On Wed, 1 Jun 2011 19:15:46 +0100, "john ryan"
wrote:

Our Lillies are being eaten by masses of these critter:

Grubs

http://tinypic.com/r/rvzy89/7


and Beetles


http://tinypic.com/r/238wsl/7

Dont know if these two types of critters are related.

Any advice on best how to deal with them please. Especially if it does not
involve expensive and poisonous chemicals. Thanks.


Lily beetle and lily beetle larva (the latter is usually covered in
black goo - this is its excrement - which you must have lovingly
cleaned off).

Simple cure - pick them off and squash them between your fingers. The
adults have a habit of dropping to the ground when disturbed, usually
bottom up and as the bottom is black are difficult to find. Worth
cutting a slit halfway across a sheet of white paper and sliding that
around the stem at ground level first so you can still catch the
dropouts. Keep checking the plants regularly.

Otherwise chemical options are Provado Ultimate Bug Killer (read the
instructions carefully as it will kill beneficial critters as well if
yuo don't follow the instructions).

Another less iffy product is SB Plant Invigorator. According to Toby
Buckland it's effective against lily beetle but AFAIK is more of a
"contact" killer so you need to spray when you find them.

Cheers

Jake