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Please, what can get rid of fla*ing red lily beetle ?

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  • There comes a point when one has to say enough is enough, I have a nice Hosta/Fern and shady plant border and other than giving up it had to be chemicals, so now it is the lot, blue pellets, spray, ground glass, copper wire, salt - anything. This border is for my satisfaction and enjoyment, it wasn't cheap and it is the first thing I see when I open the top of my stable door (and make the house look like a cattle truck LOL)

    Don't get me wrong I think Organic is the way forward but eventually you will draw a line in the sand and say enough is enough - I will stand for minor damage but when it gets to wholesale munching they get zapped. That to me is nature in balance!
    The quicker you fall behind, the longer you have to catch up...
  • CFC
    CFC Posts: 3,119 Forumite
    Two years ago I had the little blighters and they ate all my lilies.

    I left it last year and didn't replant, this year I have planted about 10. No sign of the little red horrors yet, but if they turn up they're going to get nuked....

    Organic is great, BUT -
    Washing up liquid on aphids? You're just giving them a nice bath as far as they're concerned!
    Slugs and snails? Next door neighbours don't garden, so they breed the blighters...pellets it is for me, hidden so the slugs won't die in full view of a bird who might eat them.

    I'm a reluctant user of WMD!
  • cat4772
    cat4772 Posts: 2,467 Forumite
    OMG, I found a red thing on my lillies yesterday and wondered what the heck it was. Had asked my dad (keen gardener) to come round tonight to tell me, but I *think* I've figured it out! Off to Wilkos to buy bug killer - my lillies are in pots well away from the rest of the vegetables so I'll give in on this occasion to WMD! For next year, should I replace the compost etc or will they be living in the bulb?
    DFW Nerd Club #545 Dealing With Our Debt
    :onever attribute anything to malice which can be adequately explained by stupidity, [paranoia or ignorance] - ZTD&[cat]
    :othe thing about unwritten laws is that everyone has to agree to them before they can work - *louise*

    March GC £113.53 / £325
  • Hi Cat

    I'm no expert, but from when I first posted, the most informative sites for me were as above
    http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0500/beetle.asp
    and
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/advice/pests_and_diseases/

    I really wouldn't nuke if possible, but in my case just had to.
    I bought a "bug gun" and watched the red horrors go to bug hell.
    I think the trick is to kill the larvae in the soil. Whether I was successful remains to be seen. However haven't seen anything since my nuking moment.

    Another website that sells "natural" pest control remedies is
    http://sundries.thompson-morgan.com/list/pest-control?OC=7611
    but imho pricey.

    Hope some of the info is of help.

    Lee
  • BASIL
    BASIL Posts: 336 Forumite
    CFC wrote: »
    Washing up liquid on aphids? You're just giving them a nice bath as far as they're concerned!
    !

    what else can i use then - i didnt think it was working! - found them also on my courgette plants - didnt think theyd go for that but i was wrong! - :mad: thompson and morgan sell something but its £20......
    x
    '' it'll take time to restore chaos...'' G W Bush
  • CVID
    CVID Posts: 311 Forumite
    Don't know whether this is the last word on the subject but the RHS say they get more enquiries about this than on any other topic!

    They don't seem to be very hopeful about most of the main chemical cures and talk instead about macro remedies like keeping a daily watch from the moment green shoots appear from the bulbs, physically picking off and crushing!

    Personally, I've found them to be such a nuisance that I'm going to give my garden a rest from lilies for a few years and treat them strictly as houseplants during that time. Maybe that'll do the trick... providing I can get the neighbours to do likewise!
  • flashman_62
    flashman_62 Posts: 62 Forumite
    Found two beetles yday in our pot grown lilies - removed and stamped on. Removed all eaten leaves and put into the brown bin and then checked under all leaves. The eggs are red so just squished them. What looks like bird poop is the larvae which I wiped off with a wet kitchen towel before again disposing of in brown bin.

    Had the lilies for for about 4 years and this year we never changed the compost...aw !!!!!!!
  • Anthillmob
    Anthillmob Posts: 11,780 Forumite
    glad i found this thread. we have one that we have seen so far. had to search 'whats that bug' and google for the answer.

    new lillies broght as grown but not flowering planted in a container 2 weeks ago.

    any more tips given this thread is a year old.

    thanks
    There's someone in my head, but it's not me
  • Larumbelle
    Larumbelle Posts: 2,140 Forumite
    There are few organic solutions, I'm afraid. You should be checking for both the adult beetle and for it's red eggs on the undersides of the leaves (you can remove them with soapy water) and for the larvae, which may be harder to spot.

    Infestations can be treated with neem oil if you don't want to nuke gardeners' friends. Especially as the only known native predators are two types of fairly-uncommon wasp. Bayer rose and flower careinsect spray has also been reported as being successful, and though I'd hesitate to call it 'organic' it is more selective than other chemical solutions.
  • I stood my plant in a pot next to a big bowl of soapy water and then sprayed the plant with a hose pipe, managed to get lots of the little b****rs in the water then stood the plant in the bowl and gave it another spray, hopefully that will slow them down as they have stripped two lillies bear since the weekend.
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