PESTS
Face it, if you grow indoor plants you have pests. I have been growing tropical plants for years here indoors in North Carolina and every winter, without fail, the nasties emerge. What pests? I’ve seen them all; trust me. Spider mites, thrips, and aphids seem to be the most efficient destroyers of my velvet-leafy-treasures and the most reoccurring so that is what I treat for. For years I used various chemical compounds sold at big box stores and trusted by outdoor gardeners for decades. Then I began exporting plants all over the world and graduated to the hard stuff like agricultural pesticides. Treating my precious plants with those harsh ingredients (none of which I could pronounce) was unsettling to me. That prompted a dive into the world of beneficial organisms and organic pest prevention. After years of trial and error I’ve come to the conclusion that no method is perfect and that unwanted pests are just a reality to some extent, but with the right routine you can limit the damage done to a point in which the little crawling and flying demons no longer cause you headaches and nightmares or nightmares in which you have headaches bc of plant-pests.
The routine:
Check with Arbico’s website (a leader in organic gardening since 1979) for actual IPM programs. This is just what one dude in North Carolina does.
step 1- Before a round of beneficial organisms I always treat my entire collection with Pure Crop 1.
always wear appropriate protective gear when doing anything involving atomizing liquids. Corn and soybean juice like this will not be fun as an eye bath or mouthwash. So be a rad mystical plant science enthusiast like me and always be safe.
mix according to instructions
use a mister bottle, pump sprayer, or AC Infinity automatic atomizer if you want to be super extra. Either way the pressure needs to be strong enough to create a powerful mist, not a stream.
Coat the fronts and backs of EVERY SINGLE LEAF. (including: emerging leaves, unfurling leaves, expanding leaves, even that one leaf on that plant that took you forever to get happy and has finally giving you that ideal leaf for the gram, dying leaves, pest riddled leaves, that leaf that pissed you off so you don’t even care if it gets eaten by mites.. it doesn’t matter.. this is for the betterment of your longterm collection.
it is my experience with growing dark velvet Anthuriums and using Purecrop1 that it will not:
a) leave nasty residue on leaves
b) stink or leaves a nasty smell
c) damage any leaf on its own
d) kill every pest on contact
it is my experience that pure crop 1 will:
a) be a good frame on which to build your Biological Control Team.
b) reduce your need to rely on nasty chemicals to treat plants that are so dear to you.
c) actually benefit your plants when you use it bc the components act as a bio-stimulant delivering fatty acids to our foliar friends.
d) act as a bubble bath of death for a lot of the pests by causing their own stomachs to eat them from within.
Do as I say not as I do plant children… I use Purecrop1 once very thoroughly, then wait a few days and do it again (with a good effort). No need to lie, I’m busy and that second treatment is kinda like an I’ll make some reels while doing it type move.
After the bubble baths of death we are ready to introduce the Biological Control Team.
step 2: we need air support! This is where we introduce some larger insects that will get immediate results.
Introduce green lace wings With the barrage of Purecrop1 complete it is now time for the tactical units of air commandoes to be deployed.
Green lacewings are the best generalist predator out there. They will eliminate a wide range of adult pest invaders including spider mites.
Green lacewings come as eggs, larvae, and adults. I suggest the larvae bottles bc I’m ready for immediate action. Use arbicos guide to determine what is right for your space. I suggest going overboard bc we aren’t growing tomatoes or petunias here.
Adult green lacewings eat pollen and nectary stuff so don’t think they will arrive ready for action. They’re great for breeding and acting as the foundation for a new generation of pest-murderering larvae. Again, the adult green lacewings are vegan.. and can bite you a little.. and just want to reproduce vigorously.. see why I love them? It will be important to cover any flowers on your plants if you’re worried about cross pollinations or pollen level depletion. But do not let this deter you; I have created Arthuriums and at any time have 5+ plants flowering in a given space and this has caused me no issues. I use butterfly bags religiously. Simply tie the bag around flower before it goes receptive and nothing gets in.
I used to use ladybugs in this role here in N.C. as they are big and viscous, plus have a fashion-forward-flare that allows them to kill in style. However the irresponsible harvesting of the wild populations combined with the overall world being destroyed by humans means that these cute little killers need to be allowed to hopefully recover before we bring them into our ranks again here in the Biological Control Team in NC.
step 3: paratroopers deployed.
When the Purecrop1 and green lacewings have ensured that all soft-bodied insects have been sent running for cover it is time to bring in the Sachets of Death Paratrooper Division.
These are Amblyseius swirski and Amblyseius californicus beneficial mites that area available in convenient to use sachets or hooks. See video below.
A. swiriski will kill thrips, that’s all I need to say. Buy them even if you don’t have thrips yet.
A. californicus are small but great at infiltration and a great ally in the war on spider mites.
I suggest multiplying the number of plants (with leaves) by 3 to get the number of sachets you need. I put one on every leaf of my favorite plants and I will not apologize for this.
These beneficial mites emerge slowly and methodically rid your plant collection of unwanted pest invaders.. RIGHT THERE ON THE LEAVES WHERE YOU CAN SEE IT.
These sachets area harsh on the visual vibe and will make plant conversations, ambient plant meditations, content creation, and flexing on non-plant friends pest-centric for a few weeks as avoiding the white rectangles will be impossible.
STEP 4: BATTLES CAN BE LOST, BUT WE MUST WIN THE WAR.
We have given our best efforts with the above mentioned strategy and have eliminated the imminent threats it is important to not forget the enemy never truly disappears. NEVER. This is bc we and our plants are constantly encountering new sources of contamination. So sure we may eliminate this current pest problem today, but they’ll be back.. in a month, a week, or every winter like mine, it doesn’t matter they’ll be back.
This is why it is important to attack them in the soil. For this I use Stratiolaelaps scimitus , they kill thrips pupae before they can emerge from the soil. The also climate fungus gnats and spider mites as aside bonus.
Opt for the rice hulls as a deployment method if possible, the bran is gross.
When and how to plan my attacks?
I use this full system every 3-4 months regardless of visible pest damage to my precious leaves. The little infiltrators are there.. lurking and waiting.
Also, If I see one single pest, just one.. I call in the full Biological Control Team.
This system has both short and long term acting agents. Trust the system; it works even after you’ve got sick of looking at those sachets and removed them.
Again I stress to follow safety measures.
Better to go overboard. I buy at least 25% more coverage than recommended bc I want to account for shipping losses of beneficial etc.
Real war stories:
I can tell you that this system works because I have been using it for over 2 years.
Disclaimers:
Please read and abide by all labels and data pages. I’m just a dude that grows plants in North Carolina, the people the come up with those labels are way smarter than me.
I grow in a dedicated grow space away from my living space.
Some of these organisms need special conditions to thrive, please cross check with the data sheet provided by Arbico before purchase.
This will 100% not work 100% of the time.
Converting to organic pest prevention will not save the planet from the real warfare that we as humans are waging every day on this planet that we and our beloved plants call home. This is just a method for eliminating the need to spray our pant brothers and sisters with unnecessary chemicals.
not affiliated with any brands other than AC Infinity