Displaying items by tag: pest control - Planted Space - Planted Space http://plantedspace.com Sat, 20 Jan 2018 03:20:02 +0000 Joomla! - Open Source Content Management en-gb Ladybugs - Sustainable Pest Control http://plantedspace.com/howto/maintain/item/44-ladybugs http://plantedspace.com/howto/maintain/item/44-ladybugs


Ladybugs aren't true "bugs," they are beetles of the Coccinellidae family. The largest population of ladybugs in the United States now is actually the Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis), introduced by the Department of Agriculture to control aphids in the early 1900's. Because they are have more voracious appetites, they quickly outcompeted many native species. 

For about $10, you can get approximately 1000 ladybugs from your local nursery, or online through Amazon or Gardeners.com. Ladybugs may be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 months depending on the time of year, where they live off body fat and appear almost catatonic. New ladybugs birth at around June-July, these can be stored longer; whereas ladybugs bought in March-April should be used sooner since they are approaching the end of their lifespan. 

For best results, mist the garden areas slightly with dechlorinated water, then release the ladybugs at dusk. If your garden is relatively pesticide-free and pest-heavy, the little beetles will drink and eat throughout the night. A single lady beetle may consume upwards to 5,000 aphids in a single evening. In the morning may will fly away, but a few will stick around to breed and populate your garden. 

Now, control your urge to spray pesticides all over the garden. If you still encounter large outbreaks that the ladybug population can't presently deal with, spot treat the location with some diluted dish soap, or manually remove/pinch off the affected areas. Ladybugs are very sensitive to any chemicals (including neem oil).

Want to share your experience with ladybugs? Have other insect carnivore or sustainable pest control recommendations? Head over to our forums.

1500 Ladybugs from Hirt's Garden

1500 Adult Ladybugs from Gardener's.com

editor@plantedspace.com (admin) Maintain Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:49:42 +0000
Little Black Bugs All Over the House? http://plantedspace.com/howto/maintain/item/40-little-black-bugs-all-over-the-house? http://plantedspace.com/howto/maintain/item/40-little-black-bugs-all-over-the-house?




So which insect do you have?

  • Fungus gnats are tiny winged black insects, one of the most common houseplant annoyance, they aren't strong flyers and hangout mostly near wet plant soil or in household drains. They are attracted to CO2, which explains why they are constantly flying up your nostril. Fungus gnats live up to 2 weeks, and can lay up to 200 eggs in moist soil, which hatch in about a week and feed off plant roots for another 2 weeks.

  • Fruit flies are lighter colored and larger, they hangout mostly around exposed fruit, rotten foods, or inside leaky refrigerators. They thrive on exposed or spoiling foods, such as juices on your refrigerator seal, leftover food matter inside your dish washer, or organic matter decaying inside your garbage. Fruit flies will lay eggs just about anywhere with leftover food, in excess of over 500 eggs at a time.

To effectively remove these pests, a combination of traps and habitat control are in order.


1. Yellow Sticky Traps

Using sticky traps is much like throwing a bandaid on your problem. Although it's not a long term solution, it will immediately reduce the number of annoying pests flying around. Something about the bright color yellow attracts all types of pests, fungus gnats, fruit flies, white flies, aphids, and others, perhaps because it mimicks sunlight. Generally the brighter the yellow, the better, and once they land, they're stuck.



Sticky traps are slightly expensive for what you're getting, the cheapest we found was around $7 for some plastic stakes and strips of yellow sticky paper. Hold onto those stakes when you're done with the first batch, you can always reuse them with yellow construction paper or cardboard.

Tanglefoot is a great sticky trap coating you can reuse on the cardboard, or coat yellow and orange plastic cups to attract the insects. It's about $8 for 8 ounces, which should last you a very long time. 


2. H2O2 Drench

To kill the larvae hiding in the soil, you'll need a good mixture of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). You can get 3% H2O2 at your local supermarket, or online (case of 12 is only $20). 

First, wait for the top soil of your planter to completely dry, gnat larvae cannot develop in dry soil as the drought suspends their development. Next, mix 1 part H2O2 to 4 parts water and water normally. The mixture will not harm your plants, in fact rain water carries trace amounts of H2O2, which oxygenates the soil. Fungus gnat larvae on the other hand will die on contact.


3. Neem Oil Spray 

For extra measure, mix a little neem oil with water in a pressure hand sprayer and spray the top potting soil in each of your planters. In case the H2O2 missed any, the oil will linger and interfere with the remaining insects. As we mentioned before in an aphid control article, neem is an organic solution that does not kill on contact, but interferes with the insects' natural hormones so that they "forget" to eat and mate. It does leave a residue after taste on edibles, but for indoor aesthetic plants, it's a perfect solution for your insect problems.


4. Control the Habitat

Perhaps most important, you'll want to eliminate the insect's habitat that has formed inside your home. For fruit flies this means keeping a clean house, cleaning up any food matter, and securing your rubbish. For fungus gnats, this means pruning your houseplants regularly, removing dead or dying leaves that the insects feed on. Also let the soil dry thoroughly before each watering, since gnats thrive in humid conditions.



