can suggest a selective spray that might be less harmful in general? If not in flower an appropriate insecticide won’t harm the actual plants or their pollinators, especially if you do so late in the evening when they are not active.
Good luck and don’t despair!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Posts
you're totally right, there was two bugs - well, one bug and one fly - i could not identify.
the bug i know now it is the Earwig
the light brown fly i'm still working on.
but the list of what I'm sure the garden has is long:
- spider mites
- Lillie Beatle
- vine weevil
- aphids
- mealy bug
- whitefly
- greenfly
- flea beatle
- thrip
(And it goes on...)
btw, starting to believe the "light brown flies" are squash bugs...
cheers!
Aphids are pests of lilies, but can be easily controlled by spraying late in the evening with a spray bottle of water with a dash of added insecticidal soap (try Dr Bronners liquid castille soap or a squirt of ecover washing up liquid). Hose off all the dead aphids in the morning.
Lily Beetles - ok, you could spray your lilies selectively, as Pete does, but I would advocate picking off.
I think the most important thing is to discover why the pests are so bad this year and plan how you can restore the eco balance without indiscriminately killing everything, good and bad. Is it a relatively recent garden/lily collection? Have you or your neighbours got rid of a load of plants that previously attracted the predators of plant pests?
yeah, usually, right?
but as I have lots of tulips - aphids victims - that just died by the time the lillies are about to bloom, the aphids are all over the place now. That’s just an exemple. I’ve never seen thrips on my garden before, nor red spider mites - have no idea where they’re coming from. But the combo of all of them is making a massive slaughter.
I just wanna make sure i get to save the bulbs before even they are destroyed for good. And if I’ll do it, may as well do it before the lillies bloom, right?
big he@Nollie indeed!
💜💜💜
I totally understand if you are not able to pick off the lily beetles because of your illness, but I wonder if anyone can suggest a selective spray that might be less harmful in general? If not in flower an appropriate insecticide won’t harm the actual plants or their pollinators, especially if you do so late in the evening when they are not active.
Good luck and don’t despair!