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andy_con · 30-08-2007, 10:34 PM

Martin Brown · 31-08-2007, 09:59 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening

On Aug 30, 9:34 pm, andy_con
wrote:
Hi, im a newbie this is my first post. i wasnt 100% sure where to put
but.

i have a lemon, orange, lime and some randon none fruiting citrus plant
which are all being eaten by something. ive no idea what it is? below
are some photos. even my peper plant is being eaten, can anyone
help???

I suspect you have more than one sort of bug/caterpillar doing damage
here. In mid-summer UK you could just put the citrus plants outside
and spray with diluted washing up liquid to discourage the infestors.
Leaving them outside will allow birds and ladybirds to pick off some
of the unwanted visitors. Not a cure but a considerable improvement.
Just remember to water them a bit more frequently than indoors and
they will thrive. And bring them in before any risk of frost.

[image:http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...082007306.jpg]

It looks to me from this picture like there is an infestation of red
spider on the older leaves (absolutely tiny ~0.1mm need a magnifying
glass to see the insects webs may be obvious). Silver pinprick damage
on old leaves and lack of vigour in new ones - the web might be
visible but you need a magnifying glass to see the pests.

BTW Don't put a recently sprayed plant in direct sunlight for a couple
of days. Wetting agents damage the surface waxes and the poor thing
can dessicate very quickly. I nearly killed a culinary Bay tree that
way.

Some mobile pest like meally bug is chewing at the leaves (leading to
deformed nibbled young leaves). Look under leaves for fluffy white
patches and treat with a small paintbrush dipped in meths. Same for
caterpillars. They are probably 1-2mm across.

Hope this helps - good hunting!

Regards,
Martin Brown

andy_con · 31-08-2007, 01:44 PM

On Aug 30, 9:34 pm, andy_con
wrote:
Hi, im a newbie this is my first post. i wasnt 100% sure where to put
but.

i have a lemon, orange, lime and some randon none fruiting citrus plant
which are all being eaten by something. ive no idea what it is? below
are some photos. even my peper plant is being eaten, can anyone
help???

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Brown

I suspect you have more than one sort of bug/caterpillar doing damage
here. In mid-summer UK you could just put the citrus plants outside
and spray with diluted washing up liquid to discourage the infestors.
Leaving them outside will allow birds and ladybirds to pick off some
of the unwanted visitors. Not a cure but a considerable improvement.
Just remember to water them a bit more frequently than indoors and
they will thrive. And bring them in before any risk of frost.

[image:http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...082007306.jpg]

i keep seeing ear wigs on the plants and ants? could this be the problem, ive not seen anything else? i leave the plants outside all summer and am buying a mini green housing for the winter. i tried washup liquid yesterday, just some cheap tesco home brand stuff, i will check them when i get home from work.

[quote=Martin Brown;743920]
It looks to me from this picture like there is an infestation of red
spider on the older leaves (absolutely tiny ~0.1mm need a magnifying
glass to see the insects webs may be obvious). Silver pinprick damage
on old leaves and lack of vigour in new ones - the web might be
visible but you need a magnifying glass to see the pests.

what can i do to get rid of these bugs? can you buy a spray?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Brown

BTW Don't put a recently sprayed plant in direct sunlight for a couple
of days. Wetting agents damage the surface waxes and the poor thing
can dessicate very quickly. I nearly killed a culinary Bay tree that
way.

oh no i sprayed mine yesterday with washup liquid and left them out, there still out!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Brown

Some mobile pest like meally bug is chewing at the leaves (leading to
deformed nibbled young leaves). Look under leaves for fluffy white
patches and treat with a small paintbrush dipped in meths. Same for
caterpillars. They are probably 1-2mm across.

again can i buy a spray or something to stop them altogether?

Hope this helps - good hunting!

Regards,
Martin Brown

Nick Maclaren · 31-08-2007, 04:17 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

In article ,
andy_con writes:
|
| i keep seeing ear wigs on the plants and ants? could this be the
| problem, ive not seen anything else?

No. They are harmless.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Bob Hobden · 31-08-2007, 05:15 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

"andy_con" wrote ((Snip))

i keep seeing ear wigs on the plants and ants? could this be the
problem, ive not seen anything else? i leave the plants outside all
summer and am buying a mini green housing for the winter. i tried
washup liquid yesterday, just some cheap tesco home brand stuff, i will
check them when i get home from work.

Ants suggests to me you also have Scale Insect on the plants, a very common
pest on Citrus. The Ants will be "milking" the insects for the honeydew.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

andy_con · 01-09-2007, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Hobden

"andy_con" wrote ((Snip))

i keep seeing ear wigs on the plants and ants? could this be the
problem, ive not seen anything else? i leave the plants outside all
summer and am buying a mini green housing for the winter. i tried
washup liquid yesterday, just some cheap tesco home brand stuff, i will
check them when i get home from work.

