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I have ivy growing up a fence that has a really bad aphid infestation that I am trying to control. I bought some neem py oil but it doesn't seem to have done much. Maybe it is helping it from getting worse but it has not killed them off either. I just put that on 10 days ago and did another application today. Maybe it needs more time.
Anyways, anyone know anything that can help? This season has been much worse than other seasons. Parts of the vine have died off and I'm trying to stem the tide at this point. I have heard that lady bugs can be effective too but I have never used them. Thanks.
Ladybugs are good but only to the extent that you have enough of them and that they will stay around long enough to do the job. They have a habit of straying. Neem oil is a sufficant as well as insecticidal soap which are natural controls. Lacewings help also. Here's some good information on controlling aphids. It's a worthwhile read and should help you in your situtation Aphids Management Guidelines--UC IPM
I keep in the back of my truck a homemade mix of feverfew daisy and Dawn dish soap that I use in a squirt bottle like a used mustard squeeze bottle. I put in the mix and some water, shake it up very well and squirt the foam onto roses etc to kill aphids, spider mites, ants and all other bugs. When I can get some calendula flowers, I add them to the mix for extra potency. Feverfew is a natural source of pyrethrum, a natural and powerful insecticide. Many of my clients have it growing in their yards and do not even know it. If you use a sprayer, make a tea of about 2 or 3 cups of feverfew flowers and add it with 1/4 cup dish soap to 2 gallons of water and spray the ivy till it is saturated and not in the sun, do it later in the afternoon and let the soap sit on it overnight, it should kill the aphids and the ants that bring in the aphids.
Ladybugs are good but only to the extent that you have enough of them and that they will stay around long enough to do the job. They have a habit of straying. Neem oil is a sufficant as well as insecticidal soap which are natural controls. Lacewings help also. Here's some good information on controlling aphids. It's a worthwhile read and should help you in your situtation Aphids Management Guidelines--UC IPM
Well, it sounds like lady bugs can work in theory but are not going to be too practical for a large area. My vine is on a fence that runs about a hundred feet or so. That's probably a lot of lady bugs considering they used 1,500 on just one rose bush in the article, with two applications to boot. Ill keep hitting them with the hose and the neem oil for now. Maybe they'll back down a bit.
Years ago, I got a powder from Gardens Alive, a beneficial insect attractant. It mixed into a paste that you dotted onto foliage and the beneficials appeared within a few days. I don't know if all those ladybugs would have been on those shrubs anyway, but there were hundreds of them after I applied the paste. Sorry, can't remember the name of the product, but if GA still carries it, it would be on their website.
Years ago, I got a powder from Gardens Alive, a beneficial insect attractant. It mixed into a paste that you dotted onto foliage and the beneficials appeared within a few days. I don't know if all those ladybugs would have been on those shrubs anyway, but there were hundreds of them after I applied the paste. Sorry, can't remember the name of the product, but if GA still carries it, it would be on their website.
No, those are the ladybeetles themselves, and yeah, I fell for those Sta-Home beetles once. That was a real joke. They only stick around where there is a food source!
I still have some of the product here, and it's called Bug Pro, but I don't think it's being sold anymore. But if you google "beneficial insect attractant", you might find a homemade recipe to try to get more ladybeetles to your infested shrubs.
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