Hi Jan, I have found the squashing method very effective, a bit like a bio dynamic prep. Squash the bugs and put into 200mls rain water and shake a 100 times and tip out. Repeat this another two times and with the solution that is left add 10mls to a litre of water with a little soap. Spray on plants. It works a treat as they hate the smell of themselves. Also cleome is another way to go but these need to be planted at the same time as the tomatoes. Also calendula is another way to go. Hope this is helpful. Kind regards Claire
Crystal Lil said:
Hi Jan, I read somewhere that they fall to the ground as a defense mechanism, so you can put a bucket under the plant and give it a bit of a shake and they should all fall into it? Then, apparently, you should whizz them in a blender with a bit of water and spray the resulting concoction back on your plants...gruesome. I haven't actually tried it myself. Also, try growing phacelia, and let some florence fennel flower - and other plants that have 'umbrella' shaped flowers - to attract parasitic wasps, which should keep future generations in check, though it means you have to tolerate some of the current generation first. Cleome is supposed to be a good catch crop too. I actually found that they like the spent flowers of calendula - I found heaps of young ones crawling all over them - easy to get rid of all in one go, if you want to.
Hi Jan, I read somewhere that they fall to the ground as a defense mechanism, so you can put a bucket under the plant and give it a bit of a shake and they should all fall into it? Then, apparently, you should whizz them in a blender with a bit of water and spray the resulting concoction back on your plants...gruesome. I haven't actually tried it myself. Also, try growing phacelia, and let some florence fennel flower - and other plants that have 'umbrella' shaped flowers - to attract parasitic wasps, which should keep future generations in check, though it means you have to tolerate some of the current generation first. Cleome is supposed to be a good catch crop too. I actually found that they like the spent flowers of calendula - I found heaps of young ones crawling all over them - easy to get rid of all in one go, if you want to.
if the bug is softbodied, then using an irrantant like chilli, and a soap to dry out the skin applied as a spray making sure you get the undersides of the leaves too, will kill the buggers, you will need to respray every 3-4 days to break the lifecycle, for hard shell blighters, squashing, chilli and garlic, oxalic acid sprays can do the trick.
Hi Pete, seems like covering plants or using pyrethrum, I've tried Neem and no difference was noted, although it may have been too late. By the way, there's a growing website tha t the North Shore City is promoting, called www.naturallysmarter.co.nz . Check it out, I'm going to. Thanks for the website you gave me., looks good. cheers jan
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Crystal Lil said:
Pete said: