Thank you all for your help and the links! Sorry to hear that you have lost Rosemary's etc too, I will attemp to spray again but since this is the 3rd year I am not holding my breath completely!
Have you tried putting a bird feeder, maybe some fat balls near to the Rosemary and Lavender bushes to let the birds have a go at clearing them for you.
I'm not preaching but we kill everything we don't like and then complain there are no bees, butterflies or birds.
Beware if you grow lavender, these buggers love it, i found the easiest way to get rid of them is just collect them, to escape they just drop so come from beneath and in to your hands they fall. Dont leave them cos they breed, and breed
I think we'll all be on guard now! I wonder whether it might be worth you contacting the gc where you bought your rosemary, Brenda, and letting them know they have a potentially serious pest problem?
I'm certainly not suggesting any gardener should ignore a pest problem, but after gardening today and finding one of these in my soil, I realised that they are the same iridescent beetle I've been seeing for as long as I can remember. I grow a lot of lavender and have four Rosemary plants but have not yet suffered any infestation.
I shall be alert from now on, but I'm not about to bulldoze this beetle population until I am sure there is a problem.
I found four of these yesterday, on one of my lavenders. They were squished immediately, as I could see where they'd been munching. I also felt bad, as they were incredibly beautiful, but I do prefer my lavenders to them.
This is the first time I'd ever seen them and this is also the first year that I've found red lily beetles (on my snakeshead fritillaries). Shame that such beautiful creatures do so much damage. I live in the north west of England and wonder if they've migrated here from another area as they are completely new to me.
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Thank you all for your help and the links! Sorry to hear that you have lost Rosemary's etc too, I will attemp to spray again but since this is the 3rd year I am not holding my breath completely!
Have you tried putting a bird feeder, maybe some fat balls near to the Rosemary and Lavender bushes to let the birds have a go at clearing them for you.
I'm not preaching but we kill everything we don't like and then complain there are no bees, butterflies or birds.
Beware if you grow lavender, these buggers love it, i found the easiest way to get rid of them is just collect them, to escape they just drop so come from beneath and in to your hands they fall. Dont leave them cos they breed, and breed
I'm certainly not suggesting any gardener should ignore a pest problem, but after gardening today and finding one of these in my soil, I realised that they are the same iridescent beetle I've been seeing for as long as I can remember. I grow a lot of lavender and have four Rosemary plants but have not yet suffered any infestation.
I shall be alert from now on, but I'm not about to bulldoze this beetle population until I am sure there is a problem.
Best of luck with your gardens.
I found four of these yesterday, on one of my lavenders. They were squished immediately, as I could see where they'd been munching. I also felt bad, as they were incredibly beautiful, but I do prefer my lavenders to them.
This is the first time I'd ever seen them and this is also the first year that I've found red lily beetles (on my snakeshead fritillaries). Shame that such beautiful creatures do so much damage. I live in the north west of England and wonder if they've migrated here from another area as they are completely new to me.