Pests: 4 O'Clocks and Japanese Beetles

I've been following this thread and thinking nematodes are the way to go...then I thought, hey, will they kill my caterpillars????? That would be awful. I still want the 'pillars.

They feed on grubs under the ground...Catapillars are safe

bseddon, I'm going to the flower show Sunday! Can't Wait!
yep, we got the mother lode of snow this year- I still have about a foot left from the storm in early January. We got about 3 feet that time.

I have a testimonial to back up the use of nematodes and milky spores to battle japaneese beetles and grubs. I discovered these products via Planetnatural 5-6 years ago. I had grub worms destroy my entire front lawn and I had moles everywhere. I tried every poison known to man in an effort to kill the grubs. I then found out that the only reason I had moles was due to the high number of grubworms. I bought the nematodes and milky spores and THEY ARE ALL GONE. Hardly a junebug to be found, no grubs, moles and I have more earthworms than ever. I have had the chance to expirament with both of nematode products scanmask and hetromask. I now was able to rid my lawn of fleas so my dogs and I are happier. I've used those for immediate killing and milky spores for long term use. Planet natural only sells scanmask but if you read the label, you'll find the maker of scanmask. Search the maker of scanmask's sight to find heteromask and a list of all the pests each product is best for. I've no done 6 different people's yards with these products together and 3 with just milky spores. The results were identicle for grubworms and japaneese beetles, they're just gone. I on a rare occasion will find 1 or 2 grubworms when doing some serious digging but never enough of them to do any damage. I now look at the occasional grub as enough food to keep my milky spore number's up so they don't go dormant completely. Now my nextdoor nieghbor's now longer have grub problems thanks to me and my milky spores spreading under the fence. It is so nice to sit outside on summer nights w/o junebug's flying everywhere and no more lawn or garden damage.
My advice as to which product to use and when. If it's fall, only use milkyspores as that will provide just enough time before winter for them to get ahold of things. If it's earlier in the season and you have a serious grub or beetle problem, use both products as the scanmask nematodes will start working in a day or so and they should be used for "spot treatment" IMO for patches of your lawn where grubs are killing the grass off faster than you can keep up with. I did the later of the 2 on my cousin's 2 acre's. We did spot treatment in the frontyard as it was like golf course turf and we didn't want to loose anymore of it. then treated everything with milky spores. He also had a serious mole problem to the point people were spraining their ankles walking over the tunnels. The result's. No more damage to the front turf from the nematodes and the grubs were "controlable". Come the next spring, they were never even a thought. No grubs, moles or any problems at all. Now meither of us have had to use flea products on our dogs either. We did have to treat them once after a camping trip where the dogs were exposed to tons of fleas. I forget all the other misc. flying pests that have larvae that live in the soil. I just know that lawn pests and many other flies etc. have all been cut down tremendously. I still have problems with white flies in the fall on my hibiscus bush's, I treat them with beneficial bugs from planet natural in the form of a tiny wasp. I forget the name but they're listed on their site and can also be found in the "Beneficial variety pack" they sell that also includes ladybeetles and praying mantis along with other beneficial bugs. I find now that the only pesticide I use if for a mold I get on my weeping crabapple tree. Everything else is controlled via bugs. Plus it's fun hatching praying mantis to release back into our ecosystem as I rarely see them anymore naturaly due to non selective pesticides IMO. It's a win win IMO. The kids learn alot from playing with lady bugs and releasing my baby praying mantis as well as the other bugs that come in the variety pack. We use magnifying glass's and a microscope to look at the other micro bugs that come in the package as they hatch.
You just can't loose and I'm teaching the younger generation around here how to take care of problem's w/o chems and they get to learn about more of Ma nature's critter's to boot. I'm glad I ran into this post today as it's almost time to order this summer's variety pack so we can release the praying mantis in time for them to mature and mate this season before winter hits.
I don't own stock but please visit www.planetnatural.com if for no other reason than to look and learn a little. They have a bunch of other gizmo's and critter's that are cool to learn about.
Goodluck, JD

Great post olds.

It wont be the first post of yours I have saved . Thanks.

That's the same place I posted above for Scanmask.(nematodes)

My order is in with no S&H charges

whoo- hooo

I was looking for info about 4:00's and i came across this thread i sure am glad.
Thanks for all the great info everyone.
:}
rh

has anyone used predator nematodes "double death", or
thrips Predator mites? I also lost six small luffas as it seems a spider like creature took up residence. I have never had to spray them so it would help to know my enemy.
thanks for any advice.

