Damn do i want some of those wasps!! Just a small bit of satisfaction knowing the harmful bugs are going to get impregnated by a predatory wasp via Aliens style impregnation!!
So as for predatory solution or garden friendly pesticides i am going to leave that to you and other eradication experts. Though i deal with some bothersome bugs, i think my constant high wind location keeps populations to a minimum.
Do you guys find that often some strains are far worse with bugs than others?
Bloody Skunk this season had quite a share of aphids, but yet i did spot a single aphid on the cream mandarin which was directly beside the Bloody Skunk.
It's a fitting end to those fekkers! This is a common single living type wasp/hornet MO; the sting paralyzes in some cases (caterpillars, spiders), the wasp flies them back to the nest and get sealed in like a tomb,..larvae hatch and start dining,..
... others just kinda dive-bomb in, nail them with an injected egg and fly off,... living death soon begins,...
.... I'll think on the pesti's some, and what/where to do with them,...
-wind! I know that's helpful for sure,...my place is very still, so even weak fliers like the aphids can cruise right on in!
... no doubt GS, they favor certain plants,... I don't know why, but i also noticed they will hammer harder on stressed/sick plants.. that Fairybreath that has the persistent Zn defc. last year was gang-banged by the bastards, while her pot-mate sister had far fewer on her,..... Speaking of which, here's a pic of my little fuckers-
...I'll try for better, but this camera isn't great for macro-shots,... I did find a really cool spider feeding on one as well!
>>> Nudger'-- the mantis family is a freak show for body morphology, adopting leaf shape/patterns, stick/stems, flowers (Orchid mantis is amazing), other bizarre forms
... they can be tiny, on up to about 6",... these have been seen taking humming birds, small rodents, lizards, anything they think they can take! ...fearless predators,...
>>>
Bud'-UK --
kill! kill! KILL-
... holy crap, you're getting the buffet crowd now!
..... I think those are more aphids,... they have huge diversity in color and shape, and lots of near relatives that look similar,... most won't deal with the trichomes, but a few species will,.. I've had to toss parts of plants away because the disgusting fuckers will become surrounded by the growing bud itself, locked in basically, and there they still feed, fuck, molt and shit all over each other!
pull that hot mess apart, and it's enough to gag ya if you hazard a closer look!
,.... how did your spray work? be very careful my friend, if it get too concentrated, it can fry the foliage too,.. and anything strongly aromatic may taint the bud as well,... including a mild soap, like castille , or better yet, a wetting agent made for agriculture applications will help cut through their natural water repellency and coat them far better, (Coco-Wet is my go-to product)... In bud, anything sprayed is something of an issue, residues and all that,.. My preference for late bug killing is a spinosad product, low residues and odor,... will break down in sunlight fairly fast,..water soluble,... it's a contact poison to them a neurotoxin derived from an obscure bacterium,... don't let the term neurotoxin put you off,.... pyrethrum is too, and it's derived from chrysanthemums,...