Ants suggests to me you also have Scale Insect on the plants, a very common
pest on Citrus. The Ants will be "milking" the insects for the honeydew.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

ok so what can i do?

i love my plants and really wana loose the bugs killing them

Sacha · 01-09-2007, 04:23 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

On 1/9/07 11:03, in article , "andy_con"
wrote:

Bob Hobden;744067 Wrote:
"andy_con" wrote ((Snip))-

i keep seeing ear wigs on the plants and ants? could this be the
problem, ive not seen anything else? i leave the plants outside all
summer and am buying a mini green housing for the winter. i tried
washup liquid yesterday, just some cheap tesco home brand stuff, i
will
check them when i get home from work.
-
Ants suggests to me you also have Scale Insect on the plants, a very
common
pest on Citrus. The Ants will be "milking" the insects for the
honeydew.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

ok so what can i do?

i love my plants and really wana loose the bugs killing them

Check out Googling on natural predators of these insects. We use them here
and they work. But they're not cheap and you must continue to use them
until the problem is cured and be prepared to use them again if it returns.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Nick Maclaren · 01-09-2007, 04:25 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

In article ,
andy_con writes:
|
| ok so what can i do?
|
| i love my plants and really wana loose the bugs killing them

If it's scale insects, scrape them off with a blunt knife. Tedious,
but it works.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

La Puce · 01-09-2007, 04:49 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

On 30 Aug, 21:34, andy_con
wrote:
Hi, im a newbie this is my first post. i wasnt 100% sure where to put
but.
i have a lemon, orange, lime and some randon none fruiting citrus plant
which are all being eaten by something. ive no idea what it is? below
are some photos. even my peper plant is being eaten, can anyone
help???

First I'm absolutely sure that you don't have scale insects because
you'd have seen them (and so would I on your pictures), they're flat,
as big as my little finger's nail, brown, and are seriously stuck on
the bark of the branches. There's also lots of sticky white substance
associated with them. You haven't mentioned that. You have aphids and
plant lice, hence the curled leaves but also the ants. It's too late
to do anything once the leaves have curled up. I would keep hosing the
aphids out and let the ants do their stuff or introduce predators. Are
your plant in a greenhouse with other plants?. Also the big chunks out
of the leaves look like a catterpilar's doing. It has now flown
away ...

)

Sacha · 01-09-2007, 06:21 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

On 1/9/07 15:23, in article ,
"Sacha" wrote:

On 1/9/07 11:03, in article , "andy_con"
wrote:

Bob Hobden;744067 Wrote:
"andy_con" wrote ((Snip))-

i keep seeing ear wigs on the plants and ants? could this be the
problem, ive not seen anything else? i leave the plants outside all
summer and am buying a mini green housing for the winter. i tried
washup liquid yesterday, just some cheap tesco home brand stuff, i
will
check them when i get home from work.
-
Ants suggests to me you also have Scale Insect on the plants, a very
common
pest on Citrus. The Ants will be "milking" the insects for the
honeydew.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

ok so what can i do?

i love my plants and really wana loose the bugs killing them

Check out Googling on natural predators of these insects. We use them here
and they work. But they're not cheap and you must continue to use them
until the problem is cured and be prepared to use them again if it returns.
Found the list I was thinking of:
Against ********** Red Spider Mites: *Phytosieulus persimilis
**³** **************** Whitefly: ************** Encarsia formosa
**³* ***************** Thrips: ***************** Amblyseius cucumeris
**³* ***************** Aphids:* *************** Aphidius
**³* ***************** Mealybug:************* Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
**³ ****************** Vine Weevil:**********Hortinem (Nematodes)
**³ ****************** Caterpillar:*************Bacillus thuringiensis
(Bacterial powder for spraying)
**³ ****************** Scale Insect:**********Metaphycus helvolus
http://tinyurl.com/2uazjv
There are several people who supply them and below is just one:
http://www.gardening-naturally.com/acatalog/shop.html

But if you're going to use these, you need to get on with it because they're
only really effective in the summer months unless they're used in a heated
greenhouse.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Rupert \(W.Yorkshire\) · 01-09-2007, 10:12 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
On 1/9/07 15:23, in article
,
"Sacha" wrote:

On 1/9/07 11:03, in article ,
"andy_con"
wrote:

Bob Hobden;744067 Wrote:
"andy_con" wrote ((Snip))-

i keep seeing ear wigs on the plants and ants? could this be the
problem, ive not seen anything else? i leave the plants outside all
summer and am buying a mini green housing for the winter. i tried
washup liquid yesterday, just some cheap tesco home brand stuff, i
will
check them when i get home from work.
-
Ants suggests to me you also have Scale Insect on the plants, a very
common
pest on Citrus. The Ants will be "milking" the insects for the
honeydew.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

ok so what can i do?

