Root aphids

Taken this long for the plants to become dry enough to drench them again. So Neem oil at the recommended rate (4 teaspoons to a gallon of soapy water). Now it is a question of wait and see. I did drop 4 vine weevil grubs into a drop of the liquid and they seem to have died, so fingers crossed it has the same effect on the root aphids.
Watch this space.

 

Fingers crossed it's worked Palustris.

 

It has not worked. Every one of my collection is totally infested, so I have given up and binned the lot. Need something to display on the Theatre which does not get Root aphids or Vine weevils.

 

How about pelargoniums, although not hardy but I think most will take near frost conditions.

 

Vine weevil adore them!

 

Ok air plants.

 

Don't you think if you grow any thing on a large scale close together you will get certain pests.
People do grow auriculars in their alpine houses and get the same problems.
Have you asked how they deal with it?

 

Been on every site I can find and found no satisfactory answers. Neem oil is supposed to work, it obviously has not. Systemic insecticides are supposed to work. Obviously not. The old stuff, Sybol might have worked but it is now banned.
These plants were all soaked in Neem oil over night, planted in brand new compost in sterilised pots. Not sure what more I can do.
Dianthus seem to be immune to Vine weevils. Might try them.

 

Well I m predudiced but I think you might be better off spitting on the plants than messing around with that stuff.
Makes the leaves shine nice though
Are we talking root aphid or vine weevil.
Not tried but if I was desperate I'd try the nematodes for vine weevil or an over night soak in provado vine weevil killer.

 

Looking at your thread again, makes us wonder why you have got such a plague when its not commonly reported as a problem in the GC forum ?

Not as if you are that far south and much hotter , wonder if you are importing them with some particular brand of compost or not repeat dosing as is often needed with many treatments which do not affect the eggs, so you need to repeat to catch the new hatchlings.

 

Must admit I get vine weevil and occasionally in spring root aphid, but neither become a massive problem.

Now red spider mite is something else.

 

We wondered if the aphid eggs are in the compost with it being peat free.
At the moment there are no vine weevil grubs in any of the pots I have dealt with today. Did catch a couple of adults last night, but they are the first ones I have seen (not that that is anything to go by).
It could well be that even though they were soaked overnight in the Neem oil solution some of the aphids may have survived and gone on to infest all the plants.
Too late now the plants are history.
Hope no one else ever has the problem.
By the way I do know where the original infestation came from. It was in a couple of plants from a no longer existing Nursery. The owner retired and sold all his stock to a very famous Auricula Nursery. Hope they did not get his pest problem.

 

I recall you having problems some years back with root aphids.

Try Methelated spirit mixed with water. Cheap and usually very effective.