North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Stephen Sadler" <Docshiva@Docshiva.org>]

How many trees?  For a few trees, you can use yellow sticky traps at a rate of one per 25-50 square feet.  That’s the general recommendation, which may have veg more in mind than fruit trees.  I would think that more vertical space means more traps.  For large plantings, there’s a sticky yellow tape called Hopperfinder.  Or you can order one pack of the sticky traps, take one to the paint store to match the color, get some tanglefoot and make your own traps.   There are organic sprays, both as effective and as time-consuming as the Sevin.  Trapping out is definitely the lazy, and for me therefore preferable, approach.

 

As for the tarnished plant bugs, I don’t think Peristenus wasps are available yet; I think they’re still being studied as an effective control.  That’s the only parasite I know of for the beasties. 

 

~ Stephen

 

From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Alan Haigh
Sent: Friday, June 27, 2008 5:46 AM
To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [NAFEX] goshdarn leaf hoppers

 

Every season just as my apple grafts begin to emerge they are pounced upon by leaf hoppers, those tiny chlorophyll vampires that seem devoid of natural predators here.  They are my main cause of graft failure.  Lady bugs usually eventually control the aphids but weekly applications of Sevin have been my only solution for hoppers.  Does anyone out there have another idea?  Something requiring less work. 

 

On another pest subject, a few years back at a NAFEX meeting a lecturer spoke of a natural predator for tarnished plant bugs.  Has this predator become commercially available?