Natures Little Helpers

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
My question is, other than Lady Bugs, what other "Beneficial Bugs" are there that I should be keeping an eye out for?

And any suggested sites for selection or best pricing?

Having called just about every nursery, hydro shop and garden supplier in my city nobody seems to keep anything in stock and all have told me to go online and get them sent frozen.
 

bostoner

Active Member
There are predatory mites like Phytoseiulus persimilis, Neoseiulus californicus, Mesoseiulus longipes. look them up on google im sure you can some site selling them.
 

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
Thanks for the info. I'm due for more FF soil and will inquire if I can get any of them through my favorite hydro shop when I stop in this week
 

Theowl

Well-Known Member
Also, you could look for lacewing larvae, and preying mantis egg pouches. They have em at the Depot. Or you could
Gather them when they come out naturally.

Parasitic wasps are also available online- can't remember names ATM, kinda trashed. :D
 

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
Hells yea! Preying mantises are awesome, i've only come across a few since getting my current house/duplex. I like the idea of the lacewings and wasps but need to keep these plants inside. I did however find a site, already forgot the name...lol i'm rather ripped right now. But found 3000 box of Lady Bugs for about $12-13 + S&H($30 cuz of dry ice shipping) and got a good discount on some vege seeds for to grow along with my tomatoes and peppers outside :D
 

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
Been lookiing into these kinds of natural helpers to keep around during flower, seeing as once buds begin forming there's not any kinds of sprays of powders that can apply without F*@King the buds up. Dealt with an overnight reckage on my 1st grow that would've given me more than a couple grams vs older much smaller grows from spider mites and powdery mildew. A dreaded 1 2 punch that ended its life just 2-3 weeks from finish. Didn't have a problem with my last plant that gave up about 4oz
 

Theowl

Well-Known Member
You can use a baking soda water mix for powdery mildew. Spray on.
Won't mess with buds. It's only baking soda.
 

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
I've tried that in the past with no success...maybe I didn't use enough mixed in the water. I have a set of 16oz spray bottles, how much should I use?
 

Theowl

Well-Known Member
This is what I found for you:

Preventatives: if you know you have a susceptible plant, you can consider regular sprays to avoid infections. Preventatives include:

Sulfur: used for centuries, sulfur is most effective when applied in wettable form (such as Safer Garden Fungicide). Note that sulfur can damage ornamental plants; do not apply above 90°F or within two weeks of an oil spray.
Bicarbonates: available in the form of potassium bicarbonate (Kaligreen) and home-made solutions using baking soda. Be careful to avoid injury to the plants, and note that baking soda can have adverse effects on the soil when over used. Baking soda solutions can use salad oil as a spreader-sticker, or horticultural oil (which adds eradicant capabilities).
The biological fungicide Serenade contains a bacterium which helps prevent infections from occurring.
Mary Louise Flint, University of California at Davis, Director of UC Integrated Pest Management Education & Publications says, “A simple fungicide can be made at home by combining 2-1/2 tablespoons of horticultural oil (Sunspray Ultra-Fine, Saf-T-Side, etc.) in a gallon of water and adding 4 teaspoons baking soda. This solution is sprayed on plants to prevent powdery mildew infections. Sprays of both potassium bicarbonate and baking soda can injure the plant, so use these materials with caution. Also, baking soda sprays can have deleterious effects on soil structure and should be used sparingly.”

Eradicants: Once you have active symptoms, you may need an eradicant to kill the infection to avoid further damage. Since the established PM is a parasite to the host plant, using a preventative to avoiding spreading will not stop damage to the plant. Eradicants include:

Horticultural oils such as JMS Stylet Oil, Saf-T-Side Spray or Sunspray Ultra-Fine Spray Oil.
Plant based oils including neem oil or jojoba oil.
The biological fungicide AQ10 contains a parasitic fungicide that attacks the PM fungus.
Combination: Unfortunately, sprays combining both preventative and eradicant qualities fall mostly into the synthetic fungicide category and are least recommended from an IPM viewpoint. The least toxic combination seems to be Potassium Bicarbonate, which, while primarily preventative, has some eradicant capability.

Hope you can use this. Try and find them native ladybugs;)
 

Sparks207

Member
I love lady bugs. I ordered a bunch of the Internet. 4500. 3900 were alive. They are breading like crazy and are everywhere. I love the living aspect of them. I have two little insect cages I keep like 500 in each feeding them watered paper towels and raisins. I let a bunch out every week or so. I have one room were my veg is and they seem to love it. I didn't have mites but I received clones and I was worried. Didn't want it to be a problem down the road
 

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
Good news, I just sign for the pack of 3000 I ordered last week online. Apparently the instructions say I only needed a couple hundred for my grow area.

Sparks207, you keep them alive in the absence of infectious bug with just water and raisin?... I read somwhere online to make a kind of nectur either with honey and water or boiling down a pot of suger water. Would this also work or do you more highly recomend using raisins?
 

Theowl

Well-Known Member
It's a horrible idea, but you could always go to a garden center and buy some veggie sprouts- more often than not there will be aphids and such all over em. They can then be put in a box with the infested plant.

But you run the risk of infestation of your kiddie by bringing them into the home.
 

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
It's a horrible idea, but you could always go to a garden center and buy some veggie sprouts- more often than not there will be aphids and such all over em. They can then be put in a box with the infested plant.

But you run the risk of infestation of your kiddie by bringing them into the home.
Which part is the bad idea? The raisin or necture?

You suggest I get other plants thet're infested with aphids and other bugs to keep them going?
 
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