- Jun 18, 2007
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Quote:
As far as I'm concerned, a year with no squash bugs is a great thing. Wish I could say things we all that good.
I've also been invaded (sqash, zukes, cukes, and pumpkins) with Squash Vine Borers. They're nasty little pieces of work, I tell you.
You have to slit the stems longwise and dig out the little white worm that you almost need a microscope to see, cover over the part othe stem you cut with soil, and pray that roots start growing from there.
So far so good, but it was looking like a very sad Halloween was going to be in my future with no pumpkin crop. That would just be really irritating. I think I got to them in time though.
It figures the year I want to eliminate most of my lawn and plant a whole lot of fruits, veggies, and flowers, I have to fight the battle of the nasities everyday. I almost am ready to give up on being completely organic. . . almost. On the good side, since I got a bee hive, I'm seeing a lot of bees around pollinating everything like crazy.
Mark
Hi Mark
Have you tried pyretheum or Chrysanth. cinerarii folium is the plant name (The flowers). Just toss it in a blender with some garlic, hot peppers, tobacco (Tobacco you grew yourself organicly), strain it put it in a spray bottle then goto town. Just remember that ANYTHING with tobacco in it CAN and WILL make you sick if you ingest it or even get enough of it on your hands. I cant stress enough when working with tobacco.
Also there is Sabadilla which I dont use, wear a face mask with this one. Its not to bad on mammals.
Rotenone is an extract of the roots. Itll lay waste to just about everything from fish to insects to mollusk. It can affect mammals. It is used in flea and tick sprays for pets. "Rotenone is a pesticidal compound found in several subtropical leguminous shrubs of the genera Derris, Lonchocarpus, and Tephrosia." Plagiarized By Bubba
You may also want to get some Diatomaceous earth and put it only where you need insect control, DONT BLANKET your garden. It works mechanically ie the little razor edges on the algae fossils slice and cut insects to death. That includes the good ones like earthworms, need I say more. Its GREAT around chickens doesnt hurt them in the least.
Hope this helps you a bit
Love the Bubba haha
PS If you decide to make your own mixes try a drop or less or liquid dish soap like Dawn added to your sprays. A little soap does nothing to most plants, insects are a different story.
PSS Look up more about your bees, you may be interested in some non social pollinators... http://www.xerces.org/Pollinator_Insect_Conservation/biology.htm
or
http://www.gardensafari.net/english/mining_bees.htm
Used to love catching sand wasps (as we called them) when I was a kid at school. I would capture 20 or so in a plastic bag at lunch or break then let them go in the classroom! Teachers always seemed to let us out early if that happened hrm....
As far as I'm concerned, a year with no squash bugs is a great thing. Wish I could say things we all that good.
I've also been invaded (sqash, zukes, cukes, and pumpkins) with Squash Vine Borers. They're nasty little pieces of work, I tell you.
You have to slit the stems longwise and dig out the little white worm that you almost need a microscope to see, cover over the part othe stem you cut with soil, and pray that roots start growing from there.
So far so good, but it was looking like a very sad Halloween was going to be in my future with no pumpkin crop. That would just be really irritating. I think I got to them in time though.
It figures the year I want to eliminate most of my lawn and plant a whole lot of fruits, veggies, and flowers, I have to fight the battle of the nasities everyday. I almost am ready to give up on being completely organic. . . almost. On the good side, since I got a bee hive, I'm seeing a lot of bees around pollinating everything like crazy.
Mark
Hi Mark
Have you tried pyretheum or Chrysanth. cinerarii folium is the plant name (The flowers). Just toss it in a blender with some garlic, hot peppers, tobacco (Tobacco you grew yourself organicly), strain it put it in a spray bottle then goto town. Just remember that ANYTHING with tobacco in it CAN and WILL make you sick if you ingest it or even get enough of it on your hands. I cant stress enough when working with tobacco.
Also there is Sabadilla which I dont use, wear a face mask with this one. Its not to bad on mammals.
Rotenone is an extract of the roots. Itll lay waste to just about everything from fish to insects to mollusk. It can affect mammals. It is used in flea and tick sprays for pets. "Rotenone is a pesticidal compound found in several subtropical leguminous shrubs of the genera Derris, Lonchocarpus, and Tephrosia." Plagiarized By Bubba
You may also want to get some Diatomaceous earth and put it only where you need insect control, DONT BLANKET your garden. It works mechanically ie the little razor edges on the algae fossils slice and cut insects to death. That includes the good ones like earthworms, need I say more. Its GREAT around chickens doesnt hurt them in the least.
Hope this helps you a bit
Love the Bubba haha
PS If you decide to make your own mixes try a drop or less or liquid dish soap like Dawn added to your sprays. A little soap does nothing to most plants, insects are a different story.
PSS Look up more about your bees, you may be interested in some non social pollinators... http://www.xerces.org/Pollinator_Insect_Conservation/biology.htm
or
http://www.gardensafari.net/english/mining_bees.htm
Used to love catching sand wasps (as we called them) when I was a kid at school. I would capture 20 or so in a plastic bag at lunch or break then let them go in the classroom! Teachers always seemed to let us out early if that happened hrm....
