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Introduction to PestsRead the article this discussion is about
This archived discussion is "read only".
» MaggieM - Hello Carla! I think this must be a new Suite101 site. I ha Hello Carla!I think this must be a new Suite101 site. I had this aft. off and I was visiting all my favourtie pages and looking for new ones and I found you. A couple of things to ask... I have a beautiful large but not unusual brown garden spider that has been spinning and repairing her web among my plants (all in pots) on my large deck. I know she's a "good" pest (bad word) and I'm curious about her habits. Must be a she, right? As I write, she's sucking the daylights out of a large black bug (probably a wasp) caught in her web. I though maybe the wasp had killed her, but a tiny poke from me told me she's dining! Why does she love my lemon verbena plant so much? I moved it in preparation for bringing it in this winter and hoping that she would not follow it so I could use the insecticial soap on it before taking it in the house. It gets too cold here in Guelph Ontario (north west of Toronto). She moved right back to use it as an anchor for her web, and a good place to hide under its leaves. I guess I'll have to carefully remove her, and take the plant right away so she won't come back and get zapped. Any ideas? Also, I have a lot of self seeded nicotine "alta" plants (grew some last year from the nursey) , they seeded into all my soil in my deck pots) and I gave up pulling them out and let them grow away. They are groing and blooming like mad but are infested, specially around the flower stalks, by aphids and white fly. The nicotine plants are not suffering at all, however! Because these pests have not spread to anything else nearby (some stuff in the same large tubs and pots) I gave up using the old soap trip on them. My precious basil, dill, and other herbs are not infested. Guess they just like the nicotine flowers, stalks and leaves? I have to bring a bunch of not hardy plants in for the winter, and am worried that I'll bring in the baddies with them. Any suggestions? I'll keep watching your site - would love to have some useful info on dealing with the inside bug infestations that have been a problem in past years - how do I clean off anything I bring inside from plant foliage and soil and reduce the risk of having to turf out a cherished tender perennial this winter? Thanks for the site and the help Maggie McFadzen -- posted by MaggieM » CGoodloe - Dear Maggie, Sounds like you got yourself a plant protector. Dear Maggie,Sounds like you got yourself a plant protector. Why do you need to spray insecticidal soap on your lemon verbena? If your lady spider is there, you shouldn't have many bad pests on your plant. However, if you merely want to make sure it's clean of any bugs before bringing it in, you will just have to catch your spider and place her on some other plant in the hopes that she will live there. Take your verbena in and hope for the best. Spiders are stubborn creatures. I'm not sure how well your spider will take to cold winters nor how long she will live, but find her a temporary home for the winter and maybe you will see her next year. As for the aphids and mites, I've had such a hard time myself getting rid of them. Here in California, we have bad white flies too. I have found something though strange as it may be, that has seemed to keep the pests at bay. Get a quart spray bottle. Fill it with water, add about a couple tablespoons of Listerine/Generic mouthwash in brown color. Spray this on your plants every morning. Pests seem to hate the stuff. Try it and if that doesn't work, try mixing in some hot pepper sauce like tobasco. They won't hurt your plants unless you put too much then it will burn them. Let me know if these don't work and I'll search out a few more tips through my database. Carla Carla Goodloe -- posted by CGoodloe » Seelan - Spider Mites Dear CarlaWonder if you could help. I have got a bad spider mite problem on my rose plant. I have used white summer oil, malathion with no effect. Presently I am using a stiff sprayof water. But I have to do it almost everyday. Don't know how long I can keep up with this b4 they take over. Is there anything else I could try? Regards -- posted by Seelan » CGoodloe - Re: Spider Mites Yes I can help you. I had this problem on my mini-roses. Nearly lost them...First off, I have tried so many soap/alcohol mixes and no results. You really do have to use hot pepper and garlic to see any results. However, my problem was so bad last year, not even that would work. So I bought Pyola from Gardens Alive this year. Unfortunately, I'm not in California anymore and haven't seen any aphids and the mites came with me from CA hiking a ride in my back seat on the aforementioned roses. I used it once on the roses and haven't seen a single mite since. This stuff kills the eggs too not just adults and larva so be sure to coat the undersides of leaves if you can. It's organic but still has dangers. Wear rubber gloves when using and spray where the wind can't blow it back in your face. It doesn't last long in the environment, hence the reason it's better than a synthetic chemical like malathion. Visit http://ace.ace.orst.edu/info/extoxnet/pi... to read about the pyrethrins that are in Pyola, but remember Pyola doesn't have the butoxide poison that some manufactured "pyrethrin formulas" have in them. So it's safer that some supposedly "organic" chemicals that do have the butoxide poison in them. This stuff works on everything including widow spiders and even ants. However, use it sparingly because it is an irritant. Good luck.
-- posted by CGoodloe
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