Magicseven Posted December 24, 2010 i have some Salvia officinalis (mint) growing at the moment after recently being planted. as far as im aware the sunlight is good, not to intense during the day, good soil and drainage. the problem is that the young ones leaves are slowly getting more and more holes in them, starting off fairly small but have progressed to fairly noticeable damage. my hunch is that they are being eaten by passing insects. ive examined the leaves during the day and night for pests as well as the soil but to no avail. no snails, caterpillars, mites, weevils or aphids. unfortunaelty i dont have a camera so photoes are not available, however does anyone know of any general natural means of protecting my young plants from this invisible onslaught? any help is much appreciated Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted December 24, 2010 the only thing i found out, is to, not get upset if nature eats up your plants. i keep the lophs for example very close to my outdoors area, so everytime i sit there, i can guard them, and often do i pull a catapillar off, those beauties. only thing i came up with is to patrol the plants often, and than if i detect a pest, i remove it manualy. if your plant is in a pot, than moving it can sometimes help, as even insects and snails can somehow remeber wher they got ther last meal from, hehehe. some people use sprays like dipel (bacillus thuringiensis) if absolutly needed.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mac Posted December 24, 2010 I have a few different plants from this family some get eaten othes like coccinea tend to be left alone the stronger mint smelling plants tend to get attacked more by the caterpillar's & my chooks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted December 24, 2010 Caterpillars can be remarkably well camouflaged, especially when small. Snails tend to come out at night too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Magicdirt Posted December 24, 2010 Take a piece of white paper and fold it into a v shape, then put it under a leaf and tap on the stem of the plant or the leaf the paper is under. Do it with the paper under a few different leaves that show signs of damage. If you find small moving dots the plants probably have spider mites. If so the plant could be in the wrong place or it is weak specimen that could be going to die. When I get a plant infested with mites I trim it hard ( if it's a plant with the capacity to regrow and has sites that can be left to re shoot ) and give it a good feed. If it is still infested when the new growth comes back I'd be tempted to rip it out - depending on factors like how how rare or valuable it is though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mac Posted December 24, 2010 (edited) Caterpillars can be remarkably well camouflaged yes you will usually find them on the under side of the leaf (small green Caterpillar) or in a silk like cocoon keep a eye out for deformed or unusually shaped leaves slaters or wood lice also do their work at night so inspecting with a bright torch in the early hrs of the morning can pinpoint the suspects Edited December 24, 2010 by mac Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2Deep2Handle Posted February 15, 2011 regular patrolling and manual removal of pests from your garden is the best A 3/4 enclosed shade house with spiders set up over the top and geckos living inside is the best natural eco-habitat ive ever created for protecting my plants EVER! only thing left in there is these little lady bug like flying insects, that don't seem to be doing any damage to my garden whatsoever as it is booming, and im reluctant to remove them anyway just in case they are the staple for the geckos and / or spiders If all else fails Dipel or Sucess or Neem All available from Bunnings Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted February 16, 2011 regular patrolling and manual removal of pests from your garden is the best A 3/4 enclosed shade house with spiders set up over the top and geckos living inside is the best natural eco-habitat ive ever created for protecting my plants EVER! only thing left in there is these little lady bug like flying insects, that don't seem to be doing any damage to my garden whatsoever as it is booming, and im reluctant to remove them anyway just in case they are the staple for the geckos and / or spiders If all else fails Dipel or Sucess or Neem All available from Bunnings i agree, but one has to learn to spot the pests, because as often said, they are so well camouflaged. one has to, aswell make the act of patrolling a routine, preferable carried out at different times. this morning's patroll, i spotted a naked snail munching on my ephedra seedlings, i just got her in time, me thinks. if snails are the culprit check all the drainage holes of the pot's involved, because that's wher they are hidding. sometimes catarpillars drop out of a plant (for example brug) and than eat your cuttings which you have placed underneath this tree. in short avoid spots, (for your seedlings and young plants) where you have already naturaly, a lot of predators present. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mescalito Posted February 17, 2011 regular patrolling and manual removal of pests from your garden is the best A 3/4 enclosed shade house with spiders set up over the top and geckos living inside is the best natural eco-habitat ive ever created for protecting my plants EVER! only thing left in there is these little lady bug like flying insects, that don't seem to be doing any damage to my garden whatsoever as it is booming, and im reluctant to remove them anyway just in case they are the staple for the geckos and / or spiders If all else fails Dipel or Sucess or Neem All available from Bunnings This is what you want ideally! There's 2 types of lady bugs one eats plants and one eats APHIDS!...you have the right one. If you can try to find out how to breed them,I'd go for it as I could do with some now with the chillies.They're great natural predators. Thanks for the advice too Magidirt,I know the buggers are on some too but they're resilient mongrels.They are attracted to the yellow fly traps so hang a few or them around(Hydro shops usually have them).But I guess I'll have to hold off fruiting and just cut them back,they're that warped atm.It occurred to me today to trim them and squash the "gatherings",so I think I will.Tried Garlic and Chilli soap,but as PH says basically doing it by hand with soapy water will get rid of most of them better. Marigold's make a good sacrificial plant as Aphids like them,so plant some a bit away to attract them from you're precious ones too. Good Luck :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites