Sweet Peas and beetles
 

Help!

I have grown some lovely, scented, sweet peas, but can't bring them into the
house because they are full of tiny black beetles - what can I do please? I
long to fill jugs and vases with them :-(

Regards, Aileen

Sweet Peas and beetles
 

They are probably the oil seed rape beetle. I've never had them but have
heard about this on Gardeners' Question Time. I'm afraid I can't remember
the remedy. I think it was to grow something yellow and they'll go to that
instead of your sweet peas

Aileen Howard wrote:
Help!

I have grown some lovely, scented, sweet peas, but can't bring them
into the house because they are full of tiny black beetles - what
can I do please? I long to fill jugs and vases with them :-(

Regards, Aileen

Robert The Devil's Advocate www.pafc.co.uk

Sweet Peas and beetles
 

Thanks Robert

You're right, they are oil seed rape beetles as far as I can tell. I
'googled' the phrase and found them described on the RHS website. I'm sure
that's them, so it seems I'm stuck with them. I will need to cut the
flowers and put them somewhere to migrate away from the vase and towards the
light for a few hours before taking them into the house - it sounds a bit
tedious, so I'll probably just leave them in the garden. Trouble is, if I
don't cut them for the house I'll probably forget to take the dead flowers
off and they'll stop flowering.

It seems I can look forward to them coming back next year :-(

Regards, Aileen

"The Devil's Advocate" wrote in
message ...
They are probably the oil seed rape beetle. I've never had them but have
heard about this on Gardeners' Question Time. I'm afraid I can't remember
the remedy. I think it was to grow something yellow and they'll go to that
instead of your sweet peas

Aileen Howard wrote:
Help!

I have grown some lovely, scented, sweet peas, but can't bring them
into the house because they are full of tiny black beetles - what
can I do please? I long to fill jugs and vases with them :-(

Regards, Aileen

Robert The Devil's Advocate www.pafc.co.uk