lily Beetle

I live in the mild west part of Cheshire andI have two 18" low profile pots,[to stop them blowing over], with 20 -25 lilies in each of them. Over the last 3 seasons I have been battling with the Lily Beetle which seems to increase in numbers every year. Last Autumn I emptied both pots and renewed the compost and binned the old compost in case of eggs or larvae in an attempt to solve the problem. The Beetle is a really handsome scarlet
fella and I hate killing him but the larvae make such a mess of the foilage and destroy the plant. He's very fond of basking on top of the leaf in the sun but you've got to be quick and sure-fingered to get him. I dislike using a chemical solution [pardon the pun] but to get a quick result I will. My cry for help is, does anyone know of a organic answer to the problem???

 

I've given up with Lilies Armandii, because the beetle larvae decimate mine every year. I can just about keep them at bay by hosing/spraying them every day with soapy water, but if I miss a few days they come back again. I'd be interested too if anyone knows how to beat these pesky pests.

 

Thanks JWK and andrewh for your thoughts! I'm the kind of gardener that hates giving up on plants that I like and will keep trying until it sinks in that it's futile to carry on. The problem with leaving it to the birds is that, in my garden, there are 7 seed feeders, 8 peanut feeders, plus an abundance of natural food [other than lily beetles] for them, and to be quite honest, I've never seen the birds feasting on the scarlet menace.
The larvae is what really does the damage and as JWK says they destroy the lilies very quickly and unfortunately Nature doesn't provide a quick or aggressive enough predator to stop them. I will keep casting
about for an answer to the problem but, reluctantly, I will resort to a systemic chemical spray if I have to.

 

You're probably right about over-feeding the birds, andrewh, but with the last extremely cold spell and the now re-occurring cold intervals I didn't want under-do it. But I really don't think the birds are the answer or part answer to my lily beetle problem as I cut down on the number of feeders during late Spring and Summer and I think the birds tend to abandon the feeders for the more attractive natural food of insects when they're aplenty. It's a quick organic solution I'm trying to find because of my reluctance to use chemicals. The lily beetle larvae is so quick to devastate the lilies that the cure has to be quick. I don't suppose a shotgun would do the trick??

 

You're probably right, Pete, but I'll keep asking and looking for an organic quick cure. I did have it in the back of my mind about the bright red putting the birds off eating them so I agree with you on that. I've just retired but to my surprise I find I'm even busier now than when working, and I was used to a 84 -100 hour week!!. Last season I was using a chemical bug spray, wiping the underneath of the leaves to get rid of the slimy larvae, and picking any beetles that were sun-bathing. I was still finding them up to and including the first week of November. I'll keep on battling on as I refuse to give up on the lilies!

 

[size=medium]Thanks Cajary, I think my last resort will be a systemic bug killer but I have a lot of different kinds of bees, hoverflies and butterflies in the garden So I have to be careful how I spray and when. I spray and then try to deter any would-be suicidal beneficial insects bent on landing where I've just sprayed as even systemics will kill on contact if the plant is still wet with it. It'll be interesting to see how I get on this coming year and whether or not renewing the compost in the pots has helped.[/size]