Blackfly dreadful this year.. Lots of ants that are harvesting them too!!! Runner Beans, Climbing French Beans, Clematis, Buddleja, Dahlias, absolutely infested with Blackfly. I don't use chemicals, have been doing the blasting with hose... Went looking for Ladybirds or their larvae today. Only one mature ladybird found and I moved her to the runner beans. A really strange gardening year this year!
Hello Bee witched, I'm going to look into the neem oil business you have spoken of. I have been having a terrible time with blackfly and greenfly. I have a well established honeysuckle whereby thebuds have been absolutely decimated by blackfly and probably have only 10% of the flowers that I usually have. Am currently waging war on other plants!
Not many aphids about here in Pompey either. I have used the nematodes this year for slugs and they seem to have worked really well and I will use them again next year. They say to use them every six weeks but they are expensive. I have used them once and now my plants are big they aren't being bothered by slugs at all. We have a few blackly but I have been using the hose on jet and they were swept off and haven't really recolonised. I have used Nemasys too but it's too early to say how effective they are. Its nice to think that everything is eco-friendly.
Good luck with the neem ....I find it really effective in preventing aphid attacks ... but also saw for preventing sawfly on solmons seal and gooseberries.
As it's a totally natural product I've no qualms about using it.
Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
reetpetite not sure about blackfly and ants, but I know that ants 'milk' aphids for the sticky stuff they excrete, so will protect them from predators. Perhaps its a similar principle?
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Blackfly dreadful this year.. Lots of ants that are harvesting them too!!! Runner Beans, Climbing French Beans, Clematis, Buddleja, Dahlias, absolutely infested with Blackfly. I don't use chemicals, have been doing the blasting with hose... Went looking for Ladybirds or their larvae today. Only one mature ladybird found and I moved her to the runner beans. A really strange gardening year this year!
Hello Bee witched, I'm going to look into the neem oil business you have spoken of. I have been having a terrible time with blackfly and greenfly. I have a well established honeysuckle whereby thebuds have been absolutely decimated by blackfly and probably have only 10% of the flowers that I usually have. Am currently waging war on other plants!
Have seen hardly any aphids and haven't had to spray at all. I'm in the West Midlands.
Not many aphids about here in Pompey either. I have used the nematodes this year for slugs and they seem to have worked really well and I will use them again next year. They say to use them every six weeks but they are expensive. I have used them once and now my plants are big they aren't being bothered by slugs at all. We have a few blackly but I have been using the hose on jet and they were swept off and haven't really recolonised. I have used Nemasys too but it's too early to say how effective they are. Its nice to think that everything is eco-friendly.
Blackfly by the million on honeysuckle and another thistle like plant, the name of which escapes me at the moment.
Hi Nicola8,
Good luck with the neem ....I find it really effective in preventing aphid attacks ... but also saw for preventing sawfly on solmons seal and gooseberries.
As it's a totally natural product I've no qualms about using it.
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
reetpetite not sure about blackfly and ants, but I know that ants 'milk' aphids for the sticky stuff they excrete, so will protect them from predators. Perhaps its a similar principle?
Jealous of all you folk that aren't suffering this year, even at the allotment yesterday, I found them on the cucumber plants.
I will try the neem oil Nicola.
On second thoughts, it seems using neem oil is illegal in the UK.
http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/guidance/industries/pesticides/topics/pesticide-approvals/enforcement/products-containing-azadirachtin-also-known-as-neem-oil