Beneficial Insects

Widow Maker

Widow Maker

Well-Known Member
Has anyone used any insects to get rid of pest?

I used some lady bugs once. They seemed to help but they all went into the light and cooked themselves.

What are some other insects that would be good for our garden?

I was going to catch a praying mantis but I wasnt sure if it would be a good idea. He flew away before I could decide to catch him or not. lol.
 
skunkushybrid

skunkushybrid

New Member
This is interesting as I have often thought about this myself. I've been leaning towards spiders. No, no. The best has got to be gecko's. Hope I've spelled that right, anyway you know where I'm coming from.

You've got to get the right type of gecko though as some will only eat at certain times of the year. You can get ones that eat all year round too. Good thing about them as well is they're fairly cheap. I'd love some gecko's, not just for the grow room but they're also good in your living space. I hate flys, which is why I like spiders, which is why I love gecko's. Or you could have gecko's for the outside of the light-space and spiders for the inside.

Peace out Widow, and I hope that I've manged the courtesy of helping you out for a change.
 
potroast

potroast

Uses the Rollitup profile
Yeah, I've tried bug therapy. Indoors, it really doesn't work well unless you are committed to using it with a complete pest control system. First of all, you must start it when or before pests take over. And you can't introduce bugs to plants that have been sprayed with anything, even Neem Oil, for a couple of weeks. And all sticky traps must be removed.

I've used Ladybugs for aphids indoors, with most Ladybugs dying within a day or 2. You just sweep up dead bugs for days.

I've used whitefly predators too and they didn't do the job. Basically, with the plants in the flowering room for only 9-10 weeks, the pest bugs have time to take over, and the beneficial bugs don't.

To control aphids in the growroom, I release Ladybugs outside around the growroom.

HTH :mrgreen:
 
skunkushybrid

skunkushybrid

New Member
The clone king was on about this stuff today. What is it exactly? I'm sure he said something about only being able to use it while plants are in veg'.
 
Sublime757

Sublime757

Well-Known Member
Green lacewings are a general purpose predator. they eat almost any bugs the are smaller than them. and theyre a good size too. Pirate bugs eat ahpids, spider mites and thrips. pirate bugs are most attracted to thrips though. and if youre having a problem with fungus gnats in the soil, then predatory nematodes are good for that. and of course praying mantids kill everything and are totally badass. this is as far as i know on beneficial insects
 
potroast

potroast

Uses the Rollitup profile
skunkushybrid said:
The clone king was on about this stuff today. What is it exactly? I'm sure he said something about only being able to use it while plants are in veg'.
Click to expand...
Neem Oil is a natural pesticide and fungicide, good for a lot of things. I've used it during the first half of flowering, too. I've heard of growers with powdery mildew using it until 2 weeks before harvest with no problems.

You don't want to spray newly rooted cuttings with any oil/soap spray, tho.

HTH :mrgreen:
 
B

bubbahotep1

Active Member
I read once that the only way to be pest fee is frequent flushing of the soil. But then you have to becareful of the shock to the plants... Plus it was never said how often frequent flushing was..

i used lady bugs and they seem to work, but I kept frying them as well. So i tried removing them during "daytime" hours and adding them back at night... That was too much of a pain...
 
h20xygen

h20xygen

Well-Known Member
ok my garage is absolutely covered in spiderwebs and spiders up in the rafters, so i guess im lucky or what?
 
B

bubbahotep1

Active Member
I think he is referring to the tin foil. A big no no... You may be thinking of mylar. They look the same to the naked eye.....
 
Sublime757

Sublime757

Well-Known Member
the shiny side of tin foil can cause hot spots and burn leaves. but if you use the dull side it wont do this.
 
Widow Maker

Widow Maker

Well-Known Member
And also I have always read not to use glossy white and just use flat white. I dont really practice either since I believe I have plenty of light already. But it wouldnt hurt. Maybe one day I will get off my ass and paint. lol.
 
potroast

potroast

Uses the Rollitup profile
All right you guys, all this talk of tin foil and glossy enamel has me wanting to look for widow's old lady.:twisted:

I've always said flat white paint. The shiny coverings must be stretched tight with no wrinkles or waves to work best. Here's the chart of percentages of light reflected from Jorge's latest:

Foylon 94-95
Reflective Mylar 90-95
Flat white paint 85-93
Semi-gloss white 75-80
Flat yellow 70-80
Aluminum Foil 70-75
Black < 10

There ya go, and when you buy the white paint, tell the paint guy to mix in a packet of fungicide.

HTH :mrgreen:
 
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