More Milkweed Woes.....Pests.....HELP!

[Mmathis]

Earlier in the season I read up on milkweed pests and the general consensus was to do nothing. Back in the spring, that's what I did -- nothing -- and the little aphid things did eventually go away.

Well, they're back with a vengence! Before, they were only noted on a couple of the plants. Now they are everywhere, including the lower part of the stems. There is one bank of plants with the stem bugs, and this one is starting to have the leaves die off.

A few days ago I manually removed as many as I could and dunked them off my hands into a bucket of water -- they were fish treats. But it didn't help.

Is there anything else I can do? These plants are growing in the turtle bog, so pesticides are not an option.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Two ways I've heard of removing them are by wiping them off the plants daily until they stop showing up, or spraying them off with water daily. They multiply quickly so my guess is that even if you think you get them all, there will be more.

I haven't had any experience with them in my own garden yet, so I don't really have any tips to share. I see them on plants in the wild a lot. The plants seem to come back the following year just fine.

 

[Mmathis]

@JBtheExplorer Thanks for the reply! Yeah, what you said is about what I found when I researched, even the part about the plants coming back OK. But I did read that most plants that have come back, did, over time, start to decline. However, that one bank of plants with the bugs on the stems......they're not looking too good.

I tried spraying them, but they're stuck like glue, and I'm afraid I'll harm the plants if I am too aggressive with the water ----- and there are so many of them, on almost all of the plants....... Same with trying to rub or scrape them off. There are just too many and too many leaf surfaces. Apparently I don't have a good population of predator insects, either. The carpenter ants that I was trying to eliminate because of the turtles......they are aphid preds, and NOW I need them back! Oooops, better watch what I ask for, right?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

This may help in deciding what to use.
http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/pests/pesticide/hgic2770.html

 

[Mmathis]

@Meyer Jordan And thanks to you, as well! I have some food grade diatomaceous earth coming today [for the ants.....], and I might sprinkle [or puff] a little of that on a few of the plants to see how it does. I'll make sure the turtles are not nearby so they don't inhale it [face mask for me]. The DE is supposed to become harmless once it gets wet, so hopefully [and I'll be careful] any that gets in the bog won't harm the fish [or turtles]. And the article mentioned "clove oil," which I just happen to have . Right now would be a good time to get a Q-tip and test it on a few leaves.

Oh, and the section about "oils" and soaps was promising, but they caution about using it if the temp is above 90F......

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I have no idea of its effectiveness in aphid control, but DE should be completely safe. After all it is the silica skeletal remains of diatoms which is a fresh and salt water algae.

 

[Mmathis]

I have no idea of its effectiveness in aphid control, but DE should be completely safe. After all it is the silica skeletal remains of diatoms which is a fresh and salt water algae.

Well, from what I've read about it, the only real hazard to humans & other animals is if it's inhaled [lung damage] or gets in the eyes. With the turtles, I'd worry if they got some under their shell or bewteen their scales. Plus, the turts are low-riders, so they'd be closer to anything on the ground. But I'll be careful. And I did order food grade DE which is used to keep insect pests out of grain & seeds [I never knew that before!], AND some people consume it for whatever health reasons....... And it is harmless once it gets wet.

 

[Mmathis]

My Amazon pkg. arrived earlier than I expected, so I now have my DE [and koi clay, and DO test kit].

I ordered a little applicator that you can use to puff the DE onto whatever you are treating. There is a learning curve with that thing, so I probably really over-applied the DE to the milkweed plants. Oh well! But you can use it to puff the dust under the leaves, and into hard-to-reach spots, which was nice. And with a 10# bag......don't think I'm going to run out any time soon. That's a LOT of DE, folks!

Before I used the DE, I treated one plant with clove oil via a Q-tip. That was tedious, but not hard. If there were only a few plants with a light infestation, I would use the clove oil [if it works, that is, which remains to be seen]. At first the clove oil smelled good, but after a few minutes......it was getting to be......a little much to handle -- even after I put it away, the smell was everywhere.... I'm glad it doesn't have the same effect on people that it does on fish.

So, we'll see what happens. But I do hate that [with the DE] I've probably compromised some beneficial insects..... Oh, and I only had to relocate 2 nosey turtles while I was "puffing"

 

[Mmathis]

Well, I wouldn't advise using clove oil.....

Can't say how the aphids fared.

 

[Mmathis]

Well, yesterday when I checked on the milkweed plants, they were looking so pitiful. It did look like there was a slight reduction in the # of aphids, but the plants looked worse than ever and all were starting to droop. If they weren't planted in a bog, they looked like they needed water.

And I think I waited too long to start treatment. I took the merciful route and I lopped them all off. I'm hoping they'll survive and come back in the spring.

These are apparently milkweed-specific aphids because I haven't seen them on any of the other plants. Oleander aphids. Not a fan of you..... But I'll stay on top of things next year!!

https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/control-aphids-milkweed-plants/

I like idea #9 -- I never thought about vacuuming them!

 

[tbendl]

I like idea #9 -- I never thought about vacuuming them!

Make sure to video that when you do.

 

[addy1]

My house is lucky to be vacuumed let alone plants

 

[Mmathis]

Make sure to video that when you do.

I'll do that! Hey, maybe that's a good excuse to get a GoPro!

 

[dpowell]

Hopefully you won't have the same problem this spring, but if you do... LADYBUGS! We had a ridiculous aphid infestation in the neighborhood and they were making my trees look horrible. There was sticky residue on everything from the aphids. I ordered 2000 ladybugs online for $20 and released them into the tree that was primarily infested. Within a week the tree was almost completely back to normal and the ladybugs were moving on to other infested plants.

 

[morewater]

Earlier in the season I read up on milkweed pests and the general consensus was to do nothing. Back in the spring, that's what I did -- nothing -- and the little aphid things did eventually go away.

Well, they're back with a vengence! Before, they were only noted on a couple of the plants. Now they are everywhere, including the lower part of the stems. There is one bank of plants with the stem bugs, and this one is starting to have the leaves die off.

A few days ago I manually removed as many as I could and dunked them off my hands into a bucket of water -- they were fish treats. But it didn't help.

Is there anything else I can do? These plants are growing in the turtle bog, so pesticides are not an option.View attachment 85437View attachment 85438View attachment 85439

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00104IYJO/?tag=farmxchange-20

Natural orange works. Give it a shot.