Gardning Question

[isadora44]

I have been growing some bulbs in my small outdoor garden and they have bugs feasting on them.

I want to get some bug spray but need something that is animal safe. My cats are not allowed outside, but many neighbors let their cats out and I dont want to hurt any of them

Any ideas?

EDIT: How embarassing....I spelled "gardening" wrong in the title.

 

[gailc]

They could be thrips or mealybugs (do you see like white cotton stuff towards the base of the bulbs??)
You first could try a good sharp blast of water on the plants to knock the insects off-do you have a nozzle that can deliver a jet of water to the plants??
If not, most pyrethrin based pesticides are safe and widely available at hardware, gardening or Home Depot/Lowes. This is a plant based pesticide.
Just follow the directions for application.
If this does not take care of the problem let me know.
Any more questions pm me.

 

[gailuvscats]

You can make your own concoction of hot sauce, garlic, water, a little soap. chewing insects don't like it. reapply after rain. You really should identify the bug. can you see them? or are they only eating at night. If they are japenese beetles, or if it is anything you can't see during the day, get a flashlight and look for them after dark. Take a bucket of soapy water, and pluck them off so they drop in the bucket.

 

[isadora44]

I just went out there and the only thing I can see are little black specs on some of the leaves and on the flower. I'll look tonight to see if I can see anything live.

They really have done a good job...some of the leaves are half gone and the petals on one of the flowers are pretty chewed up. I've had the problem for awhile, just now getting around to fixing it.

 

[isadora44]

Originally Posted by GailC

They could be thrips or mealybugs (do you see like white cotton stuff towards the base of the bulbs??)
You first could try a good sharp blast of water on the plants to knock the insects off-do you have a nozzle that can deliver a jet of water to the plants??
If not, most pyrethrin based pesticides are safe and widely available at hardware, gardening or Home Depot/Lowes. This is a plant based pesticide.
Just follow the directions for application.
If this does not take care of the problem let me know.
Any more questions pm me.

I just looked at the bottle of stuff I bought yesterday (before I even considered the animal safety issue) and the active ingredients are pyrethrin and canola oil (the brand name is "Garden Safe"). Should that be okay to use then?

 

[gailc]

YEP!!! Just don't apply this during the hottest part of the day. This ingredient won't kill the good bugs either.

 

[mybabyphx]

This is a little sidetracked I know, but have you checked out Anne's other website? I have a link in my siggie.. you should check it out! (It's a gardening forum!)