Help with pest control

[mary t]

I Have recently discovered a little bugger by the name of afids all over willies hibiscus trees. I'm sure they have been around before but now that I check everything Willie eats I have found them.. Anybody have a way to get rid of them that will not hurt Willie. I tried a " natural way" by ordering 1500 ladybugs.. They were very pretty as they all flew away!

 

[wellington]

OMG LMAO sorry, I couldn't help it, so funny, I could see them all flying away, I just can't stop laughing. Sorry, I don't have any help for you. Hopefully someone will

 

[MikeCow1]

Are you sure they're aphid? Hibiscus host whiteflies which are a pain to get rid of

 

[Tom]

I can't remember who, but another member told us about earthworm castings. Apparently there is a chemical in earthworm castings that the hibiscus plants incorporate as a defense against the whiteflies or aphids. I haven't tried it, but I did look it up and it apparently works. If you google it there are instructions for how much to use and how to apply it.

 

[Livingstone]

Diomataceous earth is worth a shot.

 

[chaloman]

If you have whiteflies you can try to spray a mix of water and soap , lots of soap , these will make their wings sticky and they will not be able to fly, if this doesnt work you can try neem oils pesticedes these work for boths whiteflies and aphids, for beneficial insects its better to buy the eggs instead of the adult insects , the larvae of the ladybugs its a great aphid predator the adult its actually more interested in reproduction then eating aphids, you probably wont find ladybugs eggs so you can use the insect called Chrysoperla sp, they do sell eggs and the larvae its also a great predator, here you can find both neem oil pesticides and chrysoperla eggs.

http://www.arbico-organics.com/prod...reen-Lacewings-chrysoperla-beneficial-insects
http://www.arbico-organics.com/category/neem-oil-insecticides

If you go for the chrysoperla tell them how is the weather where you live, extreme high temperature will not work for some benificial insects.
Organic method can take some time to work but are safer then the systematic or contact pesticides.

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I can't remember who, but another member told us about earthworm castings. Apparently there is a chemical in earthworm castings that the hibiscus plants incorporate as a defense against the whiteflies or aphids. I haven't tried it, but I did look it up and it apparently works. If you google it there are instructions for how much to use and how to apply it.

I think Earthworm castings is more a soil builder ( one of the best after guano ) then pest control, there are some products that will do what you say, i have try it with some plants but its really dificult to make it hapend because by the time the plant has built defenses the insects have done way too much damage, its more a preventive method.

 

[mary t]

Diomataceous earth is worth a shot.

Unfortunately I have tried this for other issues, I didn't care for it.. But thanks to everyone's advice I will look into he other stuff...