Author Topic: Experience with predatory beneficial insects??  (Read 2496 times)

Coach62

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Experience with predatory beneficial insects??
« on: May 16, 2018, 08:51:19 PM »
Hey all, my citrus trees are DECIMATED by leaf miners.  What the deer don't eat, they do.  I have some trees that literally don't have a single leaf not seriously damaged by leaf miners.  Today I switched from neem oil and organic stuff to malathion, temporarily.

Next week I should get in an order of wasps to control the leaf miners, wasps for the white flies, and lacewigs for the aphids I get from time to time.

It wasn't cheap, about $280 with shipping.  We are getting rain right now so hopefully the malathion will be washed off by the time they arrive.  I may even delay it a week, any thoughts are appreciated, I just had to get some kind of knock down!

Has anyone had success with these insects?  I guess UF imported these wasps and are releasing them across the state, but I doubt they have here.

Thanks!
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spaugh

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Re: Experience with predatory beneficial insects??
« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2018, 11:22:06 PM »
Did you try spinosad? 
Brad Spaugh

Coach62

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Re: Experience with predatory beneficial insects??
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2018, 12:01:26 AM »
No, but I have a gallon of concentrate ordered from Amazon, hasn't arrived yet. 
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marklee

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Re: Experience with predatory beneficial insects??
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2018, 12:17:11 AM »
Chemicals ie. spinosid, oils, bt's won't help much except a systemic pesticide such as imidicloprid, the surface spray chemicals won't help once the leaf miners are already in the leaves. You have to get the leaf miner sticky traps with the pheromone on the tree before the larvae invade the leaves to catch the adults before the eggs hatch and enter the leaf structure. Also it is a good idea to not use nitrogen to delay new leaf development until after the leaf miners slow down usually in the late summer. The leaf miners love the new  growth, so you want to delay the new growth. They sell the leaf miner traps at nurseries. Also don't cut off the already damaged growth, it will just encourage new growth which will just be attractive to new egg laying.
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/r107303211.html
« Last Edit: May 17, 2018, 12:26:33 AM by marklee »

lebmung

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Re: Experience with predatory beneficial insects??
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2018, 02:44:28 AM »
For aphids an organic solution is potassium oleate.
Leaf miners will eat your tree fast.
A systemic insecticide might be the only resort, a cheap efficient one is Thiametoxam (actara 25wg may have a different brand name in US), in goes into the plant and kills everything that is eating them. Well it also kills the bees who come to pollinate, ladybugs any everything else. A very powerful insecticide soon to be banned in Europe because of bees.
« Last Edit: May 17, 2018, 05:14:09 AM by lebmung »

KarenRei

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Re: Experience with predatory beneficial insects??
« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2018, 07:27:23 AM »
I've recently started using beneficials, although not those; my current problem is with fungus gnats.  My results have been... "okay". Stratiolaelaps scimitus worked well for a while,  but I guess they went extinct and the gnats didn't. Nematodes are the current attempt, but if they're working,  they're sure taking their time.
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Coach62

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Re: Experience with predatory beneficial insects??
« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2018, 10:30:12 AM »
I have considered the systemic insecticides.  The problem is I really don’t want an insecticide that is going to end up inside the fruit that I will later consume. Just something about the thought of that really turns me off to those
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greenman62

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Re: Experience with predatory beneficial insects??
« Reply #7 on: May 17, 2018, 10:34:30 AM »
Coach62

the best way ive found to combat leaf miners is to give the beneficials and environment to thrive.
even if you buy some, if they dont have a place to reproduce, the numbers will be low.

tall grasses, wood-piles etc...
lots of flowering plants.
i keep milkweed growing, comfrey etc...
i rarely have a problem with leaf-miners anymore,
and when i do, its a couple of leaves, and then they are gone.

keeping the plant healthy is also helpful.
too much nitrogen causes lots of new growth and lots of areas to penetrate.
a little extra iron and magnesium causes the leaves to harden faster
making it harder to penetrate.

Coach62

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Re: Experience with predatory beneficial insects??
« Reply #8 on: May 17, 2018, 10:39:48 AM »
Good info Greenman. Thanks. I’ll contact UF to see what I can do to encourage them to reproduce.
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behlgarden

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Re: Experience with predatory beneficial insects??
« Reply #9 on: May 17, 2018, 02:54:57 PM »
I had similar problem of aphids, and leaf curl with bug in them. I drenched the tree with Bayer Advanced Systemic http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3909237&KPID=6925650&cid=CAPLA:G:Shopping_-_Animal/Pest_Control&pla=pla_6925650&k_clickid=520248b2-8ed0-424a-81e5-7eed0477adfa&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0PTXBRCGARIsAKNYfG0lGvHOLcBNwtuyfjDfrMAhh1a1jvk4qk0xTIcfdesv67eFt2s-cDIaAluKEALw_wcB

I have never seen this nice green big leaves like I have now after about 6 weeks. I see ladybug here and there cleaning up if new aphids show up. Leaf curl is almost gone. I lost crop/blooms because I sprayed with Neem oil, what a mistake, never touching it again. I will not eat fruits as there wont be any from this season, but label says its safe to consume it after certain period of application.

Coach62

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Re: Experience with predatory beneficial insects??
« Reply #10 on: May 17, 2018, 04:03:49 PM »
I was looking at that yesterday.  I might have to on a couple of really bad trees, but I really don't want a systemic poison if I can avoid it.
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pineislander

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Re: Experience with predatory beneficial insects??
« Reply #11 on: May 17, 2018, 10:50:23 PM »
Good info Greenman. Thanks. I’ll contact UF to see what I can do to encourage them to reproduce.
Easiest FL predator forage is African Blue basil. Perennial, propagates easily, never stops flowering, good for bees too, and spaghetti.
Secondary forage might be coriander dill and fennel, but those are annuals.
I can give you all the basil you need, seed for the others you can get easy.

WGphil

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Re: Experience with predatory beneficial insects??
« Reply #12 on: May 18, 2018, 08:28:59 AM »
They attack the new growth flush and treatment should be at same time as once the leaves harden with tunnels they have left the building

When leaves are tiny hit them with oil spray and you will have more luck



Some of those poisons kill predator insects also. The predator insects reprodce a lot slower than their prey and why the bad ones come back faster without any predators to limit them