Our brag board wandered off into bugs and how to deal with them...
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1024905/
So just so we can find this when we need it... here's the place for the mugly ugly "it ate my plant" solutions....
About guinea hens and squash bugs... I've heard they work, but I lived next to a small flock of them and couldn't stand the racket. And I've heard over on the poultry board that they are dumber than a chicken... now, you have to go a pace to be dumber than a chicken. IMHO
As for turkeys as squash bug control... no, they don't scratch like chickens. They're more like the guineas, just stepping on things so you may have some scars on your squash, but it never seemed to impair the eatability of the squash.
I have no idea if you could feed Jap. beetles caught in a pheromone trap. Best to call the company and see what they say. I wouldn't worry so much about the pheromone (on second thought, yes I do wonder), but a lot of time there's some nasty stuff in that "other ingredient... 90%" part of the list. I'm looking at my diatomaceous earth bag that says...
Diatomaceous Earth: Insect Control Powder with Patented Baits
and the ingredient list is:
Active ingredients... silicon dioxide from diatomaceous earth... 77.69%
Other ingredients...............................................................................22.31%
??? so what's the bait? It's obviously included under "other ingredients" and it's patented, but that's all we know. What else is in "other ingredients"? How do we know if it's safe to feed chickens?
Listing legally restricted ingredients under 'other' is a common practice... by legally restricted I mean things like topical ointments can only have a certain number of active ingredients. Panalog is a very effective topical, but some of it's real active ingredients are included in 'other' so it doesn't exceed the legal code. Many bug sprays (organic included) list pyrethrin, but for a long time they didn't list the piperynol (?) as active, which is what packed the drop dead punch.
That other ingredients can be quite a cocktail.
Bugs and how to bop them...
Had a bunch of guineas once but only one survived the stray dogs. The grand kids named it UC for ugly chicken. In the garden proper it did more damage than bug control. I have to admit it did eat its weight in grasshoppers out in the yard though. Made a good doorbell too.
IMHO a bait just attracts more of what you’re trying to get rid of in the first place. Like beer and slugs. It will trap and kill the ones that find it but it attracts a lot more into the area that would have stayed where they were.
A few of these suggestions might be useful -
http://tipnut.com/natural-pesticides/
On the brag board someone mentioned using a bug zapper for moths. A few years ago I had the same idea and it worked very well. I had to cut out the safety panels so the larger moths could get into the electrified screen and get zapped. Hung it about 8 feet high to keep little hands out of it and had it hooked to a photocell. A lot of moths would get hung up in the wire and other parts of the zapper but the birds would clean them up every morning. It didn’t take them long to learn when it was safe either. Every morning birds would be parked all over the place waiting for the light to go out.
It did make a big difference on the bug problem and would recommend it for smaller gardens.
Neat idea. Did you put it any place specific in the garden or just where it was handy to put it?
It was located on one end of the garden where power was handy. Might work nicely in your high tunnel. I am not sure from what distance it would draw a moth but there were lots of dead ones in the morning
Come on work with me on this one.--------=-=-=-=-__-____===Bopping bugz I missed th@t one behind me about ten times so whats the catch?
I hung my electric bug zapper over the fishpond I had where I used to live, and the goldfish loved the freshly toasted critters. Got a pair of ducks once because they were said to eat snails (this was in CA and the snails came out by the thousands at night) but I found out that I had to pick up the snails myself and put them in a dish for the ducks, LOL
I am on my way out to the GH now to spray a homemade garlic & hot pepper spray on the little new leaves on my baby citrus trees in hopes it will get rid of the aphids. I have no sympathy for bugs who eat my plants. And I detest snails! I won't even eat them in a restaurant, they still taste like squished snails smell!
BUG B GONE FROM YOUR GARDEN SPRAY
THE NATURAL WAY
6 Jalapeños
4 Cloves of Garlic
1 Yellow (Hot) Onion
1 Cup of Ground /Crushed Red Pepper
*Grind all ingredients in blender let set.
* Boil 4 Quarts of water to raging boil.
Put Ingredients in one (1) Gallon (Wide Mouth) Jug or Equivalent.
Pour Hot water in on top, let stand 48 hours.
Strain mix through panty hose.(NOT wife’s good ones! Ya could get hurt)
Mix will yield one gallon that can be mixed in 2 ½ gal sprayer.(Add cool water to fill line)
***Spray New and growing plants until fruit starts to grow well.
There is not a bug or critter around that will bother you garden.
*** The Bees don’t Care****