How to rid greenfly from my Herbs?

Gregsor

They seem to be quite attracted to my Oregano plant.
I have heard of a tiny tiny bit of washing liquid in a water spray bottle or even a touch of coffee?
I prefer the homemade to be honest .

Degsy

Squash em between finger and thumb is the best solution!

Dr Galen

greenfly and whitefly were plaguig me earlier on.

chuck a couple of cloves of garlic in a pot of boiled water and leave it to cool down a bit. then fish out the cloves and let it cool right down. add it to a sprayer with a touch of washing up liquid. I use a hand sprayer to spray pretty liberally around my greenhouse. Make sure you get up under the leaves, not just the top.

the garlic kills the bugs, the washing up liquid helps it stick to bugs and leaves etc.

You'll need to do this every couple of days to begin with, til you get them under control. then I find once a week or so does the trick. In the meantime I do just as Degsy suggests and squish em, i also use a damp cloth to wipe them off the leaves and then suish them in a pile, all in one go.

it takes a bit of effort and time, but once you get them under control, then a bit of preentative work goes a long way

suey71

Hi.
How long do you leave the garlic in for? do you crush it first? would onion do? Why garlic if not onion, member of the same group and all?
Thanks.

Dr Galen

suey71 wrote: »

Hi.
How long do you leave the garlic in for? do you crush it first? would onion do? Why garlic if not onion, member of the same group and all?
Thanks.

i leave it on for a while. maybe 30 mins or so. depends what else I'm doin tbh. It's not exactly scientific.

AFAIK garlic is used as garlic oil is a natural pesticide. I don't think onion, although related, is the same. I looked around the net for an answer to this and didn't see onion mentioned anywhere.

Belfast

One ladybird can eat up to 5,000 aphids in a summer.
Ladybird Feeders

Ladybirds eat aphids (green fly and black fly. Unfortunately the sprays that we have used for years to kill our aphids has been killing our ladybirds as well.

It seems to make both economic and environmental sense to me to just encourage the ladybird population. To that end we have started to sell Ladybird Feeders.

We discovered this product and were sceptical so we tested it out. It is a simple device, two small bamboo tubes held on string that you hang on a low branch of a tree. Also included is a powdered mixture to which you add water to turn it into a paste. You spread the mixture on the inside bottom of the bamboo and let it hang. They are only €10 and available at any of the markets listed on the homepage.

In our experience, 24 hours later we had 3 ladybirds sitting on our tree around the feeder and within a couple of days we had loads.
http://ecologicireland.com/_wsn/page5.html

Hells Belle

Degsy wrote: »

Squash em between finger and thumb is the best solution!

Totally agree, I went outside last night with a pair of those surgical gloves and had a great very satisfying time squashing the little fcukers, its quite theraputic really, I tried the washing up liquid last year and it didn't do anything except destroy my roses. Not this year, I'm going out tonight to clear my clematis tonight, its destroyed with them.

Gregsor

Some good ones there thanks,a bit of squashing and then the garlic in the water spray sounds handy as i have all thats needed.
Just happenned the last few days,and last night i noticed them all over the Basil plant on my inner kitchen window.

old boy

the local big house gardeners used to spray with soot and soapy water, and often used to just sprinkle the soot on the plants.

BrigR

What has worked for me is a spray of tea tree oil in water with a bit of liquid soap or washing us liquid. Just a few drops of tea tree oil will do.

Mister Fork

Having fierce problems with the dang aphids myself this year, only on the broad beans and chile / pepper plants. Some sound advice here, I like the notion of laybird feeders as I have'nt spotted too many of the little fellas about the garden of late.

Mister Fork

Brewed up the garlic / washing up liquid concoction last night......................all will be revealed, death to the aphids hopefully

joseph brand

My roses are crawling with greenfly. Especially new leaves.

i was checkin my small birch and found tonnes of the gits on it. But then saw some of these:
http://www.hippyshopper.com/160606_LadybirdLarvae_big.jpg

About 4 of these on my tree now, saw one gobbling a greenfly even in larvae stage.

I have heard ye can buy the larvae? A lot better than spraying if ye ccan IMHO.

mickeymoney

I heard hover fly larvae love green fly.
Poached egg plants attract hover flys to your garden.

There are organic sprays as well.

mickeymoney

joseph brand wrote: »

My roses are crawling with greenfly. Especially new leaves.

i was checkin my small birch and found tonnes of the gits on it. But then saw some of these:
http://www.hippyshopper.com/160606_LadybirdLarvae_big.jpg

About 4 of these on my tree now, saw one gobbling a greenfly even in larvae stage.

I have heard ye can buy the larvae? A lot better than spraying if ye ccan IMHO.

