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Dave -Turner[_1_] 24-08-2006 02:04 PM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 
Today I noticed on my roses out the backyard that most of the bud sites are
covered in aphids. Now before i go on I should warn you that i put the "um"
in greenthumb and ive never tackled aphids before.

They all seem huddled up together in groups on the bud sites - i can't
really see any on the stems or anywhere else as such, so it seems like I
could get rid of most of them just by chopping off all the bud sites. I did
notice a few Ladybugs which is cool, but there's only a few of them and
perhaps thousands of aphids so the Ladybugs cant do it alone

So I want to kill the aphids but not the Ladybugs, anyone know any tricks?
other than breeding Ladybugs :P
Thanks



ant[_4_] 24-08-2006 02:54 PM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 
Dave -Turner wrote:
Today I noticed on my roses out the backyard that most of the bud
sites are covered in aphids. Now before i go on I should warn you
that i put the "um" in greenthumb and ive never tackled aphids before.


My iceberg has had half-hearted buds and flowers all winter, and the buds
have been completely covered in aphids. fricking birds get their seeds right
over the roses, but they haven't et the aphids. I might cut back their seed
ration.

You can rub off the aphids, make up a bowl of soapy water. Won't kill the
ladybirds that way.

Or you can just nuke them with slayaphe.



--
ant
Don't try to email me;
I'm borrowing the spammer du jour's addy



Dave -Turner[_1_] 24-08-2006 04:07 PM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 
My iceberg has had half-hearted buds and flowers all winter, and the buds
have been completely covered in aphids. fricking birds get their seeds
right over the roses, but they haven't et the aphids.

??? i didnt think birds ate aphids - arent they a bit too small for their
liking? i know Ladybirds love em tho

You can rub off the aphids

That's how it seems at the moment because they're all clusterd together on
the bud sites - perhaps i can dunk each budsite in a bowl of water and shake
them off into the water to drown the little *******s

make up a bowl of soapy water. Won't kill the ladybirds that way.

Why soapy? and should it be neutral temperature, or cold or luke-warm or hot
or ... ?

Or you can just nuke them with slayaphe.

Never heard of it but i'll google it - I'd prefer a more biofriendly/natural
solution tho



gardenlen 24-08-2006 09:22 PM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 
too easy dave,

just spray the aphids of with a strong spray of water, then deal with
the ants the most likely cause of the aphids, also the lady bugs are
most likely eating the aphids so maybe sjut let a balance occur.

got some ideas on our remedies page for ghetting rid of ants.

On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 20:04:58 +0800, "Dave -Turner"
wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.gardenlen.com

RooBoy 25-08-2006 04:34 AM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 
Almost as bad as Lipstick on my Collar

"Dave -Turner" wrote in message
...
Today I noticed on my roses out the backyard that most of the bud sites
are covered in aphids. Now before i go on I should warn you that i put the
"um" in greenthumb and ive never tackled aphids before.

They all seem huddled up together in groups on the bud sites - i can't
really see any on the stems or anywhere else as such, so it seems like I
could get rid of most of them just by chopping off all the bud sites. I
did notice a few Ladybugs which is cool, but there's only a few of them
and perhaps thousands of aphids so the Ladybugs cant do it alone

So I want to kill the aphids but not the Ladybugs, anyone know any tricks?
other than breeding Ladybugs :P
Thanks





Dave -Turner[_1_] 25-08-2006 05:20 AM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 
just spray the aphids of with a strong spray of water
wont they just return within a day or two?

then deal with the ants the most likely cause of the aphids

ants?? where do they come into the equation, by repelling other aphid-eating
insects?

also the lady bugs are most likely eating the
aphids so maybe sjut let a balance occur.

the problem is there's no balance - thousands of aphids, only a few
ladybugs. i might capture the ladybugs then just blast the bushes with a
hose

got some ideas on our remedies page for ghetting rid of ants.

interesting page thanks




Farm1 25-08-2006 09:27 AM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 
"Dave -Turner" wrote in message

??? i didnt think birds ate aphids - arent they a bit too small for

their
liking?


As far as I'm concerned the only way to deal with aphids is to have
Wrens in your garden. My Wrens spend a lot of time in spring
patrolling the roses and they eat all aphids. I never, ever spray and
they are so very interesting to watch.

I'd prefer a more biofriendly/natural
solution tho


Read up on how to encourage birds into your garden but till you give
up on chemicals they tend not to stay round.

