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.

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

On Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:30:23 +0100, Jake Nospam@invalid wrote:

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

Whoops, I should also have said, check the undersides of leaves for
eggs - these are orange-red so are easy to spot and are usually laid
in fairly straight rows - and remove any you find.

On 01/06/2011 19:15, 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.

Jake's advice is spot on, but IMO you will get nowhere in the end - just
spend time and money on a pest you cannot win against as it has no
natural enemies in this country.

Either grow your lilies under glass where the pest cannot get at them,
or simply give up growing lilies (and many other members of the
Liliaceae such as Fritillarias), and grow something else.

--

Jeff

On Jun 2, 9:48*am, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 01/06/2011 19:15, 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.

Jake's advice is spot on, but IMO you will get nowhere in the end - just
spend time and money on a pest you cannot win against as it has no
natural enemies in this country.

Either grow your lilies under glass where the pest cannot get at them,
or simply give up growing lilies (and many other members of the
Liliaceae such as Fritillarias), and grow something else.

Oooh, I wouldn't put it so harshly. I've been on the find and squish
regime for the last few years now and have found it sucessful. I
usually have around 5 or 6 big pots and don't find it too arduous.
Not for the squeamish of course, but compared to squelching a big fat
slug underfoot, not much bother.

This year I've had none so far, which either means I was so thorough
last year that I wiped them out and there are no more in the vicinity,
or the cold winter killed off the adults. I have also moved from an
area of dense housing to one with larger gardens, which may also limit
their spread from plant to plant.

I'm in Manchester, btw.

Andrew

On 02/06/2011 16:55, 1970alr wrote:
On Jun 2, 9:48 am, Jeff wrote:
On 01/06/2011 19:15, 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.

Jake's advice is spot on, but IMO you will get nowhere in the end - just
spend time and money on a pest you cannot win against as it has no
natural enemies in this country.

Either grow your lilies under glass where the pest cannot get at them,
or simply give up growing lilies (and many other members of the
Liliaceae such as Fritillarias), and grow something else.

Oooh, I wouldn't put it so harshly. I've been on the find and squish
regime for the last few years now and have found it sucessful. I
usually have around 5 or 6 big pots and don't find it too arduous.
Not for the squeamish of course, but compared to squelching a big fat
slug underfoot, not much bother.

This year I've had none so far, which either means I was so thorough
last year that I wiped them out and there are no more in the vicinity,
or the cold winter killed off the adults. I have also moved from an
area of dense housing to one with larger gardens, which may also limit
their spread from plant to plant.

I'm in Manchester, btw.


I'm in West Sussex, and hadn't had any until early last week. Now the
plants look like an old rail ticket! They problem is that you really
have to examine the plants carefully every day, as they will decimate a
plant within a few days if left.

Some cultivars/hybrids are a lot more resistant than others, and if you
can find some that don't attract the pest then they would be worth growing.

--

Jeff

On Thu, 02 Jun 2011 17:08:59 +0100, Jeff Layman
wrote:

On 02/06/2011 16:55, 1970alr wrote:
On Jun 2, 9:48 am, Jeff wrote:
On 01/06/2011 19:15, 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.

Jake's advice is spot on, but IMO you will get nowhere in the end - just
spend time and money on a pest you cannot win against as it has no
natural enemies in this country.

Either grow your lilies under glass where the pest cannot get at them,
or simply give up growing lilies (and many other members of the
Liliaceae such as Fritillarias), and grow something else.

Oooh, I wouldn't put it so harshly. I've been on the find and squish
regime for the last few years now and have found it sucessful. I
usually have around 5 or 6 big pots and don't find it too arduous.
Not for the squeamish of course, but compared to squelching a big fat
slug underfoot, not much bother.

This year I've had none so far, which either means I was so thorough
last year that I wiped them out and there are no more in the vicinity,
or the cold winter killed off the adults. I have also moved from an
area of dense housing to one with larger gardens, which may also limit
their spread from plant to plant.

I'm in Manchester, btw.


I'm in West Sussex, and hadn't had any until early last week. Now the
plants look like an old rail ticket! They problem is that you really
have to examine the plants carefully every day, as they will decimate a
plant within a few days if left.

Some cultivars/hybrids are a lot more resistant than others, and if you
can find some that don't attract the pest then they would be worth growing.

Jeff

Lily beetle have one natural enemy - ME!

I'm a real lily lover and have about 2-300 of various types growing in
the ground and in tubs. I refuse to stop growing them simply because
of some "red in the bed". Early season I pinch the blighters (have you
noticed that the adults sometimes sort of squeal when you grab them!).
Then I give the plants a late night spray with Provado. Sorted.

Jake

On 02/06/2011 18:25, Jake wrote:
Lily beetle have one natural enemy - ME!

I'm a real lily lover and have about 2-300 of various types growing in
the ground and in tubs. I refuse to stop growing them simply because
of some "red in the bed". Early season I pinch the blighters (have you
noticed that the adults sometimes sort of squeal when you grab them!).
Then I give the plants a late night spray with Provado. Sorted.

Jake

The OP was trying to avoid pesticides, I believe. I wish him luck!

--

Jeff

On Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:49:24 +0100, Jeff Layman
wrote:

On 02/06/2011 18:25, Jake wrote:
Lily beetle have one natural enemy - ME!

I'm a real lily lover and have about 2-300 of various types growing in
the ground and in tubs. I refuse to stop growing them simply because
of some "red in the bed". Early season I pinch the blighters (have you
noticed that the adults sometimes sort of squeal when you grab them!).
Then I give the plants a late night spray with Provado. Sorted.

Jake

The OP was trying to avoid pesticides, I believe. I wish him luck!

But I guess the OP isn't growing lilies by the few hundred like me.
Fifty or sixty's an easy squash job! In the evening they go in the
salt bucket with the sluglets and seem to expire fairly quickly.

The key massage is that you CAN beat the blighters.

(Just massage them between your finger-tips or, if quantities demand,
spray the buggers. FWIW I have found ladybirds happily crawling around
on lilies the day after I've sprayed with Provado and have never found
dead ladybirds on the ground under lilies.)

IME, catch 'em soon enough and you have no problem (at least here in
South Wales).