I have red lily beetles on my lilies in the back yard and sun garden, though they do no appear to have made their way into the front garden and my six foot tall 'lily trees'.
It looks like these lilies that came with my house will be orange, a colour I am happy with and will fight to preserve.
While the beetle itself is just a beetle and therefore not too disgusting, it lays its eggs in its own excrement which is the disgusting part.
Here you can see them clinging to the underside of the plant and you can see where entire leaves are missing.
Since there are not pesticides that target only the lily beetle and leave the beneficial insects I pick them by hand, the same way I tackled my slug problem in my shady Toronto gardens.
I told you it was disgusting.
I dread the day they make it this far west. Lilies are a favorite of mine and there is no way I would be able to hand pick from hundreds of plants... Larry
ReplyDeleteAh yes, I have seen the gorgeous pics, you DO have lots of lilies. Let's hope global warming ends and they recede...
DeleteI pick off bugs by hand too. I don't need to be exposed to chemicals especially after my recent cancer... I hope you can save the flowers Derek....Michelle
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be doing well, lots of flowers.
DeleteHi Derek, Sluggo is an organic snail bait and works really well. Also, horticultural diatomaceous earth is organic and helps keep other pests out of your garden. Your lilies are beautiful! Lynda
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips Lynda!
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