Pests: aphids & flowerbugs

[triskelion]

I had a lot of pests on my tettnang and centennial last year. First of all I had damson hop aphids, a spray of soapy water seemed to get rid of them. Then I had flowerbugs, I think they were praying on they remaining aphids. I ended up getting quite a few flowerbugs in the kegs from dry hopping.
What do I do this year? should I use pesticide or is there another way to get the bugs out of my hops?

 

[mashpaddled]

Well do you have a significant problem here if the flowerbugs eat the bugs eating on your plants? If you get rid of the flowerbugs alone you'll have more problems with aphids, and I assume spider mites, sucking the life out of the hop bines. If you get rid of the food source the flowerbugs should leave.

I don't seem to have aphid problems with hops but I do on other plants. I've never had great luck with food-safe pesticide sprays. The aphids here don't seem too put off by insecticidal soaps and neem-based sprays are ok at best for me. Powdered DE seems very effective on aphids and other bugs. You can get a duster to apply it which creates turbulent clouds of DE that help cover all the surfaces of the plant. It is an indiscriminate killer so if you use it you will need to keep applying it through the season because you'll kill off predators of other undesirable bugs. You'll also need to be able to apply all the way up the bines.

The very best result I've had is with ladybugs who will devour aphids with an incredible appetite. It's hard to keep them around but they will make fast work of the aphids

 

[triskelion]

I didn't notice any spider mites. I could try lady bugs but the ants could be a problem for them. I didn't notice any ants on the hops last year either funny enough. There's definitely a nest entrance below the hops as well

 

[NitrogenWidget]

I have insecticidal soap and neem oil mixed up in a garden sprayer.
After my hops hit the top of the wire and looking juicy and tasty i will spray them down either before the sun hits the leaves or after.
Once i started doing this i had very few aphids fleeing my drying hops.