And the battle begins

[desertdan]

I am trying the sacrificial rout, they seem to like corn better and they love sunflowers.

[Rwise]

What about plants that repel these critters? Such as lavender planted all around the area, and maybe sacrificial plants in other areas.

[Larry1]

Sounds like damn if you do damn if you don't. Damn :-( good luck

[desertdan]

Nematodes are very expensive. The problem with them is when there are not enough R.A. the nematodes starve and when there are enough to feed them then the R.A. out reproduce them. Horribly frustrating devils.

[Larry1]

I'm definitely glad I grow indoors where my environment is more controlled. Outdoors sounds rough. Again good luck. And you know what Bob Marley said" the harder the battle the sweeter the victory"

[Catfish22]

I sense your frustration friend. It seems like you have experience on your side though.
At least you know what doesn't work!

[Larry1]

You can try nematodes but they're expensive. Water them into your soil and any eggs or gnats that are down in the soil will get eaten. I've heard of people putting 2in of aquarium rocks or send on top of their soil so the Nats can't get down into the soil. Never tried it. Again good luck

[desertdan]

I have tried, DTE, sand, peroxide,mosquito bits, sulfer little or no effect.Praying mantis, lady bug, green lacewing, ant lion, wasps, and spiders have been helpful but not enough. Best results so far is fungus and soil bacteria. Pf-97 most effective so far. Have not yet tried Met 57 or OG Biowar.

[desertdan]

DTE does not work on these R.A. I tried mix of 60% sand 25% DTE and they loved crawling through it with ease.

[Catfish22]

Diatomaceous earth helps also, you can spread it around under the plants and the area around them. It takes a bit for it to show results but it will last for awhile. Kinda like little booby traps in your war!
It can be used as a foliar spray also but I'm not sure of the dosage.

[SoOrbudgal]

My heart goes out to you and all farmers

[desertdan]

Thank you for your encouragement. I appreciate your understanding of my situation. Most have no idea what I am dealing with. I should have said the war begins because it is battles in a summer long war. Last tear I was losing at the beginning but I kept on fighting and was winning at the end and got a good crop. I did not kill them all but I got a good crop and that's what it is all about. Two years ago I lost the war and the crop. that was the first year I knew what I was dealing with and killed most of the plants trying to kill the bugs. So, the war begins again and so does the learning.

[SoOrbudgal]

Kill them all ( wishful thinking ) this ain't no weak man's work. Those newbie wannabe big idea growers had best be paying attention to there areas. Wait and see we'll get some quick buck growers thinking it's easy come in here and ask " what are these why do i have these " farmers have the hardest job on the planet next to commerical fishing it makes or breaks you in 1 season. Good luck desertdan this is a full time job for months and months.

[desertdan]

From my experience baking soda would be a waste of valuable time. I can afford the bio control so I will go with that. PF-97 worked well as control last year.

[Rwise]

I might try this on young plants
{quote]
Does baking soda kill aphids?


This non-toxic pesticide will kill insects harmful to plants, like aphids, without damaging the environment. Mix one tablespoon of bicarb soda, ½ tablespoon of oil and two litres of water. Spray on plants every few day until problem insects disappear




[/quote]