This site might help:
http://canberrabirds.org.au/gardenbl.htm



Farm1 25-08-2006 09:29 AM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 
"gardenlen" wrote in message

just spray the aphids of with a strong spray of water, then deal

with
the ants the most likely cause of the aphids,


Ants don't bring aphids Len. Aphids are sap suckers. I think you are
mixing up the ants that come to feed off the exudate from scale
insects.



gardenlen 25-08-2006 11:49 AM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 
sorry farm1,

you maybe a bit off the mark there, ants not only have a symbiotic
relationship with sacle insects but also with mealy bugs and aphids
pretty much any thript. and aphids do secrete a sugary substance that
the ants use in their food chain.

in my life of gardening i have observed ants harvesting aphids not
only on roses but on other plants as well.

the aphid is flightless and can't crawl over the ground so the only
way it gets around is by being carried.

used to be a good way to predict rain when rose growers observed the
ants taking the aphids back underground so they won't be knocked off
their perch by heavy rain.

anyhow that's the nature of things and this is the only time in my 10
years online i have ever heard it any different.

On Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:29:40 +1000, "Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow
wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.gardenlen.com

Dave -Turner[_1_] 25-08-2006 11:52 AM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 
Len can you expand a bit more on the ants aphids relationship? thanks
There are ant nests around each of my rose bushes but I'd never thought
anything of it as I didnt think ants had anything to do with roses or
aphids, but the food chain is a complex one



Jen 25-08-2006 02:49 PM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 

"gardenlen" wrote in message
...
sorry farm1,



in my life of gardening i have observed ants harvesting aphids not
only on roses but on other plants as well.


Yeah. I remember reading a book about ants, that said ants farm aphids and
milk them.

Jen




gardenlen 25-08-2006 09:16 PM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 
g'day dave,

i'm no scientist here but that is how it is, yes you can have ants yet
not appear to have any of the problems they can bring, yes they too
are important in the organic aspect as they dispose of stuff and help
recycle it but they can bring the nasties, i don't see aphids as
particularly nastya s theya re so easy to get rid of once the ants
have been moved on.

and yes it can appear that there are no ants yet plants have aphids,
mealy bug, scale etc.,. but the ants are there or have been. all this
is just part of gardening lore.

same with potted plants tend to get mealy bug but only after the ants
have moved in.

ants don't pick plants because they are this or that they pick plants
suitable for whatever thrip they are harvesting.

the relationship is symbiotic and it isn't any discovery of mine, as i
said it is the nature of things, so mines not to reason why but to
learn the why and then get a fix if a plant is being affected.

also the reason why a lot of gardeners complain that it doesn't matter
what poison they use on these bugs they keep coming back, yep because
they haven't controlled the ants and when they do then the bug is gone
untill the ants come back maybe.

so if the ants are there they could have a herd of aphids tucked away
on the roots of the roses waiting for the right time to bring them
up??

the ants as i understand do not eat the aphid they only eat the sugary
substance that the aphids secrete.

and all those bugs are sap suckers not just aphids, mealy bugs and
scale live from sucking the sap or how would they live, just with
mealies and scale they might tend to secrete more sugary substance
than the ants can use so then the excess harbours sooty mould.

On Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:52:52 +0800, in aus.gardens you wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.gardenlen.com

gardenlen 25-08-2006 09:27 PM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 
that's correct jan,

that is why i can't understand the statement made by a previous
poster.

in 25 years of gardening i have listened a lot i've seen a lot of tv
shows and read a lot of text online in the past 10 years but have
never heard of ants not farming those thript type bugs.

On Fri, 25 Aug 2006 12:49:51 GMT, in aus.gardens you wrote:


"gardenlen" wrote in message
.. .

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.gardenlen.com

Dave -Turner[_1_] 25-08-2006 11:29 PM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 
So if i destroy the ants nests at the bases of my roses bushes that would
have a significant effect on the aphid populations (by allowing other
predatory insects in that the ants wouldve otherwise kept away) ?

Thanks for your insights Len, its very much appreciated



gardenlen 25-08-2006 11:53 PM

Aphids on my roses, time to wage war
 
that is how it has worked for me, aslo i don't think the aphids last
long without their farmers.

once the ants have gone simply hose off the aphids with a strong spray
of water if you use an atomiser bottle add a bit of detergent. moving
the ants on is the lynch pin but. i think one of the lady beetles eats
the very young aphids so guess if you don't have them then you may not
hae any predators.

On Sat, 26 Aug 2006 05:29:39 +0800, "Dave -Turner"
wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.gardenlen.com


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