pest control

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2BeerSpeer

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Can I 7-Dust my Hops? My Cascade has small thin holes in its leaves like a bug has been there but I've searched the plant and see nothing! I have 7 other varieties and they are all fine..
 
As long as you do it early before flowering. Read the label and don't over apply.
 
I can't comment on hops specifically but I can vouch for 7 dust as an insecticide in general. Like stated above, follow the directions and apply as early as possible. It has kept my garden incredibly productive.
 
7-dust(not the band) 7-spray, lady bugs. anal retentive hops watching/bug sqashing. Piss on em, have ur neighbors dog piss on em. tons of solutions. However I used the 7 spray form last year before the ladybugs moved in and had good results, so i see no reason why the dust would not wor just as well.
 
I'm having almost the same issue, mostly with my Northern Brewer but now its starting to show up on my other hop plants as well. I found a product online called Liquid Ladybug but its pricey and I haven't been able to check and see if I can get it locally. I might go the 7 spray form until they get bigger and start flowering as I know I can get that at local stores.
 
Speaking of ladybugs...

I introduced ladybugs to deal with aphids twice (three and two years ago) for my hops. I had a pretty bad aphid problem three years ago. Last year, they just showed up again, so I figured that they hibernated nearby and came back. They have a lifespan of 1-2 years, so I'm curious if I'll need to introduce more at any point. I've noticed that there are zero aphids thus far, but I also noticed about two ladybugs tonight. It's somewhat early in the season, but I'm curious if others have gone this same route. Since the hops attract aphids every year, do the ladybugs stick around so that I won't need to go an introduce more, or will I need to get some more every three to four years?
 
Sevin dust works but honestly its pretty terrible for beneficial insects as well. It will kill pretty much anything on contact including ladybugs which in healthy numbers will keep your aphids at bay.

For caterpillars I use a product that contains Bacillius thuringiensis which will naturally kill most larvae that decide to eat the leaves and as an added bonus is *mostly* healthy for all other beneficials.

As far as lady bugs go I have released a few thousand over the last couple of years and have seen them everywhere this year. In theory they should be reproducing. I have not seen many aphids at all and the ones I did, the ladybugs were on them and quite happily munching away!
 
So my mother suggests just some dish soap diluted with water in a spray bottle. She says she uses it on all of her vegetables. Although my bines haven't flowered yet, I'm not comfortable using soap because of the threat of a lingering taste or smell. I thought about just spraying my bines with star san. Anyone else try this?
 
Aunt_Ester said:
So my mother suggests just some dish soap diluted with water in a spray bottle. She says she uses it on all of her vegetables. Although my bines haven't flowered yet, I'm not comfortable using soap because of the threat of a lingering taste or smell. I thought about just spraying my bines with star san. Anyone else try this?

I definitely would not spray starsan. It is acidic and could damage and or kill the hops foliage. The idea behind soap is that it will block the breathing systems of pests with exoskeletons and kill them. It will not work on caterpillars however.

Insecticidal soap will wash off no problem fyi.
 
So my mother suggests just some dish soap diluted with water in a spray bottle. She says she uses it on all of her vegetables. Although my bines haven't flowered yet, I'm not comfortable using soap because of the threat of a lingering taste or smell. I thought about just spraying my bines with star san. Anyone else try this?


Whatever you do... DO NOT DO THAT!! You will kill your hops. Get 1 table spoon of dish soap(a kind without bleach), Ive been using Ajax, and mix that with water and fill a spray bottle. In the evening spray them down, especially the undersides of the leaves. While its still in a vegetative state it should be fine. There are many reputable sources you can get with a quick google search recommending the method and its safety.

On a similar note.... im in the middle of a viscous white fly battle of devastating proportions with my tomato right now. So far my hops are pest and insect free but id like it to keep it that way as they just started filling with cones. What is a good backup if the flies build a resistance to the dishsoap method? And is the soap bad to use once the bines are flowering, if so whats safe to use?
 
KeyWestBrewing said:
Whatever you do... DO NOT DO THAT!! You will kill your hops. Get 1 table spoon of dish soap(a kind without bleach), Ive been using Ajax, and mix that with water and fill a spray bottle. In the evening spray them down, especially the undersides of the leaves. While its still in a vegetative state it should be fine. There are many reputable sources you can get with a quick google search recommending the method and its safety.

On a similar note.... im in the middle of a viscous white fly battle of devastating proportions with my tomato right now. So far my hops are pest and insect free but id like it to keep it that way as they just started filling with cones. What is a good backup if the flies build a resistance to the dishsoap method? And is the soap bad to use once the bines are flowering, if so whats safe to use?

Organocide. I use it oneverything.
 
Glad to see I have 2 secret weapons in case these damn flies get ballsy. If they even consider going for my hops theyre gettin nuked lol. Thanks for the quick replies guys.
 
uechikid said:
I use a PYRETHRUM spray. It's organic, works fast and breaks down quickly.

Pyrethrum is organic and does break down rather quickly but it is extremely lethal to bees and other beneficials. Also, using tobacco tea is organic in nature but you may want to look into neonicotinoid pesticides and their track record with bees. Those pesticides have been largely linked to colony collapse and that is exactly what tobacco tea is.

Just need to put my two cents out there. As a beekeeper and gardener I see the effects of broad spectrum pesticides pretty regularly. Identifying the specific pest and using targeted treatments is a lot better in the long run!
 
So my mother suggests just some dish soap diluted with water in a spray bottle. She says she uses it on all of her vegetables. Although my bines haven't flowered yet, I'm not comfortable using soap because of the threat of a lingering taste or smell. I thought about just spraying my bines with star san. Anyone else try this?

Very faint soap dilutions are fine; I spiked mine last year with cayenne and it worked on the first or second application. Just be careful about applying during full sun.
 
KeyWestBrewing said:
I did some reading and found a lot of mixed reviews on this stuff. Since you say you put it on everything im assuming its either working, or at the very least not hurting your plants?

Correct. It's effectiveness usually last at least 3-7 days and has not harmed any hops, tomatoes, peppers, roses or any other vegetable/flower.
 
Ok, here is my two cents worth, I have two things I grow, Hops an Roses. I seem to have a terrible aphid infestation in my yard for the roses and I never figured out what was eating my hop leaves, but once I tried this all my bug issues went away!.

My solution:
2 Tbl spoons Cayenne Pepper
2 Tbl spoons Ivory Liquid Soap
8 oz. Liquid Nicotine solution

Put this in a one gallon sprayer and fill the remaining with water, spray once a week or so. For the hops I spray until I see cones forming then stop, but I still spray around the base of the plants and probably the first three feet.

The nicotine solution is made up of 1 bag of "Redman" chewing tobacco. I take two old 2 liter plastic soda bottles and wash them out and then put half the bag of chewing tobacco in each and fill with warm water and let sit in the sun for a day.
 
Organocide. I use it oneverything.

+1 to Organocide for some pests. Something was eating mine and I never saw anything until I went out last night with a flashlight and looked. There were small snails everywhere. I was surprised on how high they can climb on the plants. I went out today and got some pellet stuff for slugs and snails.

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