Aphids, ladybugs and worm tea

[Charlotte Seibert]

Hey all, I have had the worse time with aphids this month and can't seem to win the battle. I started with just trying to wash them off, went to worm tea twice a day, then with missing two days spraying, I was worse that I was before I started. I ordered lady bugs, let 500 go inside my green house, (12 X 16 ft)

I released them at night, by day two they where all gone, the lady bugs that is. I thought I was fairly well sealed, still can not figure out where they got out. 

I am ordering more ladybugs as well as green lacewings, but for now I am going back to the worm tea. 

My question is could the worm tea have killed or ran my ladybugs off? 

The aphids are worse now than ever, it's like they are getting even with me... :(  they are winning. 

Any ideas anyone on what I can do to kill the aphids, and keep the lady bugs happy and at home. It's not like they did not have tons to eat. I read that you could spray a solution of 50% water and 50% coke on they to glue their wings shut, I did not do that. one reason is coke?? really it dissolves raw meat. 

Any ideas?

Charlotte

[Alex Veidel]

You have to be careful with neem oil. If it gets into your tank water the oil can cause problems with your fish.

[erin]

I had the same problem indoor with mites. had to reset the whole system and clean sweep the house. I cant spray my crop with anything so i sealed all the light from my cabinet and take extra precautions to keep them off me. were on a ground floor so i keep a regular spray schedule around the outside of the building and use raid in the room on the carpets when i can stand it. 

good luck

Dottie Kinn said:

My system is infested w/aphids, too. I've sprayed w/neem oil, wiped plants, etc. but the critters live in the media, too!! Couple months ago, I took out the top 4" of media and washed it, washed off all the plants I could remove w/out damage and sprayed the rest. My system is in my apt. so buying ladybugs isn't practical. Any suggestions?? Unfortunately, a plant I purchased and added to my system several months ago was infested and I didn't realize it.  BEWARE of buying plants to add unless you wash it thoroughly. I've taken to spraying the media w/neem oil. Will that damage the biofilter?  Water has a nice balance and plants were very happy before this invasion.

[paul burton]

If you have aphids. Check for ants, They have a reputation for introducing aphids to plants.

[Rohan Roy]

Aphidius Colemmani parasitic wasps! They are amazing and are not a pest in any other way. They completely control the aphid problem in my greenhouse. I have to introduce them each year, but otherwise they completely solve the problem. 

[Vlad Jovanovic]

Yeah, A. colemani rock, and work really well with other biological agents i.e different aphid eating larva. Using these combinations of multiple predators has shown to be particularly important if you already have an infestation on hand even if it's just cheapo lady bugs teaming up with the wasps. Here is a pic I snapped two days ago. the top of this pepper branch was so covered in apdids you could hardly see the plant. Those are all adult ladybugs (and not their more voracious progeny/larva). Adults typically feed on pollen and nectar, nut these guys and gals were hungry from traveling.

A day later there were almost no aphids on that branch :)

The A. colemani wasps really are quite innocuous in that you don't really even notice them. And often have to be patient and still to even be able to catch a glimpse of them going about their business.

Another really good biological agent in the 'Bug Battle' is a pathogenic fungi called Beauveria bassiana. It's sold here in the US under the name Mycotrol. There is an OMRI listed version called Mycotrol-O (they're the exact same product, just one is OMRI registered so it cost a few bucks more...since it cost $$$ to register products)...

Mycotrol is B. bassiana spore in a liquid suspension. It's totally fish safe too. It's totally non-toxic to people and other animals, and it's kinda neat to watch if you have the optics :)

The fungal spore lands on the pest during foliar spray application. There it germinates, penetrates the host and proceeds to kill the host within a few days.It works on many pests and for some reason doesn't affect many beneficials, but will affect some.

Here is a pic that I took of some dead aphids. They became infected by B. bassiana and died of white muscardine disease as do they all...