Yeah, we got bugs in Florida

Just why is it a brown roach makes ya want to run for the hills, and these green ones I might could stomach just a tad better, maybe.....

A non-outdoorsy, non-gardening friend was over the other day & commented on the "pretty grasshopper" sitting on my plant. Of course I pushed her aside to get to it yelling "kill the ^$*&". Then had to educate her about lubbers. And neither of us had hard soled shoes on so it was a task to squish the beast.

Here are pics of our "pet" golden silk spider

wow, the web is a natural work of art! the spider is gross though!

I have been attacked, ambushed, and traumatized by roaches the past few days. I don't know what to do but request an early pest control sweep.

and all of this month the whole first floor has been crawling with earwigs. they are easy to kill and don't fight but still creepy.

YUK!!!! I' m fine with bugs outside but the ones that make their way in creep me out!!!! Just going in & out a few flying critters tend to come in. I'd let some geckos in if the cat would promise not to kill them.

Late to this thread but wondering why someone hasn't tried beneficial nematodes for those insects (grasshoppers, pupating roaches and other soil borne eggs/pests) that you believe are actually coming into existence from your yard. The nematodes don't affect earthworms or other "beneficial" soil organisms and won't work well on those multi-legged critters that are already above ground level (instars to adults that have already emerged) but overall, a safe alternative to even the most innocuous sprays, poisons, and potions that you may try. Safe for kids, pets, birds, amphibians, fish and nearly everything else that isn't a ground dwelling insect.
Another good thing is that the nematodes are only active when they have something to eat, otherwise, they will typically go dormant until the next food source comes along or certain climatic conditions occur which might kill them, prolonged drought being one of those.

I never knew there were such things as benificial ones. I certainly will check into it tho. Right now Im over run with sod webworm moths.

There is nothing out there that will touch one of these lubbers, once they are grown. Now, once we squish them, the ants come & feast for days!!!! I've squished 5 in the last 2 days.

Yep, all sorts of beneficial nemetodes out there. There are thousands of types of them & quite a few are the "good" ones.

Aren't products with 'Spinosad' (sp.) supposed to be relatively harmless to critters other than the intended targets? I don't use a lot of insecticide but from my limited research when the product first appeared several years ago, it seemed to be touted as a biological rather than chemical solution and was supposed to be relatively fast acting.

(*Just throwing out ideas here so please don't take offence. On the other hand, we have Mockingbirds here that will chase, attack, and eat almost anything bug-like that isn't bigger than they are)
Steve

got to love those mockingbirds don't ya Steve....LOL

Well I got back from vacation and found I'm getting infested with mealy bugs. Spent all morning working on them. Had to just cut some things back, a salvia seems to be the culprit that started them.

We were over at Rainbow River in Dunnellon, FL, and those lubbers were all over the place, creepy things. My dog was going crazy chasing them. Glad I don't have those in my garden.

I found this site when looking up how to get rid of mealybugs:

http://www.arbico-organics.com/category/organic-pest-control/1

They have the Beneficial Nematodes

Don't be surprised if those lubbers didn't hitch a ride home under your camper or in some equipment. They are very destructive. I have had 2 on my plumeria and finally got them with a scissors but they had eaten several leafs.

I'm glad I don't have lubbers. I was wondering if anyone else has been seeing huge roaches recently...they give me nightmares, the American Cockroach, the one that can fly, travel at light speed and touch you with 10 ft long antenna...

I never saw them around here and now I find one or two a week in my garage! If they get inside, I'm evacuating. Being from New York, I've had enough of roaches!

Coastal those palmetto bugs are always abundant this time of year, especially if we're having lots of rain. They come into my garage, but die soon. I use a do-it-yourself pest control called, Demon®. It is safe for kids, pets and odorless. I've used it for years and only have to go around and spray about every 6 months or longer.

Bonnie I actually thought about that with those lubbers. The ants were really bad and I go around my camper when ever we first park and spray the jacks and around the wheels, so to keep things like that from crawling into my camper. One time in August we were at the beach and the palmetto bugs were a nightmare, they had installed a new dock and we think it was attracting them. Our camper had them in the under bins and some even got inside. I sprayed the camper and all the bins when we got home real good. We found about ten dead roaches in the camper the next time we went out, so it worked.

Ugh...I sure hate all the bugs we have in Florida. I can stay organic in my garden and deal with them there, but when they are in my house...it is WAR time. :-)


This message was edited Sep 23, 2013 10:03 AM

I've never heard of that insecticide, but I'll look at it. It sounds a lot better than Raid, which I still haven't gotten around to using. In NY, we used the Combat gels and baits most of the time, which were smelly or just dirty but worked. The Raid fogger/fumigator was a last resort.

I agree, it does mean war, but I'll be sure to sleep somewhere else until the battle is won!