Hi Guys,

I was just browsing your thread and couldn't stop myself from coming in and saying that where I live, the four o'clocks themselves are a pest. I planted one, three years ago and it took over the entire bed. I even have them popping up in my SA grass! I have dug up all that I can find and I'm daily finding new shoots coming up. I think they're beautiful and want to have them but the only way I can is in a container. They simply become invasive down here. If anyone would like the little bulbs I pull up I will certainly be happy to save for ya'll. Just let me know to start saving the little pretty devils.

maureentag
So when you used sevin your hummingbirds went MIA? MAN!!! I usually have more hummer's than I could hope to count but I've only seen 1 this year and that was 1 month ago. We were having a carpenter ant problem along with mosquito's and ticks so my very diligent father came over and spread sevin EVERYWHERE. It's been very nice not being eaten alive nightly but not at the expense of having no hummingbird's. I also have to wonder if this stuff hasn't killed off all the beneficial insect's I've worked so hard at keeping around.
Can anyone else confirm this? Any idea how long I'll be w/o hummingbird's and is there anything I can do about it?
This is a nightmare that just won't end! It began last year when the entire month of August was cool and wet. that set the stage for molds and mildew's like I've never seen before. Then we had such a mild winter that made conditions ideal for a Spring white fly infestation like I've never seen before either. I could keep on with this list of problems. I've had more garden related pests/problems over the last 12 months than the entire last 12 years with no end in site. I'm going to re-read product labels to see if I missed a warning re: hummingbird's. My wife already suspects this is the problem, if I confirm it...This maybe the last post you ever see from me! LOL
Thanks friends, JD

I had never heard the 4:00 and JB theory before reading this thread today. I grew 4:00's in 2003,2004 and 2005. I didn't grow any this year, because the JB's totally destroyed them each year. For that reason I didn't put in any 4:00's this year. The JB's are worse than ever now.

Well I've been trying to find any info about the effects of "Sevin" on the local wildlife since noticing the hummingbird's won't come to my yard anymore. The very first page I found had a very large and spooky list of known issue's that are a result of this product, I sure wished I would of looked before putting it down. Here is the list:

One Canadian environmental organization in a letter addressed to local citizens cites some of the 'documented' effects of carbaryl.
It causes birth defects in mammals, especially dogs.
It worsens the condition of people with hypertension and people on anti-depressant drugs.
It impairs the function of the pituitary gland, the thyroid gland, and the reproductive system.
It causes hyperactivity and learning disabilities in mammals.
It could increase the chance of heart attack in people with weak hearts.
The main break-down product, nitrosocarbaryl, which is easily created in the human gut, is a potent cancer-causing agent.
It causes irreversible chromosomal damage to human DNA (the genes in our cells).

The addy of this webpage is "http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/facts-slides-self/facts/gen-pubre-sevin.html" if anyone is interested. I find this rather disturbing. If hummingbird's are smart enough to avoid this stuff, I wonder what other kind's of problems are caused that I have yet to notice? It sure has done a number on the ticks and mosquito's that used to populate my yard. I bet it has also killed off every kind of beneficial organisms I've introduced to my property as well as most naturally occuring bugs too. What a drag:(
JD

hi jd,
thanks for the info. i never had bought the stuff, until lily bugs came into the country and into my yard, about 3 years ago now. there was no natural predator for them, and organizations were working on getting wasps to import, test and then release into the environment. meanwhile, if you do not use something as strong as sevin, they will devour your lilies, even to where they are eating them before they come out of the ground. so i bit the bullet and am using the stuff, until there is something else i can use. i know it is killing my good bugs too, but for today, since lilies are my passion, i choose to use this toxic stuff. i hadn't been using a mask, only gloves, but now i will get a mask too, for next year.
thanks jd

Hi debi
I have never heard of lily bugs before. I'm having serious problems with my shade lillies I just planted this spring. They look like they have a fungus or mildew that is resulting in a mushy stem like condition. The tips of the lilly shrivels and dies and it seems to be spreading like wildfire. I'm going to take a few photo's in hopes someone can ID the problem rather than just throwing around more chemicals again.
I've had to use more pesticides and "disease controlling" chemicals this year than I've used in the last 15 years combined. it sickens me todo that and admit it too.
I didn't bother to wear any protective clothing when using sevin of the other chemicals either. I didn't see any of these serious warnings until this week and I have sevin spread thick all over the place. Luckily we've had over 5 inches of rain since putting these chemicals down and I'm hoping it has diluted them enough to be safe. I wished I could understand how and why this stuff has run off all the hummingbird's I usually have in my yard. I guess much of this stuff must have systemic properties that the hummer's can sense and won't touch.
When I was in my early twenties, I used to help out a buddy of mine that was a very active farmer. I did all sorts of things but the one action that disturbs me now is when I would use a open cab tractor to spray anhydrous amonia over crops. I ended up getting so much over spray on my body that mosqioto's wouldn't bite me and I literally watched ticks crawl across me and never bite either. That went on for atleast 3 years and even 1 full year after I hadn't been exposed to any pesticides. We actually laughed about it and it was like a party trick to show to people. man what a foolish young man I was.
Anyhow, I'm going to photograph my lillies hoping maybe you or someone else can help me fix this lilly problem before they all die. It's too hot for that at the moment. I'll get to it ASAP.
Thanks, JD

JD,
may i suggest you post this in the "Lilies" forum. You are speaking of liliums yes? no?
debi z

Thanks so much for the info on 4:00 and the nematodes. Just moved here to the country from the city so this is a great learning experience. Off to check out the nematodes web sites.
Thanks again all.

I just stumbled across this thread.... wow. I 've just discovered 4:00's. Growing wild. I'm gathering seeds.

I am familiar with the old JB. They will eat your house!!!!

Donna