Pests: What is acceptable?

[Kikaida]

I know its not realistic to think you can do away with every pest. As for me, I have a few thrips here and there and a fair amount of suicidal gnats. In certain areas of the yard I have little mantises and I see a lady bug or two every now and then. But these are never on my tomatoes and I would hate for them to die as a result of collateral damage.

I guess the question is...Is it realistic to try to kill every thrip? Is it worth putting in peril the few beneficial insects that I do have? Sure there's some stippling going on on a couple of plants but nothing that I would consider major. But then again, I am a newb.

I suffer from a bit of OCD and this sort of stuff really triggers it...Kill every single living and breathing bug in my tomato patch? Or...Live within a certain threshold and spray when the numbers increase? What is too much? What is acceptable? Are there certain bugs that I should immediately annihilate at all cost (white fly) or others that are more a nuisance but not a major threat in small numbers? Welcome to my world.

[AlittleSalt]

I try not to poison bugs as long as they are not doing much damage. If it's like squash bugs, soapy water suffocates the bugs and it doesn't hurt the plants to get some soapy water on them.

However, if the bugs are doing heavy damage to the plants I use Malathion or Triazicide to kill every bug on and near the plant. I try my best to never spray the edible parts of the plant - like the tomatoes themselves.

[b54red]

Just chill out a little. A tomato patch is home to a lot of insects some good and some bad. Unless you are seeing significant damage it is usually better to leave well enough alone. Tomato fruit worms and tomato hornworms are best killed quickly since they can do major damage if left unchecked; but they are easily controlled with BT which is safe and cheap. Most other pests I allow a little time to see if their natural enemies will take care of them before I take action.

Bill

[brooksville]

What about the stink bug? I had what I consider a fair amount of damage to the fruit that I picked today. I killed about 10 that fell while I was picking. I can never seem to get those guys under control.....I have tried everything short of a crop duster!

[Cole_Robbie]

When my stink bugs come out this year, I am thinking about making traps that are a light bulb over a pan of soapy water.

[pauldavid]

I killed 20 stink bugs on one Zucchini plant yesterday. I see how they got their name. Phew! I use Malathion as a last resort for a pesticide. The bad thing is that you can kill their natural enemies and also bees which pollinate your plants.

[joseph]

I don't ever spray for any bug... Once in a while I'll squash a Colorado Potato Beetle that is caught eating a tomato instead of the wild weed that I grow for it. Then I chop out the tomato plant for being attractive to the beetles.

Thrips exist in my garden, but as far as I can tell, they don't cause damage, so I don't worry about them.

[Kikaida]

Thanks for the replies everyone...I guess if the plants aren't getting annihilated or they are not the big baddies like horn worms, spider mites or white flies...Leave it be.
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Last night while having a pipe and looking at one of my plants I noticed a little spider had setup shop...Watched it catch a tiny little something. Really struck me as the semblance of balance.

[Lee]

Originally Posted by Kikaida

Thanks for the replies everyone...I guess if the plants aren't getting annihilated or they are not the big baddies like horn worms, spider mites or white flies...Leave it be.

I think that is really the key. Bugs are not really pests if they aren't destroying your produce or significantly reducing yield.
If you are diligent, you can control the worst of them (fruit worms and horn worms) with careful observation and your fingers. Doesn't get any more "organic" than that!

Lee

[GreenFarmer]

well all that is ok if you dont plan on going commercial

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

When my stink bugs come out this year, I am thinking about making traps that are a light bulb over a pan of soapy water.

Great idea! Let us know if it works.
When I lived in OK, June bugs would commit suicide in the horse water buckets and troughs every night. I'd have to scoop out hundreds of the dead bugs every AM during the season.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by joseph

I don't ever spray for any bug... Once in a while I'll squash a Colorado Potato Beetle that is caught eating a tomato instead of the wild weed that I grow for it. Then I chop out the tomato plant for being attractive to the beetles.

Thrips exist in my garden, but as far as I can tell, they don't cause damage, so I don't worry about them.

I've noticed the potato beetle recently on our wild "eggplant" weeds. Lots of flea beetles too, but surpassingly little in the actual garden, just on the weeds to the sides.
I'm a big believer in trap crops. I also think nature abhors vacuums. Kill one thing and something else will take its place, like spider mites. I do use BT and if something is getting annihilated by bugs I will pull out neem, soap or spinosad. ( love Sluggo plus).
If there are aphids but the plants seem to be doing fine I hold off treating so that the ladybugs and other good bugs move in.
I also leave radishes to flower and other favorite bug plants to bring in the good ones.

[Shapshftr]

I've been noticing fireflies hanging out on the bottom parts of my tomato plants in the mornings when they are inactive. Got worried they might be feasting on them so I looked it up. Turns out they will not eat plants, just some nectar and pollen, and some don't eat at all. However, they are beneficial beetles that will eat slugs and other bad guys. Might be good to take care of the nasty borer larvae and others.

"I wrote about lightning bugs last year after attending a workshop led by ISU entomologist Donald Lewis. Until then, I had no idea that lightning bugs, as larvae, dined on not only slugs, but other insect larvae and snails – a real beneficial beetle! But I’ve had a nagging question since then: what do adult lightning bugs eat? After all, kids catch lightning bugs all the time, put them in a jar, punch holes in the lid and throw some grass inside. So do lightning bugs eat grass??"

https://cindyha.wordpress.com/2009/0...ith-fireflies/

"They have strange diets

Contrary to the storybook image of cute bitsy baby fireflies nibbling on flowers, the underground-dwelling larvae of the lightning bug are carnivorous and feast on slimy slugs, worms and snails. Once they grow up, some move on to cannibalism and eat other fireflies, but most subsist on pollen and nectar (while some don’t eat anything at all during their short lifetimes)."

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/ani...lightning-bugs

[joseph]

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[jhouse]

I like this thread!