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  • From: Allan Balliett <aballiett AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Re Harlequin Bugs
  • Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 21:15:34 -0400

Pam - I know, you're right. I'll have to give you the abbreviated version. This is what you need to do. First off, if you have any idea that you have hard water, you need to purchase an organically acceptable 'chemical' water conditioner from Peaceful Valley. After that, you need to get a high quality potassium-based insecticidal soap. (M-pede is the one that came with the best recommendations, but, apparently, concentrated SAFER SOAP will work, as well.) Next, you have to FLUSH the harlequins. This is best done in the evening with essential oil of peppermint in your sprayer (1tbsp per gal of water). (This step not necessary for seedlings) Wait for about 15 minutes for all of the harlequins to climb to the high point of your row or bed canopy and then spray them with full strength (read the label!) soap. (I think we are doing 2oz of soap per gal of water in the sprayer.) The harlequin's bodies soften and blacken right after contact and most of them will be dead within 48 hours.

The important part of this story was that my anti-harlequin odyssey STARTED with SAFER and it didn't work for us. Why? Now I know that this is because it will not work with hi-cal water, which we have. (Calcium ties up Potassium, so the soap has no 'bite.') Using the water conditioner, though, it hits them like a hammer.

I have whole beds of brassicas that do not seem to have a single harlequin now, but I do have some beds where they are coming back in. You would think that the peppermint would keep them out, but it doesn't seem to. It must dissipate rather rapidly.




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