mason Posted January 19, 2004 Its the end of the world!! Grasshoppers are devouring my sally! Caterpillars are boring into my trichs! Problem 1: Sally is looking a little ill, she's been savagely attacked by insects. The leaves, which are smaller than the ones shes had in the past, are also black and brittle on the ends. Two months ago I re-potted her into a larger pot, this was due to massive growth. Briefly after this repotting I cut off a 3 inch cutting from a new shoot near the base of the plant (which failed). The stalk from which this cutting was cut then split into two which have grown at least 7 inches since then! I'm surprised & satisfied by sallys post-repotting growth spurts but worried by the sudden bout of pathetically small & 'burned' leaves. Not to mention the damn caterpillars. Any ideas what’s wrong, and also should I go about repelling the insects? Problem 2: One of my baby Trich pups, only just rooted, is under attack by caterpillars. First I noted black spots at the top of the pup in the area of new growth, after a week away I returned to find the markings had turned to holes. The next morning I spotted a caterpillar poking his head out the top of my baby. I promptly wrung the little bastards neck. What should I do to firstly repair the damage done, and secondly prevent a repeat? david Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monkeydance Posted January 20, 2004 man i hate pests, snail keeps eating the top of my trichs and every strawberry i ever get. everytime i get a handle on one pest another species will tag in. chilli and soap spray work good on spidermite. spiders eat a lot of pests, dont get rid of their webs if you have them. dont know whatd stop a plaque of grasshoppers, in monkey magic one was caused by a demon i think. he killed it, end of plague. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JumpedAngel Posted January 21, 2004 Hey Yum Ifn you dont like chems then try bug squash, bug squash is an old remedy that works great. Bug Squash Recipe: Collect bugs and put them through a blender. Add 9 parts water to 1 part squash. Place in atomiser and spray affected plants. The theory is that bugs dont like to eat their own kind Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
X. Torris Posted January 22, 2004 Greetings all! I've found that a water/nicotine solution does the best against salvia pests. Take four or five cigarettes (or a cigar or a plug of chewing tobacco, whatever) and soak just the tobacco in about a liter of hot water for a few hours. Then strain the soggy brown crap out of the liquid and mix said liquid in a spray bottle with just a little bit of castille soap to make it foamy. Then spray all over the plant until all leaves and stems have been covered with the slightly sudsy mix. If I do this maybe three times in a fortnight (after noticing bug problems), the problem usually clears up. Works fine on many other plants, but I haven't tried it with cacti, so I can't recommend that. It should go without saying, but be sure to THOROUGHLY wash any plant material (edible or otherwise) exposed to this insecticide prior to ingestion! Finally, if you have any extra nicotine water left over (as I often do) be sure to refrigerate it for later use, as it certainly can spoil! X. Torris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterdragon Posted January 22, 2004 greetings x.torris, always good to see new peeps here. must be nice to still grow sally and not have to be secretive about it. 'plant hate' coming soon to a country near you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