I don't have a problem with roaches or palmetto bugs outside in my yard...as long as they stay out there.

I found some mealy bugs in one of my flower gardens on 2 plants...salvia and ROS hibiscus this past weekend. It didn't look like too bad of an infestation, so I picked them off by hand and sprayed with dirty, soapy dishwater. We have had rain almost all day for the last 3 days and I am curious to see if they came back.

Here in Florida, when treating for bugs or fungal infections on plants...the rain can get in the way. I have a plumeria that is starting to show signs of rust that I have not had the chance to spray because of the heavy amounts of rain.

I am bummed that the mealy bugs was such a bad infestation on my purple majesty salvia, I just had to cut it all back they were that bad. It is my fault for not paying attention in the first place...I usually do much better. My red firespikes were close by and they were all over two of the blooms so bad I just cut them off also. I was able to clean most off the other blooms and then sprayed, but it has been raining since.
I hate to cut both those plants back since they are food for the hummers.

I only see palmetto bugs/roaches in my flower pot pile when I go to get a pot out, they always scurry around when I'm rummaging through the pots. But the lizards are close by waiting for them.

Hopefully both of your mealy bugs are gone. The rain is so tiring, especially now that I can only watch my efforts to save my mango go down the drain.

I only notice the lizards eating ants and tiny things in my yard. The roaches really aren't that noticeable anywhere in my yard, I just hate them coming in the garage.

Aside from roaches, I think I give up on ants. Normally I'm ok with them showing up because I just sprinkle the fire ant killer and leave them to die. But this time my bite/sting got infected thanks to me deciding NOT to drain the blister (sorry to complain and for the nasty details)...it's so scary to think the infection might just leave my foot hurting and gross.

I spray fire ant bites with amonia to stop the pain. After they quit hurting I just scratch the blister off and put neosporan ointment on them.
Amonia also discourages the ants that have mounded.
Bonnie

Had a break in the rain yesterday and checked the rain guage (2.5 inches in a day) and then checked on the mealy bugs. Gone from the ROS Hibiscus, but still a few around on one of my salvias. I have 5 different kinds of salvia and they only seem to be bothering one.

The mealys do seem to like the salvias, especially my Wendy's wish. I went out and checked and couldn't find any except on the underside of my yellow shrimp plant. I made my own soapy solutions and squish most of them with my fingers. Today sunny all day. Yeah.


I got some nasty ant bites this year too, more than the normal. There is one kind I get bit by that gives me huge welts for a couple days.

Yep, the one they seem to be on was labeled Wendy's Wish, although the blooms are purple and not the typical pink color.

coastal..... I hear ya on the palmetto bugs..... the worse thing about living in FL. Although, since we moved a 100 miles north (we are directly west of Orlando now) I've not been seeing any like down in Bradenton.

Don't use a lot of mulch, as they love that for hiding in.

Jan

Rake the mulch a foot away from your home and cut down on palmetto and other critters.
I have 10" curly tailed lizards and several breeds of Anole'. Fire ants are bad here and I can't plant in the ground so the moles don't bother me. Many trails in the dirt here.
Afraid to brag lest I tempt fate.
Sidney

The ant bite reaction seem to vary depending on the type of fire ant, to me. I didn't know they cross bred, but they do.

I noticed a few mealy bugs on my hibiscuses, one of them has weird brownish spots/patches under the leaves. I'm not sure what that is, but it's still healthier than the others.

Thanks Jan & Sidney, I sometimes need reassuring that I'm not ruining my yard with the lack of mulch. The weeds are much easier to look at than the bugs anyway.

I did find a few small reptile eggs that I guess are lizards. Nothing crawled up from the nest spot yet.



This message was edited Sep 30, 2013 1:09 AM

For years I have had mulch up against my house and no palmetto bugs yet and only a roach inside of the house once in a great while and we don't spray a thing inside.
Go figure. My husb. says he can't take any smells but if I get any I know a spray you get at Ace Hdw. that does not smell. It's called High Kill. I'd do it when he wasn't home for a couple of hours if I needed to. Couldn't stand bugs in the house. Now he has a cat that kills roaches. I find them on carport usually. Upside down so thats good. Doesn't eat them guess she plays with them to death. Good cat now if she would just keep rabbits away I'd be so thankful.

Happy gardening all, Bonnie

The Demon has no odor either.

I only get roaches in my porch, they come in under a gap in the door. The cats have fun playing with them, they'll all sit in a circle around the bug and watch it for hours until it dies. Gives the poor cats some excitement, since they're indoor cats.

I think I've taken care of all the mealy bugs for now. But I keep checking for them....especially on those salvias.

I just stomped 5 lubbers to their death. 4 females. Hope I got them before they laid their eggs.