Questions? Concerns? Or want to share your experience in indoor pest control? Discuss it here in our forums!

admin@plantedspace.com (Planted Space) Maintain Sun, 17 Jun 2012 20:25:09 +0000
Organic Ant Control with Baking Soda http://plantedspace.com/howto/maintain/item/37-organic-ant-control-with-baking-soda http://plantedspace.com/howto/maintain/item/37-organic-ant-control-with-baking-soda





How does it work? 






editor@plantedspace.com (admin) Maintain Wed, 09 May 2012 05:59:59 +0000
Best Insect Repelling Plants http://plantedspace.com/howto/plant-selection/item/21-best-insect-repelling-plants http://plantedspace.com/howto/plant-selection/item/21-best-insect-repelling-plants
Insect Repelling Plant
Plant, repel: Ants Aphids Mosquitos Mites Jap. beetle Whitefly Slugs & Snails
Anise Yes
Chives Yes Yes
Coriander Yes
Citronella Yes
Garlic Yes Yes Yes
Larkspur, Rue Yes
Marigold Yes Yes
Nasturtium Yes Yes
Nicandra Yes
Pelargonium geraniums Yes
Pennyroyal Yes Yes
Petunia Yes
Rosemary Yes
Spearmint Yes Yes Yes Yes
Southernwood Yes Yes
Tansy Yes Yes
Wormwood Yes
For more information on other pests and repellant plants we have not mentioned, please consult the list of repellant plants here, and a list of pest-regulating plants here.
Questions, concerns, or wish to share your experience? Please disccuss it here in our forums.
editor@plantedspace.com (admin) Plant Selection Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000
Which Method of Aphid Control Works Best for You? http://plantedspace.com/howto/maintain/item/2-aphid-control http://plantedspace.com/howto/maintain/item/2-aphid-control



1. Neem Oil

Neem oil is probably the closest to a safe and organic solution that actually works.  Neem does not work right away, because it does not kill on contact.  Neem interrupts the insects' natural hormones, and insects "forget" to eat, mate, and eventually die off.  Sounds brilliant right?  Not entirely, now the downside.

Neem requires physical contact with the insect, which means you have to spray every inch of every plant.  Some plants absorb the oil, and it works for quite some time, until there is new growth, then you'll have to spray again.  Too much oil on the plants will cause plant burns in direct sun.  

The worst con of all, is that neem smells.  It's not toxic to humans, but it renders any herb or vegetable unpalatable.  I ended up throwing out my cilantro and swiss chards that I worked so hard to preserve.

2. Lady Bugs

Lady bugs are a great way to control aphids, especially in a garden, if you can get them to stay and lay eggs.  I would definitely suggest a try if you have an outdoor ground level (or close to ground level) garden.  Being on a windy balcony, I have had little success with them.  I have refrigerated them, sprayed them with sugar and coke, but they all eventually leave, or die.  Lady bugs are extremely sensitive to conditions, if they do not feel comfortable, they look for another place to settle down.  

If you've ever sprayed any insecticides before getting lady bugs, I would caution against it.  Lingering neem oil for example, sprayed many months before to introduce the lady bugs, still linger and seem to repel them.  Again, they are worth a try, especially in the yard.  You can grab over 1000 for only $10 from Hirt's Garden.

3. Hydrogen Peroxide / Insecticidal Soap

These do kill on contact, but both of these solutions require actual contact with the insect, but they don't seem to affect eggs.  The down side is you have to spray daily, if not more.  With a large infected plant or area, the insects will breed faster than you can kill.

4. Sand & Dish Soap

It's so simple and economical, but it works!  This method works best for container gardens and indoor planters, but will also mitigate plants in an outdoor space, but you will just need more sand.

- Cover your plant area or planter with 1-2 inches of sand.  I use play sand from Home Depot, about $5 for 50lbs.
- Add a little dish soap to a sprayer (I use a cheap pump sprayer) and spray daily until the aphids disappear! 

How does it work?  Let's look at the life cycle of the typical aphid.  The hatch from eggs in the soil, climb onto the plant as crawlers.  After they mature, they grow wings and turn into those annoying little black bugs.  Yes, these are in fact both aphids.  

An inch of sand on top of the soil prevents the winged adults from burrowing into the dirt to lay eggs.  Some will still lay eggs on the plants, but that's where the soap comes in.  The insects and eggs are washed onto the sand, and if they are not killed by the soap, they'll likely cut themselves on the sand as they attempt to crawl back up onto the plant.

I laid down the layer of sand in all of my balcony planters and indoor planters, sprayed consistently for 2 days.  Now, not a single flying insect or larval aphid in sight.  Please note that for outdoor spaces, you may never truly eradicate aphids, they are carried on the wind, or may be breeding in your neighbor's planters, but sanding down your planters will slow them down dramatically.  Just keep an eye out and spray your foliage about once a week.


So what method is best for you?  Let's break it down:

- Neem oil is quick and easy for non-edible plants, if you don't mind the stickiness and the odor
- Ladybugs is the best for a garden, but to get them to stay you need a large planted ground space that's a suitable habitat
- Hydrogen peroxide and insectidical soap are a quick fix for non-invasive insects that you want to kill
- Soap & sand is best for balcony planters or an indoor space 

Questions? Concerns about other pests?  Discuss it in our forums!

admin@plantedspace.com (Planted Space) Maintain Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:53:43 +0000