Grrr! grey aphids are destroying my coles!

[valley ranch]

Would putting pantyhose over the Brussels sprouts work for aphids, I know this has been used to discourage the cabbage worm moth from laying her eggs on them. The pantyhose expands as the sprouts mature.

Annette

That sounds like~ it would work on plants that you can slip the over~ like sprouts~ would even stop the ant from placing them```

 

[flowerbug]

i've seen gray aphids once here. i pulled the plant and buried it deeply enough that the bugs wouldn't get out again.

what is your aphid predator situation like? i am sure that different bugs will prey on different aphids as we have a large population of lady beetles here. no regular (green) aphids are seen for long.

when i grew okra once some were covered with a black aphid. i didn't grow them again.

i would have rinsed those little darlings off and eaten them anyways. a few bugs won't do me in... i love cabbage of any kind.​

 

[baymule]

I like to see the gray aphids show up, because I know the lady bugs aren't far behind. If they are too bad, I blast them with a water hose and spray them with soapy water. But to have the good bugs, you have to have the bad bugs so they will have something to eat.

I like the panty hose idea!

 

[pippomky75]

yes, I'm calling losses on this year, but these are great hints for next- we live and learn right? I want to go into it with a battle plan.

 

[thistlebloom]

Look into releasing green lacewings Pippomky. I'm planning on ordering a batch next year after reading about how much better they are at eliminating aphids than ladybugs.

There are several places you can order from, but this place includes some good info about them.

 

[valley ranch]

couple years back I bought a packet of Ladybugs~ they gathered themselves up and flew~ never to be seen here again```

 

[flowerbug]

couple years back I bought a packet of Ladybugs~ they gathered themselves up and flew~ never to be seen here again```

they do need cover and other growing things besides just garden plants to survive. i find them all over the place here. alfalfa and trefoil both seem to have them all the time. some seasons the beetles are pretty bad and swarm on the side of the house and a fair number manage to find gaps to get inside. hopefully, i plugged up most of the last of the gaps this past year.

we've never had to introduce them, but the asian version of the lady bug was introduced to the midwest for aphid control or perhaps was another accidental introduction.

i see lacewings here too.

 

[baymule]

The utility room has dead ladybugs on the floor. They work so hard to get in, then they crap out and die. Going to sweep them up.