Natural Pest Control

I noticed that some of my Poppy seed head had an infestation of Black Aphids. Since this year I decided to garden without commercial insecticides I've been rounding up th ladybugs in my garden and moving them to plants that had insect infestations. Here I moved a ladybug so it could eat the black aphids I found so I wouldn't have to resort to a bug spray. This video will accompany a blog entry on this subject along with before and after photos.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• MrBrownThumb
• Black Aphids
• Insects
• Organic
• Chicago
• Urban Gardening
• lady bug
• beneficial insects
• natural gardening
• gardening without chemicals
• poppy plants
• poppy seeds
• poppy
• lady beetle
• pest control
• natural pest control
• garden bugs

[ontariobuds]

are those black aphids? I get those same little fuckers on my poppies, mass amounts on the undersides of the leaves and then eventually show up on the pod. they are hard to get off by blowing on them, they either bite on or just stick there.

so do I need to place one on there or just throw a box of lady bugs in my garden? I'd be worried they just fly away and not focus on my poppies

[MrBrownThumb]

@ontariobuds Yes, they are black aphids. Ideally what you want to do is create a hospitable environment for lady bugs so they're constantly patrolling your garden and plants. What I do when I have an aphid problem and I spot a ladybug on the garden is just pick it up and transport it to where the aphids are. If I see them patrolling plants that don't have aphids, I'll just move them over to those plants.

[signupsigma]

I hope they eat termites too.



[MrBrownThumb]

@signupsigma Hmmm, now that would be a fight I'd love to see. Ladybugs versus termites.

[LgGerminator]

how long do opium poppy seeds take to germinate, I've been waitingfor almos a month!

[MrBrownThumb]

@LgGerminator I usually sow my seeds in the winter around February. Poppies do well being exposed to cool and wet period before germinating. You can sow them in the spring, but I find that sowing during winter works best.

[PhoneLad]

dude r u groiwing opium

[1166925]

get off his pod you son of a bitch

[df4b1370]

This ladybug must be a drug dealer T_T

[MariaT1120]

no wonder there's so many lady bugs on my cherry tree ... :P

[Tenatiouz]

Nice man, got a heroin factory going on here!!!

[MrCali925]

0:28 O so Goooood!

[hallmarcus72]

This seems like a good alternative. I'm looking all over for tips on getting rid of slugs that destroy my lettuce. I found a funny commercial about them watch?v=cMssG-66oTE

[vidaripollen]

@signupsigma there are certain underground dwelling frogs who eat termites.

[TheBrewchief]

@MrBrownThumb Damn, are those all aphids on the pod, the black under the flower? BTW I read your blog page w/ this video, and I thought it was worth mentioning that if you have an aphid problem and a shortage of ladybugs, you can actually buy a bag of 100 ladybugs at some feed stores for just a few bucks. I have set them loose in my garden before, and honestly it's just as enjoyable watching the hordes of littler ladybuggers as it is knowing they are going to clean shop in my organic garden.