I have these little yellow bugs on my milkweed. Is is safe to put Neem on them? I don't want to hurt the good guys later on.
Annie
bugs on milkweed - safe to treat with Neem?
AnnieJo;
Those appear to be aphids. It's easily be rid off by a strong jet of water to knock them off the plant. (be sure they're not splastered onto adjacent plants while you hosing them off), they won't be able to crawl back on the plants and die.
Another method; Use your Palmolive dish soap, a few drop into a spray bottle, spray them with this mild soapy solution. That will dry them out, and won't bother other benificial 'good guys'. Good lucks.
I'm so happy to see you have those outdoor in your zone, that means spring is here, and I'm getting ready to harden mine to the outdoor soon, too. Common back butterflies!!! Wooohooooo.
Yes, use the spray from your waterhose to wash them off. You might need to brush them off with your fingers while running the water. Elsewise, like Lily said, use a little bit of dish soap in a spray bottle of water. If you have butterflies frequenting your milkweed plants them I highly suggest you thoroughly rinse off the soapy residue after about ten minutes.
~ Cat
Does it need to be Palmolive? I only have Dove and Dawn here although I can certainly get some Palmolive if it has the "magical" ingredient in it! Thanks so much!
I found Palmolive is milder, don't know of the exact chemical composition. But I used those for my indoor plants, it works effectively on aphids, spidermites too. So I stick with it.
Cat. the rinsing is a helpful hint for me, thanks. (I know the ants get stunted -- but not sure if the soapy spray hurt them?).
Kim
The ingredients in some soaps cause diarrhea in humans so I'm only assuming the same would happen to anything that eats the residue. Apart from that enough consumption could lead to dehydration - and I don't want the butterfly caterpillars I raise to die (Monarch, Queen and Soldiers use milkweed as a larval host).
"Most of these soaps are made from the potassium salts of fatty acids. When sprayed on soft-bodied insects, these fatty acids disrupt the structure and permeability of the insects' cells, causing the contents to leak out, which quickly kills them. Most any type of liquid dish soap will work, but DAWN is biodegradable and contains no phosphates, which is better for the environment." - or so I read when I googled for info.
~ Cat
Thanks Cat, I'm glad I asked, now I gained more helpful knowledge. I'm a newbie with cats. raising and releasing, and ultimate goal is to build more environmental friendly garden for the little friends....
Thanks for the helpful info.
Kim
do the milkweed aphids harm any other different plants that may be near the
milkweed?
Aphids will eat, habitate in many type of plants out in the garden. They seems to prefer the young new growths of vegetative plants. Oh, they love hibiscus flowers bud too. Yes, they suck/feed on those tender growths and cause them to decline over time. They also secret a sticky substance where they congergate, thus invite mildew/black spot and secondary fungal infection onto the plants. Ants eats those sticky substance from aphids' secretion, thus it said that ants protect the aphids and co-exist.