Pest Control
Don´t forget the basic prerequisites of thorough soil cultivation and reduction of weeds before resorting to insecticides. Pull up weeds and do not leave plant debris distributed about the place.
Take obvious safety precautions when applying insecticides, such as facial and hand protection. Make sure you only apply at the right times for edible produce; typically insecticides should not be applied close to harvest. Keep products well out of reach of children and animals. Also, keep containers well marked. Always, always, clean out thoroughly spray guns and receptacles if they are likely to be used for other purposes.
Please observe that BHC, frequently referred to below, is simply a shared use name for an organochloride pesticide generally containing DDT, dieldrin, heptachlor and chlordane. Check with your supplier that his or her product is genuinely BHC based, without any cancer concerns.
Apple Sucker
Attacks: apples
Signs: petals are withered
Solution: lightly spray with BHC style proprietary product, fenitrothion or dimethoate once petals have discarded
Bean Weevil
Attacks: beans
Signs: semi-circular notches in leaves
Solution: dust on BHC style proprietary product or spray on fenitrothion with younger plants
Blackfly
Attacks: nasturtiums, honeysuckle and bean plants
Signs: colonies infest new growth, leading to stunted growth and damaged buds
Solution: mist with primicarb or pyrethrum
Cabbage Root Fly
Attacks: more all less all brassicas
Signs: immature plants wilting and look for maggots consuming roots
Solution: probably start again but ensure that all new seedlings are well powdered with pirimiphos-methyl
Capsid Bugs
Attacks: trees and shrubs that fruit in addition as many herbaceous plants
Signs: holes in leaves and fruit
Solution: mist with sprayer using BHC style proprietary product or malathion
Carrot Fly
Attacks: this particularly bothersome pest targets carrots
Signs: the maggots of this pest erode the roots
Solution: utilize an insecticide seed-dressing before planting out
Caterpillars
Attacks: many flowers, vegetables, fruit shrubs and hedges
Signs: very easily spotted, these critters go to town on eating leaves
Solution: mist or dust with derris
Codling Moth
Attacks: pears and apples
Signs: grubs lurking in the fruit
Solution: wait until early to mid summer and then spray with fenitrothion, repeat after four weeks
Cutworms
Attacks: our favorite summer edibles: beetroot, brassicas, lettuce and flowers generally
Signs: stem attack
Solution: turn a good amount of BHC style proprietary product into soil surrounding affected plants
Earwigs
Attacks: dahlias and chrysanthemums
Signs: holes in both flowers and leaves
Solution: spray plants with BHC style proprietary product and dust surrounding soil with a BHC style proprietary product
Flea Beetles
Attacks: wallflowers and brassicas
Signs: tiny craters on the surface of leaves
Solution: sprinkle seedlings with BHC style proprietary product or derris powder
Greenfly
Attacks: vegetables, roses, flowers, trees and bushes producing fruit
Signs: colonies infest new sprouts
Solution: mist liberally with derris, malathion, pyrethrum or nicotine
Leaf Hoppers
Attacks: potatoes, roses and fruit trees
Signs: faded patches on leaves
Solution: spray regularly (once every two weeks) with BHC style proprietary product, malathion or nicotine
Leaf Miners
Attacks: shrubs and flowers
Signs: the larvae tunnel by the tissue of leaves and cobweb-like gossamer effects will be easily observable
Solution: pluck off all affected leaves closest and burn off, spray remaining plant with BHC style proprietary product
Leather Jackets
Attacks: grass, lawns in particular
Signs: obvious brown patches, pull them up and you will find gray grubs around the roots
Solution: saturate soil with pirimiphos-methyl
Mealy Bugs
Attacks: greenhouse plants
Signs: small creamy oval pests embalmed in wax and resting on leaves
Solution: drench with formothion or malathion
Onion Fly
Attacks: onions, shallots, garlic
Signs: grubs in bulbs, wilting leaves
Solution: liberally sprinkle calomel over soil just after sowing
Pea Moth
Attacks: peas
Signs: maggots in the pod
Solution: as flowers bloom, spray with fenitrothion
Raspberry Beetle
Attacks: raspberries, blackberries, loganberries
Signs: grubs eating the fruit
Solution: wait for fruit to half ripen, giving off a pinkish color, and spray with derris
Red Spider
Attacks: fruit trees and shrubs, tomatoes and vines, proliferating in greenhouses
Signs: red mites presenting themselves on undersides of leaves, top sides will often appear mottled
Solution: drench thoroughly with derris, dimethoate or malathion
Root Aphid
Attacks: asters, pot plants and lettuces
Signs: wilting leaves
Solution: dilute malathion and water well around roots
Sawfly
Attacks: apples and plums, rabidly when got a keep up
Signs: look for grubs in the fruit
Solution: allow petals to fall and then spray with BHC style proprietary product as soon as possible
extent Insects
Attacks: fruit trees, vines, shrubs
Signs: small, dark, flat insects thriving on underside of leaves and stems
Solution: mist well with malathion
Slugs and Snails
Attacks: pretty much everywhere and everything
Signs: seedlings destroyed and enormous damage to established plants
Solution: put down metaldehyde and/or methiocarb
Thrips
Attacks: love gladioli but other plants too
Signs: mottled, silvery leaves and flowers
Solution: spray with BHC style proprietary product, malathion, nicotine or derris
Tortrix Moth Caterpillars
Attacks: trees, shrubs and love apples and plums
Signs: punctured leaves stuck to each other with silver trails
Solution: flick them off or spray with BHC style proprietary product, derris or trichlorphon
Vine Weevil
Attacks: vines and greenhouse plants
Signs: nibbling around the edge of leaves
Solution: BHC style proprietary product spray
Whitefly
Attacks: numerous plants
Signs: infestation on new shoots
Solution: mist with BHC style proprietary product, malathion or pyrethrum
Winter Moth
Attacks: fruit trees
Signs: at caterpillar stage, eat leaves and fruit
Solution: wait for buds to open and spray with derris, trichlorphon or malathion
Wireworm
Attacks: vegetables and flowers
Signs: larvae tunnel into roots
Solution: apply BHC style proprietary product to soil
Woodlice
Attacks: a mass of plants
Signs: roots and leaves eaten in a fairly irregular manner
Solution: find nest and sprinkle with ant killer solution
Woolly Aphid
Attacks: apples
Signs: a creamy fluff on branches
Solution: get onto it quickly – spray on malathion or BHC style proprietary product
Look out for signs of pests and clarify them as soon as you can. Based on the identification of the pest, decide on the correct timing for treatment and select the correct solution.