Try this link:
http://www.hippyshopper.com/2007/07/gardening_natur.html

Great idea to drill holes upwards in upright logs. ladybirds can live there rain free

tringle

Washing up liquid will just stick to the plant and so helps the garlic oil work. Washing up liquid on its own wont do, but soap will. Real soap though from a bar. Grate it very finely into the watering can and pur boiling water on and swish around to disolve all soap, leave to cool and dilute with cold water if you want and use this to water the leaves. Again its best if you squish what you can firts and then pour over. I did this last year twice with my broad beans and it worked. The aphids like the fresh top of the plant so with some, braod beans and basil the easiest things to do is oinch out the tops and then water, this worked for this this week.

But I also collect ladybirds when Im out to bring home, small kids love doing this

suey71

Thats a great idea with the grating soap Tringle. I'm gonna use carbolic soap like my mother used on me. Gonna grate it up and burn the little feckers like the way my mother burned me.
Damn Mothers..think they know best. She should have been a Gardener:D

mickeymoney

tringle wrote: »

But I also collect ladybirds when Im out to bring home, small kids love doing this

Where is the best place to find them? Whats a good container to transport them in? They are a rare sight for me

Curvy Vixen

Just what may possibly be the stupid question of the day....is the key word here not 'herbs'? Is it wise to spray washing up liquid etc on to herbs that you will be eating, possibly raw?

Genuine question by the way...my plants have been destroyed by fecking aphids of all and any colour (there's no racism in my garden ) and I use sprays on my flowers and the 'squash method' on my edibles.

tringle

Well I wash dishes in washing up liquid so it cant be dangerous. Also it doesnt actually soak into the leaves so if they are rinsed then no problem. I ate brocolli all last week that had the soap treatment no probs

mickeymoney

tringle wrote: »

Well I wash dishes in washing up liquid so it cant be dangerous. Also it doesnt actually soak into the leaves so if they are rinsed then no problem. I ate brocolli all last week that had the soap treatment no probs

There are ECO washing up liquids. We bought some "ecover" fo rthe first time and it lasts months. All thats needed with dishes is a little drop.

mickeymoney

Pest ladybird called the Harlequin has landed in Ireland
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055608155

Curvy Vixen

tringle wrote: »

Well I wash dishes in washing up liquid so it cant be dangerous. Also it doesnt actually soak into the leaves so if they are rinsed then no problem. I ate brocolli all last week that had the soap treatment no probs

I know you wash dishes in washing up liquid, but 'soaking' something you are going to eat in it and letting it absorb the product may not be dangerous as you put it, but I was curious as to whether it would be pleasant or not. An honest question I feel. You had said that the point of using the washing up liquid was in order that it would 'stick to the plant' so to say then that it doesn't soak into the leaves is a contradiction.

Good to see you are still around after eating the soapy broccoli though...

mickeymoney

tringle wrote: »

Well I wash dishes in washing up liquid so it cant be dangerous.

:rolleyes:


More on the dangers of chemicals ....
http://www.natural-health-information-centre.com/sodium-laureth-sulfate.html

Perhaps most worryingly, sodium laureth sulfate is also absorbed into the body from skin application. Once it has been absorbed, one of the main effects of SLS is to mimic the activity of the hormone Oestrogen. This has many health implications and may be responsible for a variety of health problems from PMS and Menopausal symptoms to dropping male fertility and increasing female cancers such as breast cancer, where oestrogen levels are known to be involved.



environment : Also its not fair on the environment to be pouring chemicals down the sink IMO. Theres not much of a difference with the eco brands if you use a tiny amount which is all thats needed anyway.

John Mason

you can buy ladybirds on the net

http://www.mrmiddleton.com/shop/product.php?productid=21&cat=1&page=2

BroomBurner

It's a sad state of affairs when you have to buy ladybirds

jayzusb.christ

hi, i haven't much of a clue about gardening but planted some herbs (parsley, basil, mint and thyme) in my garden last week. Sadly, all of the basil leaves and most of the thyme leaves seem to have been eaten by something. I came home today to find snails all over the mint. Any idea of how to protect my plants from being eaten? Bear in mind I am a total newcomer to gardening.
Thanks!

Honey-ec

jayzusb.christ wrote: »

hi, i haven't much of a clue about gardening but planted some herbs (parsley, basil, mint and thyme) in my garden last week. Sadly, all of the basil leaves and most of the thyme leaves seem to have been eaten by something. I came home today to find snails all over the mint. Any idea of how to protect my plants from being eaten? Bear in mind I am a total newcomer to gardening.
Thanks!

If they're in pots or a raised bed then the easiest way to keep snails and slugs off is to buy a roll of copper foil and just wrap a ring of it around each pot/bed around halfway to two-thirds of the way up. Snails and slugs won't pass it because of the pH imbalance.

No use for aphids, though...