i love my plants and really wana loose the bugs killing them

Check out Googling on natural predators of these insects. We use them
here
and they work. But they're not cheap and you must continue to use them
until the problem is cured and be prepared to use them again if it
returns.
Found the list I was thinking of:
Against Red Spider Mites: Phytosieulus persimilis
³ Whitefly: Encarsia formosa
³ Thrips: Amblyseius cucumeris
³ Aphids: Aphidius
³ Mealybug: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
³ Vine Weevil: Hortinem (Nematodes)
³ Caterpillar: Bacillus thuringiensis
(Bacterial powder for spraying)
³ Scale Insect: Metaphycus helvolus
http://tinyurl.com/2uazjv
There are several people who supply them and below is just one:
http://www.gardening-naturally.com/acatalog/shop.html

But if you're going to use these, you need to get on with it because
they're
only really effective in the summer months unless they're used in a heated
greenhouse.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

You missed one:-)
Hypoaspis , for Sciarid Fly Control.
Most of these things are getting cheaper -I think the Hypoaspis is about £12
for 10,000 mites. I hope they don't demand a payrise for a job well done.

Sacha · 01-09-2007, 11:58 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

On 1/9/07 21:12, in article , "Rupert (W.Yorkshire)"
wrote:

"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
On 1/9/07 15:23, in article
,
"Sacha" wrote:

On 1/9/07 11:03, in article ,
"andy_con"
wrote:

Bob Hobden;744067 Wrote:
"andy_con" wrote ((Snip))-

i keep seeing ear wigs on the plants and ants? could this be the
problem, ive not seen anything else? i leave the plants outside all
summer and am buying a mini green housing for the winter. i tried
washup liquid yesterday, just some cheap tesco home brand stuff, i
will
check them when i get home from work.
-
Ants suggests to me you also have Scale Insect on the plants, a very
common
pest on Citrus. The Ants will be "milking" the insects for the
honeydew.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

ok so what can i do?

i love my plants and really wana loose the bugs killing them

Check out Googling on natural predators of these insects. We use them
here
and they work. But they're not cheap and you must continue to use them
until the problem is cured and be prepared to use them again if it
returns.
Found the list I was thinking of:
Against Red Spider Mites: Phytosieulus persimilis
³ Whitefly: Encarsia formosa
³ Thrips: Amblyseius cucumeris
³ Aphids: Aphidius
³ Mealybug: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
³ Vine Weevil: Hortinem (Nematodes)
³ Caterpillar: Bacillus thuringiensis
(Bacterial powder for spraying)
³ Scale Insect: Metaphycus helvolus
http://tinyurl.com/2uazjv
There are several people who supply them and below is just one:
http://www.gardening-naturally.com/acatalog/shop.html

But if you're going to use these, you need to get on with it because
they're
only really effective in the summer months unless they're used in a heated
greenhouse.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

You missed one:-)
Hypoaspis , for Sciarid Fly Control.
Most of these things are getting cheaper -I think the Hypoaspis is about £12
for 10,000 mites. I hope they don't demand a payrise for a job well done.

Not one we use here. ;-) Ours arrive in their various containers every
fortnight throughout the season and the little paper packages get hung up
around the greenhouses or the bottles are opened and scattered around.
Everyone takes a look at various plants as they're walking in and around the
nursery and the birds do a good job of picking up bits and pieces from
outside, too.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

andy_con · 02-09-2007, 12:52 PM

ok one good thing my banana plant is doing great

Quote:

Check out Googling on natural predators of these insects. We use them here
and they work. But they're not cheap and you must continue to use them
until the problem is cured and be prepared to use them again if it returns.

what is googling?

Quote:

First I'm absolutely sure that you don't have scale insects because
you'd have seen them (and so would I on your pictures), they're flat,
as big as my little finger's nail, brown, and are seriously stuck on
the bark of the branches. There's also lots of sticky white substance
associated with them. You haven't mentioned that. You have aphids and
plant lice, hence the curled leaves but also the ants. It's too late
to do anything once the leaves have curled up. I would keep hosing the
aphids out and let the ants do their stuff or introduce predators. Are
your plant in a greenhouse with other plants?. Also the big chunks out
of the leaves look like a catterpilar's doing. It has now flown
away ... )

the plants are lined up against my house at the moment, im buying a walk in green house from argos very soon for the winter. so are ants good or bad for the plants? theres not lots of ants but i do see 3-4 on each plant?

