BT or DE ?

Something is nibbling on my bok choy , and I've seen grasshoppers . Not certain that they're to blame , but ... which will work better for grasshoppers ? Other pests that I've seen on these plants before are like a very small beetle-type bug , hopefully one of these will help with those too . Chemicals are problematic , I'm trying to avoid any chem based insecticides because of our bees .

Reply to
Terry Coombs
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Hmm , I've got 30 marigolds in 4" pots that need homes ... I've been trying to decide where they should go . For sure some will go in alongside the bok choy . Also want to put some around the roses , scatter the rest around the garden . I shoulda planted twice that number ... I've pretty much quit using insecticides of any kind , and have seen an upsurge of insect activity - some good , some bad . I've also seen a lot more lizards around the last couple of years ...

Reply to
Terry Coombs

you may want to be sure of the critter you are after before deploying defenses. can you check the plants after dark or at other times of the day to see if you can find the insect that is doing the damage?

i hand pick grasshoppers off the garden plants once in a while, but the birds get more of them.

songbird

Reply to
songbird

In sunlight look very closely particularly under leaves, along stems and down in the centre. Run your fingers over leaf surfaces. One candidate is cabbage butterfly larvae, they can be very well camouflaged indeed, especially if small. If your closeup eyesight isn't good use reading glasses or a magnifier. If nothing then go out at night with a light after the dew has fallen or after you have watered. There is no point in doing anything until you identify the eater. For example if it is slugs or snails BT will do nothing whatsoever as it is specific to insect larvae.

Reply to
David Hare-Scott

have you seen the small white butterflies around yet?

the eggs are not too hard to see if they are being laid on the undersides of the leaves.

the larvae are very sneaky on the cabbage plants, it seems like they hide down along the stems when the day gets sunny. might have better luck finding them early in the morning. their massive piles of droppings can give them away.

if you have wasps about, don't kill them, they will help control cabbage butterfly larvae.

songbird

Reply to
songbird

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