Ruud Kleinpast: Eyes on your pests

Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

A few things to look for in October:

Passionvine Hoppers do a bit of damage from late October/Early November till March-April

These are the problematic insects that are common in the north (and for the past few years, also around Christchurch – they’re spreading South!

Adult passionvine hoppers plus one nearly-mature fluffybum

Most of the damage is cased when the bugs are growing bigger and older (later in spring); by then these insects can jump away from insecticides applied; they clever enough to avoid being immersed.

CONTROL and PREVENTION:

Keep an eye on the new fluffy bums hatching in your garden right now!!! Those tiny nymphs often congregate in large flocks at the ends of new growth; they are still very feeble in their movement and won’t be able to escape a cloud of fly-spray aimed at them on a wind-still morning

Spray these young Passionvine Hoppers in October with a good dose of fly-spray; your only chance to hit them before they become troublesome.

Slugs and Snails are a real pest in the garden at this time of the year; moisture and new plant growth encourages them

Control measures that work:

• Weed control will expose them to predators (thrushes)
• Using Bait pellets in a pottle, dug into soil: take-away container with lid on and bait inside; holes cut in the side of the container let slugs and snails in; but not dogs and cats
• Alternative version is to use some off-cuts (15-30 cm long) of plastic waste-pipe, diameter 50 to 75 mm, which allows access to slugs and snails, but not to birds. Put some bait in the pipes and anchor them down with a heavy brick

• Encourage Carabid beetles (Ground beetles): they often feed on slugs and snail juveniles and eggs

Slug and Snail bait station

And then there are Mites, especially Two-Spotted SPIDER MITES

Tiny, eight-legged ACARI that love to suck the fluids out of the leaves of your plants in spring, summer and autumn.

Tetranychus urticae is a cosmopolitan species of mite that causes heaps of damage. Control is not very difficult: there are some good miticides (note: miticides, not insecticides) on the market that will deal to most outbreaks. However, mites are known for becoming quite tolerant of chemical compounds.

Mineral oils and the so-called fatty acids are also effective on spidermites, as is a couple of repeat sprays of Neem oil.

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