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capsid bugs
jennyeast
Posts: 2
many plants in my garden have been ruined by what I believe to be capsid bugs.i have had no flowers on fuchsias, hardy and tender.roses and hydrangeas have also been attacked .the new shoots are distorted and full of tiny holes.the problem seems to worsen every year inspite of spraying which has been done at least three times starting in spring.i am now in despair ,must I stop growing these plants or has someone got a miracle solution? jenny
0
Posts
The most effective solution I know is to improve garden hygiene i.e. clear any weeds and leaf litter and plant debris from the ground around affected plants as this is where they overwinter, either as adults or as eggs.
After clearing the ground around the plants for the last time in the late autumn I would mulch with well rotted farmyard manure.
I hang bird feeders around my shrubs to encourage birds such as bluetits and robins into the garden to feed on the insects in the spring and summer keeps my garden clear of noticeable insect damage. I don't use any insecticides.
Good luck
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
same as Dove.
You'll never achieve a balance of pests and their predators if you keep killing the predators. Insecticide kills the lot, not just 'pests'. The insect eating birds won't turn up if there are no insects (or, worse, they'll be eating poisoned insects) and everything goes out of balance.
If it's got worse with using sprays try a couple of years without sprays and see if things improve, good luck
In the sticks near Peterborough