elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 12, 2011 16:14:22 GMT -5
We've been trying to put in more butterfly friendly plants in our backyard. One of the flowers we put in is this:  And we've been getting a few monarch caterpillars recently. Lately I haven't seen any, but while weeding and clearing webbing from the side of the house I found this:  Kinda cool if you ask me. It's the first one that I've come across in my yard ever. I'm hoping Karen will put a couple more of these plants in to help the lil guys. Then I went over to the milkweed (I believe it is milkweed - but don't quote me) and saw what I think are lil aphids doing their best to take away my plant. Please take a look: They're yellow and small and some are winged:  Anybody know a good way to get rid of these critters without using a pesticide or anything else that might mess up any caterpillars that show up? thanks for the help, Lowell |
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snuffy
Cave Dweller 
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
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Post by snuffy on Aug 12, 2011 16:22:13 GMT -5
Check out Safer's insecticidal soap. Not sure if it would harm the caterpillars or not.
snuffy
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Post by jakesrocks on Aug 12, 2011 16:26:16 GMT -5
Hey Lowell, Mix up some dish washing detergent and water in a spray bottle, and spray the aphids real good. That'll get rid of them. It may take 2 or 3 sprayings, a few hours apart. And yes, that is a milkweed. That's the only food that Monarch larva will eat. A poison in the weed makes them poisonous to birds and other critters that might otherwise eat them, but doesn't harm the larva.
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Aug 12, 2011 16:36:33 GMT -5
some of your catapillars are butterflies in the making. When they hatch out from the eggs that the butterfly lays on the backsides of leaves they are catapillars then they go from that state to the pupal stage to finish turning into a butterfly
if you have ants tending the aphids get rid of them and your aphids just squash with your hand.
no ants no aphids
also you can get diatomaceous earth to use like a dust for getting them - no poison there
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Post by tanyafrench on Aug 12, 2011 18:07:46 GMT -5
Cycles of life, aren't they great. I have used soapy water (dish soap) to spray on the roses to kill aphids. It works on them.
Tanya
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grayfingers
Cave Dweller
Member since November 2007
Posts: 4,575 
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Post by grayfingers on Aug 12, 2011 18:41:53 GMT -5
If you use dish soap, it is best to use plain Ivory liquid. 1 Teaspoon to a quart spray bottle. The other soaps can have additives that can harm a plant. What makes the insecticidal soap effective is the fatty acids from the animal fats the soap is made from which is why you need real soap and not a detergent. Those fatty acids dissolve the target insect's exoskeleton so they dehydrate and asphyxiate.
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Post by sandsman1 on Aug 12, 2011 22:35:56 GMT -5
yup everybody here swears buy the soap and water spray everyone shys away from chems for veggies it takes alittle longer ( couple days) but its worth it for any garden -- theres people here that wont even use chem fertilizer from the store they will vist ranches and collect cow pattys and let them dry out and mix with soil
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Post by Toad on Aug 12, 2011 22:40:31 GMT -5
Neat cocoon. Believe milkweeds have purple flowers.
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Post by jakesrocks on Aug 12, 2011 22:53:12 GMT -5
Hey Toad, that's one of the hybrid milkweeds. They have all sorts of colors and sizes now.
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Post by Rockoonz on Aug 13, 2011 3:21:57 GMT -5
Ladybugs and mantises love to eat aphids, some garden shops sell them.
Lee
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Aug 14, 2011 15:35:07 GMT -5
It's the same color as my milkweeds.
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Post by drocknut on Aug 15, 2011 21:29:49 GMT -5
Very cool that you found that future butterfly. Sorry ya got aphids but I go with the others on using the soap to get rid of them.
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Post by jakesrocks on Aug 16, 2011 19:13:13 GMT -5
Here's what he would have looked like before the cocoon stage.  Don |
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,504
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 16, 2011 20:06:08 GMT -5
Yep, that's a tropical milkweed. We grow a lot of that here in south Texas. The aphids look almost like Oleander aphid but there are a bunch of similar aphids. Insecticidal soaps don't do caterpillars much good either. We don't spray anything for insects in our yard. Just let nature take it's course. There are a lot of aphid predators in nature....Mel
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