On Wed, 17 Mar 2004 15:04:46 +0000, this pearl of wisdom arrived from
Jan :

Awful to hear about the demise of lovely bees this way. We have about
half an acre where we grow vegetables and have about 15 fruit trees etc.
The only things we use are seaweed solution and comfrey tea for
nutrients and some pests don't like the smell (neither do I but...).
I did experiment with rhubarb tea but heard that was now illegal.
Companion planting seems to work - lots of garlic, nasturtiums and
marigolds. We look after the frogs/toads, hedgehogs, birds & nice
insects and they seem to keep nasty things at bay - plus a few slug
traps using yeast.
All this in London!
Wood lice are my only bete noire at the moment - so any help there would
be appreciated.
Good luck with the bees.

Thankyou for your useful contribution.

Pearson

On Wed, 17 Mar 2004 18:28:34 +0000, this pearl of wisdom arrived from
John Rouse :

In article , Alan Gould
writes
In this area, beekeepers are forewarned of aerial crop spraying where
any substances which may harm bees are to be used. I understand that a
similar arrangement can be introduced in any area where beekeepers
request it, though I don't know how such a request is made.

Under the new regulations, one of the questions on the form the farmer
has to fill in prior to spraying is the name and address of the local
spray liaison officer. Luckily our Beekeeping Association has a very
keen spray liaison officer, though he has not had a lot to do these last
few years, as most farmers are happy to spray in the evening, as there
is usually less wind then.

John

The chemical in question is systemic. That means it remains in the
plant tissues for some time and is passed out via nectar and pollen
long after the spraying has taken place. That is why so many of us are
concerned about it.

Pearson

On Wed, 17 Mar 2004 15:04:46 +0000, this pearl of wisdom arrived from
Jan :

Awful to hear about the demise of lovely bees this way. We have about
half an acre where we grow vegetables and have about 15 fruit trees etc.
The only things we use are seaweed solution and comfrey tea for
nutrients and some pests don't like the smell (neither do I but...).
I did experiment with rhubarb tea but heard that was now illegal.
Companion planting seems to work - lots of garlic, nasturtiums and
marigolds. We look after the frogs/toads, hedgehogs, birds & nice
insects and they seem to keep nasty things at bay - plus a few slug
traps using yeast.
All this in London!
Wood lice are my only bete noire at the moment - so any help there would
be appreciated.
Good luck with the bees.

Thankyou for your useful contribution.

Pearson

In article , Pearson Reid wrote:
[of wishing to kill pests but not bees]

Wandering past from across the ditch g but .. we have trouble
keeping enough bees around in this part of the Southern California
desert to pollinate fruit and such, so I try not to kill them off
(there is one weak hive here somewhere that I wish I could find so I
could feed it without feeding every ant for miles around -- BTW I used
to work for a professional beekeeper). Anyway, have found that using
soap-based sprays works well against pests but doesn't seem to bother
the bees or the equally useful hunter wasps. It also makes tomatoes go
berserk, grow vines 12+ feet long, and produce bushels of fruit

~REZ~

"Alan Gould" wrote in message
...
In article , Pearson Reid
writes
may I seek information from you on
environmentally friendly alternatives which you have used to control
pests.

In this area, beekeepers are forewarned of aerial crop spraying where
any substances which may harm bees are to be used. I understand that a
similar arrangement can be introduced in any area where beekeepers
request it, though I don't know how such a request is made.

I am a life-long organic gardener. I don't use commercially manufactured
pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilisers or other environmentally
unfriendly chemicals.

I also happen to be allergic to bee and other insect stings. As they
rarely bother me (2 stings in 25 years), I prefer their contribution to
my gardening to any which poisonous substances could make.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

***************************
Crop-spraying?, Tsk, tsk.!.
Who's going to pay for that lot?.
Even using one sprayer it's no use nipping down to the local petrolpump,
two-gallon can in hand.
And then there's the kite ("Aircraft" to non-ex-Brylcreem boys), then
there's the Peelow to pay and they also don't come cheap.
P.S. Re the stings. has thee thought've staying off't cider for a bit and
see if that stops 'em bitin'?, - or is that too much of a sacrifice?
(Tee-Hee!).
Doug, - Furness peninsular. Sth. Cumbria.

***************************

"Jan" wrote in message
...
Awful to hear about the demise of lovely bees this way. We have about
half an acre where we grow vegetables and have about 15 fruit trees etc.
The only things we use are seaweed solution and comfrey tea for
nutrients and some pests don't like the smell (neither do I but...).
I did experiment with rhubarb tea but heard that was now illegal.
Companion planting seems to work - lots of garlic, nasturtiums and
marigolds. We look after the frogs/toads, hedgehogs, birds & nice
insects and they seem to keep nasty things at bay - plus a few slug
traps using yeast.
All this in London!
Wood lice are my only bete noire at the moment - so any help there would
be appreciated.
Good luck with the bees.
--
Jan
****************************
Talking of toads. I have a quite small pond carrying seven goldfish and
they flourish whether I feed them or not, so I feed them spasmodically. One
fish
uses the smaller part of the pond so I think it might be a female. - but I
have seen no breeding going on.
The pond is fifteen years old and is a stagnant pond aerated with those long
furry-type weed plants. Three waterlilies abide in it.
It is a living entity and even has insects and small leeches in residence. I
don't know just where are getting their blood from but I make sure it is not
mine.
I occasionally give it a freshen up with a hose pipe of tap water which
seems to do no harm; at this operation I net out some filth from the bottom
with a kiddies hand net.
To come to the point. Ten years ago and for the ensuing three years I
seeded it with toad and frog taddies from local ponds. They flourished but
gradually the frogs failed to return to spawn.
The toads did well and matured to full four legged status and each year they
all came, spawned and then disappeared from the pond, matured, went a.w.o.l.
within one day as though at a given signal and were reported to be in
neighbouring gardens for a few weeks..
I have never seen a slug in my garden for eight years and even the snail
population is much reduced.
I have taken the trouble to write the above because this year there are no
spawn clumps in the pond, and no taddies. I don't think there are enough
leeches to attack the toads. Do toads have blood?. Then again, what *are*
those leeches living off?. - the seven fish?. (all the fish are about six
inches in length). they seem to be bursting with health and have no marks
on them.
Anybody know about this problem?.
Doug

"Douglas" wrote in message
...

"Alan Gould" wrote in message
...
In article , Pearson Reid
writes
may I seek information from you on
environmentally friendly alternatives which you have used to control
pests.

FWIW we started using Bug-Gone last year, which is a systemic pest control.
It zaps the bugs that munch the plants or suck their sap. No effect on bees
etc.
It appeared to be extremely effective.