Quote:

Found the list I was thinking of:
Against ********** Red Spider Mites: *Phytosieulus persimilis
**³** **************** Whitefly: ************** Encarsia formosa
**³* ***************** Thrips: ***************** Amblyseius cucumeris
**³* ***************** Aphids:* *************** Aphidius
**³* ***************** Mealybug:************* Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
**³ ****************** Vine Weevil:**********Hortinem (Nematodes)
**³ ****************** Caterpillar:*************Bacillus thuringiensis
(Bacterial powder for spraying)
**³ ****************** Scale Insect:**********Metaphycus helvolus
http://tinyurl.com/2uazjv
There are several people who supply them and below is just one:
http://www.gardening-naturally.com/acatalog/shop.html

But if you're going to use these, you need to get on with it because they're
only really effective in the summer months unless they're used in a heated
greenhouse.

cheers i will check this out

Quote:

Not one we use here. ;-) Ours arrive in their various containers every
fortnight throughout the season and the little paper packages get hung up
around the greenhouses or the bottles are opened and scattered around.
Everyone takes a look at various plants as they're walking in and around the
nursery and the birds do a good job of picking up bits and pieces from
outside, too.

so i could use this hen i buy a walk in green house for the winter?

Sacha · 02-09-2007, 06:39 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

On 2/9/07 11:52, in article , "andy_con"
wrote:

ok one good thing my banana plant is doing great
[image:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...092007315.jpg]

ok heres some more info and pics

the plants are outside against my house
[image:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...092007316.jpg]

this plant is worst hit, i dont know what it is. its a none fruiting
citrus plant of some sort

[image:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...092007317.jpg]
[image:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...092007318.jpg]

this is my orange plant
[image:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...092007319.jpg]

this is my lime
[image:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...092007320.jpg]
i washed all the plants a bit hard with the hose and this little git
came off the lime! its dead now
[image:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...092007325.jpg]

this is my pepper
[image:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...092007321.jpg]
[image:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...092007322.jpg]

this is my lemon
[image:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...092007323.jpg]
[image:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...092007324.jpg]

Check out Googling on natural predators of these insects. We use them
here
and they work. But they're not cheap and you must continue to use them
until the problem is cured and be prepared to use them again if it
returns.

what is googling?

Google is a search engine. Type www.google.co.uk and up should come the
Google main page. Then click on the UK button and type in "biological
controls" in the search box.

First I'm absolutely sure that you don't have scale insects because
you'd have seen them (and so would I on your pictures), they're flat,
as big as my little finger's nail, brown, and are seriously stuck on
the bark of the branches. There's also lots of sticky white substance
associated with them. You haven't mentioned that. You have aphids and
plant lice, hence the curled leaves but also the ants. It's too late
to do anything once the leaves have curled up. I would keep hosing the
aphids out and let the ants do their stuff or introduce predators. Are
your plant in a greenhouse with other plants?. Also the big chunks out
of the leaves look like a catterpilar's doing. It has now flown
away ... )

the plants are lined up against my house at the moment, im buying a
walk in green house from argos very soon for the winter. so are ants
good or bad for the plants? theres not lots of ants but i do see 3-4 on
each plant?

I don't think ants do them any harm and with winter coming on will soon
disappear anyway.

Found the list I was thinking of:
Against ********** Red Spider Mites: *Phytosieulus persimilis
**³** **************** Whitefly: ************** Encarsia formosa
**³* ***************** Thrips: ***************** Amblyseius cucumeris
**³* ***************** Aphids:* *************** Aphidius
**³* ***************** Mealybug:************* Cryptolaemus
montrouzieri
**³ ****************** Vine Weevil:**********Hortinem (Nematodes)
**³ ****************** Caterpillar:*************Bacillus thuringiensis
(Bacterial powder for spraying)
**³ ****************** Scale Insect:**********Metaphycus helvolus
http://tinyurl.com/2uazjv
There are several people who supply them and below is just one:
http://tinyurl.com/29tzb9

But if you're going to use these, you need to get on with it because
they're
only really effective in the summer months unless they're used in a
heated
greenhouse.

cheers i will check this out

Not one we use here. ;-) Ours arrive in their various containers every
fortnight throughout the season and the little paper packages get hung
up
around the greenhouses or the bottles are opened and scattered around.
Everyone takes a look at various plants as they're walking in and
around the
nursery and the birds do a good job of picking up bits and pieces from
outside, too.

so i could use this hen i buy a walk in green house for the winter?

They need to be used in spring and summer. The suppliers will give you the
guidelines but they're not used in winter unless greenhouses are kept v.
warm. We don't heat ours and the heating only comes on automatically if the
temp. falls to zero.
Ray thinks it's just about enough time now to use it against whitefly but
that's not your problem. Your problem - in his opinion - is a very tiny
caterpillar which gets onto young leaves and twists them up. Sometimes you
see them in a little white web. He doesn't worry about these but if he sees
them he simply takes them off by hand. Keep a look out early next year and
take them off if you see them.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

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