red lily beetle

please help with my lilies i usually have a really lovely display of lilies but this year they are eaten with red lily beetle. i have them in big pots should i repot them in new compost or should i throw them away and get new ones for next year.
also my dahlies the leaves are all eaten i have looked for earwigs but could not see any the flowers are lovely what should i do. thanks

 

Try spraying the lillies with Provado, it's systemic and so should kill anything that munches on them. The damage to the Dahlias could be slugs/snails there have been several threads about them. They've been a real pain, this year, good luck

 

Lily beetles are a pest, I know.
Killing the adults doesn't help a lot as it is the larvae which do the real damage, lurking under the leaves covered in their own excrement to deter predators. When they have eaten their fill they drop into the soil beneath and as pupa can overwinter in the soil [so can the beetles]. Then the hatched beetles emerge in spring and start laying eggs.
You need to attack them in all 4 stages to keep them down. If you don't mind using chemicals then the one to use is Provado Ultimate Bug Killer, but it really is death to most insects including beneficial ones so use it with care.
I would scoop out the top couple of inches of soil in the tubs in Autumn, hopefully getting any pupa and beetles. The pupa are hard to spot as they are like soil coloured grains of rice.Replace the soil with fresh after using Provado onthe top of the remaining soil.
When the lilies start to sprout give them a quick blast of Provado and keep a close eye out for any emerging beetles from other parts of the garden [or they can fly in] and dispose of them. Check also for the yellow eggs on the undersides of the leaves and the larvae, which you need gloves to remove as they cover themselves in disgusting poo.
The beetles are rapidly establishing themselves all over UK and as with slugs and snails it's a case of ongoing care to keep them down. Not good news I'm afraid but they can be kept at bay.
Good Luck!

 

Hi there,

I think Liz has the best strategy right there, although I've heard of some people who claim to have success just by picking them off by hand and killing them. Don't know if I would fancy spending all that time looking for all the pupa etc though!

HenryW

 

thanks for all replies.
i think i will throw them away and start again next year

 

That's not necessary. My lilies were devastated three years ago as I had not heard of lily beetle.

Last year I gave them a spray with Provado when they were about a foot high and never saw another beetle all season. This year I did the same at the sight of the first beetle, very little damage.

Flowering time is when other insects are drawn to the plants and that is why the instructions say not to use the product when the plant has flowers.