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Organic Gardening Australia Article
This is a selection made from among articles on Organic Gardening Australia. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for future reading, click here.
Organic Gardening Beetles
from:The main weapon of organic pest control is the organic gardening beetle. Many insects and bacteria feed primarily on pests. They are a very attractive alternative to chemical pesticides sprayed over plays to eliminate pests. However, these pesticides kill the natural fauna in the soil too. Some of them are very beneficial for the growth of the plant. In addition, the extremely harmful side effects of the chemical sprays can be avoided by using the insects and the bacteria. Some of the organic gardening beetles provide a broad protection to the harmful pests whereas others affect some specific pathogen only.
The ladybug, also known as the lady beetle or the ladybird, devour a variety
Of pests like the aphids, leaf worms, mealy bugs and mites. They reproduce several times in the hot weather. They are enormous eaters and devour as many as 20-30 aphids in a day in their larval stage. On attaining adulthood, their appetite doubles. These organic gardening beetles are available in packets of 10,000. They migrate rapidly once they have eaten up the insects. Hence, it is advisable to release a few of them at a time. Release them at the base of the infected plants after every three or four weeks.
The praying mantis, a relative of the grasshopper, is an indiscriminate glutton. It uses its powerful legs to catch and eat up any passing insect. They are know to attack aphids, beetles, caterpillars and even frogs and lizards. It is a born marauder and preys immediately on aphids and flies. They are sold in their egg cases. These golf ball sized cases hatch to produce as many as 400 insects in a few days. For an average sized garden, two or three egg cases are ample.
Some of the other useful pests are lacewing larvae that attack aphids, mites, thripes, leafhoppers and white flies. The adult lacewing is about ½ inches to ¾ inches in length and gets its name from the lace like wings. The larvae are an ugly creature that is very effective pest killers. In their lifetime of two weeks as larvae, they continuously feed on aphids and other insects. As an adult only a limited varieties feed on insects.
There is a bacterium called the Milky Disease Spores that attacks the larvae of Japanese Beetles. These bacteria turn their blood milky white halting their progress to adulthood at the larval stage only.
These organic gardening beetles and other insects and bacteria are available at the organic gardening supply stores. A good organic gardening supply of these insects can keep the garden pest free and healthy.
Organic Gardening Australia News
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