[adri123]

Hi

I noticed a greenfly in the PT the other day.  Not had chance to have a good look but if they are there in numbers can anyone recommend how best to deal with them in a PT environment?

TIA

Adri

[Headgardener22]

Now's the time to collect ladybird larvae. We get lots on top of our compost bin. They don't get rid of all the greenfly but its satisfying to see them munching their way through.

[adri123]

Seen them for sale on ebay.  Wouldn't have the first inkling of where to look in the garden for em.

[Lardman]

They're usually hanging around the greenfly.  I've never found enough to make a difference. You can get yellow sticky paper which I've found useless or you can spray with greenfly killer far more effective. There are homemade sprays but we're not allowed to mention them google will tell you all about them but I found those equally a useless.

If you're not squeamish you can control the numbers by squishing them it's not a total solution but instantly reduces the numbers if it's a large infestation.

[adri123]

'...we're not allowed to mention them...'

Why not?

[Lardman]

Don't ask it'll just raise your blood pressure....

http://www.allotment-garden.org/vegetable/home-made-pesticide.php

[JayG]

It's not much fun having to keep reminding members that home-made pesticides are illegal under EU law, if only by default, and as such this forum can't be seen to be condoning or encouraging their use.

The reason it's not much fun is because we all know that many gardeners do use them - I for one sprayed my runner beans with a very dilute solution of washing up liquid because I thought they looked dirty - it worked, and it was only after I'd been to Specs@vers I realised that the 'dirt' was, in fact, blackfly.    

What individual members choose to 'gurgle' and then possibly use is entirely up to them, of course....

[Headgardener22]

I've never found enough to make a difference.

I found around 20 today wandering on the lid of the compost bin at various times. At 60 greenfly per day per larva (according to Springwatch), that's 1200 greenfly. I'm not saying its a total solution but it is nonetheless fun to watch them in action.

They look like this:



(Actually I think this is a Harlequin Beetle Larva rather than an Ladybird Larva but they do the same thing).

[beesrus]

A good idea at this time of year to check every day for the start of infestations in one's greenhouse.
After seeing to the greenhouse, it's always nice to have a mug of tea. Afterward, it's handy that I keep my greenhouse stash of dilute soapy water in a spray bottle. It's very good at helping to keep one's mug clean and is fully "certified" all over the planet for use on cleaning every single implement we use for food, unlike many chemicals used in today's pesticides.
 
I also garden as "sustainably" as possible, with a regard to my plot ecology and it's pests and friends alike, well, well beyond the soil association "organic" brand, that these days actually allows the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers. I wonder just how sustainable some of these legal pesticides are.

[Aunt Sally]

And washing up liquid is actually an "Illegal" pesticide under the EU regulations