Fight the Evil Weevil - April 2011

EVIL VINE WEEVIL!

The spring and early summer is a key time in the annual battle with Vine weevils. The larvae of these destructive pests are now feeding on plant roots and can cause extensive damage, killing young plants and stunting growth on others.

The application of Vine weevil killer nematodes (GPC-275/280 £8.95 or £29.95) should not be delayed! If missed, the larvae soon go on to develop into adult beetles in the summer, which lay more eggs producing more destructive larvae. An application of nematodes to pots/containers before June will stop damage early and help prevent future infestations.

There is also a new foe for the Vine weevil larvae, Mighty Mite (GPC-034 £9.95)! This rather small mite has a large appetite and feeds on lots of different pest larvae it finds in the soil or compost. It even attacks Vine weevil grubs, which are a lot bigger than it is!

This has the effect of weakening the Vine weevil grub and letting nematodes enter and kill the Vine weevil larva more easily, so try applying Might Mites to the pots, trays and containers in your greenhouse, not only will it help the nematodes, it will eat fungus fly larvae, thrip pupae and even small moth larvae.

Carrot Root Fly
Overwintering Carrot root fly pupae may now be emerging as adults, so take care to protect early carrot sowings. There are several protective measures that can be taken to reduce the impact of this pest. Try an anti-carrot root fly screen  (GDN-448 £34.95) around your carrot plot as carrot root flies do not fly above 50cm, so these screens can prevent the carrot fly finding your crop.

You can also cover your crop with insect mesh (From £2.90 per sqm) to prevent access to the adult flies and even put up Carrot root fly traps (GPC-129 £14.95) to monitor and catch the first carrot root fly adults. If you also want to have a more mobile solution, try watering in nematodes (GPC-029 £4.95) to the soil to kill off the carrot root fly larvae.

New chemical free smokes to deter un-welcome guests!
Harrod Horticultural has two new chemical free smoke products to help stop some rather un-wanted guests in gardens! Moles can already be turning your newly manicured lawn into a building site, try new Mole smoke (GPC-035 £4.95). This contains natural castor oil in a fumer formulation; it does not harm the moles but makes their food source, worms, taste nasty, driving them out of the area. This provides a safe natural way of clearing moles from your garden without killing them or other wildlife.

Greenhouses are tempting targets for pests like whitefly and aphid, which are attracted to the new young plants within them. New Greenhouse smoke (GPC-039 £4.95) contains garlic, which for centuries has been known to have a repellent effect on insect pests. The new Fortefog Greenhouse smoke can be used in empty greenhouses or those with plants in to deter pests from entering and establishing on the plants inside.