What's your worst pest and solutions?

Fishinjunky

Fishinjunky

Well-known member
My worst pest is the darn bee's, wasps, and hornets. Soon as a fig starts to ripen they are on it chewing holes.
Next season I'm going to try organza bags or some kind of netting. I would have to do alot of bagging if I use organza bags though.

So I'm curious what is your worst pest an what you do about it?
 
Black Fig Fly. Fortunately, I guess, my collection is small so that I used organza bags on all the figs. I have only lost one fig so far to the BFF - Late bagging but still captured larva before escaping to the ground. Birds and flying insects have attacked the nearby stone fruit where only a portion of the fruit were bagged. More bags for next year. My current concern re organza bags is the morning marine layer moisture getting trapped at the contact points between bag and fig introducing mold.
 
Pill bug roly poly. They eat leaves, bark, and of course the fruit.

Solution: tbd. Prob tanglefoot but I hate that stuff. It reacts with bark no matter how you try to prevent it.
 
Figsee said:
Spidermites. Not something I’m too concerned about on my trees but ones I’m trading or giving away are on a regiment of sulfur sprays
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@Figsee we recently changed our approach just a bit to spider mites, and fig bud mites here at figless farms. We mostly try to dip sealed cuttings that are propagated with the transparent Cup in lid method. Or that are propagated as fig pops. Since this keeps the rooting medium safely contained. Even though it is not general practice to apply wettable sulfur as a dip I tried it over a year ago and it's worked like a charm. So it's become standard practice. We recently tried adding spinosad as well for a tank mixture to be used as a dip when cuttings are transferred Outdoors. Of course bigger fig trees will need to be sprayed all the leaves front, and back. But smaller sealed cuttings are easily dipped for a much evener coat. As always I recommend Yucca extract, the one we use is a powder added to the solution. This keeps everything suspended so that the plants receive the intended dose of wettable sulfur and now spinosad. Otherwise the sulfur quickly settles on the bottom of whatever container you use and is almost impossible to mix up once it's settled. Apply at dusk it shouldn't hurt or burn the leaves.
 
Figless said:
@Figsee we recently changed our approach just a bit to spider mites, and fig bud mites here at figless farms. We mostly try to dip sealed cuttings that are propagated with the transparent Cup in lid method. Or that are propagated as fig pops. Since this keeps the rooting medium safely contained. Even though it is not general practice to apply wettable sulfur as a dip I tried it over a year ago and it's worked like a charm. So it's become standard practice. We recently tried adding spinosad as well for a tank mixture to be used as a dip when cuttings are transferred Outdoors. Of course bigger fig trees will need to be sprayed all the leaves front, and back. But smaller sealed cuttings are easily dipped for a much evener coat. As always I recommend Yucca extract, the one we use is a powder added to the solution. This keeps everything suspended so that the plants receive the intended dose of wettable sulfur and now spinosad. Otherwise the sulfur quickly settles on the bottom of whatever container you use and is almost impossible to mix up once it's settled. Apply at dusk it shouldn't hurt or burn the leaves.
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Yea good approach. I was mostly referring to larger trees specifically in the greenhouse where I don’t like to spray and get sulfur or oils on the panels
 
@Figsee Please please please do not use Horticultural oils, like neem oil on spider mites. How about spider mite predators? Also just spraying with H2O should knock them back quite a bit. How big is your Greenhouse? I myself am severely handicapped so shuffling without a helper is just about impossible for me. You could try Azatrol, or Azamax instead. It's a much safer product, and should not burn Leafs. But sadly you would have to reapply. Spray a little on your G house panels, or polyfilm and see if it leaves a residue. @MattK only uses predator mites, and never has a problem. Maybe he will pop into this thread.
 
Figless said:
@Figsee Please please please do not use Horticultural oils, like neem oil on spider mites. How about spider mite predators? Also just spraying with H2O should knock them back quite a bit. How big is your Greenhouse? I myself am severely handicapped so shuffling without a helper is just about impossible for me. You could try Azatrol, or Azamax instead. It's a much safer product, and should not burn Leafs. But sadly you would have to reapply. Spray a little on your G house panels, or polyfilm and see if it leaves a residue. @MattK only uses predator mites, and never has a problem. Maybe he will pop into this thread.
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Let me clarify by saying I don’t like to spray oils or sulfur or anything in the greenhouse but yes I am not spraying oil on my fig trees for mite control. I’ve released ladybugs and predator mites in the greenhouse which seems to get me through the spring until the trees transition outside.

My greenhouse is 10x20. Big enough to grow about 12 trees year round and to hold all my pots through the winter.
 

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Off the top.... raccoons as you all know and the only way to deal for me is relocation. I speak of them frequently so aside from them.... Most of what's been mentioned here and a few more

Wasps
Hornets
Earwigs
Ants
Asian lady beetle.

I've tried sprays but for the small pests always found physical barriers to be more reliable. No one spray seems to deal with all of them so this is a good blanket solution.

Ants sometimes get into the bags if the drawstrings loosen. Ant baits placed strategically help with this
 
I had Alot of trouble with ants.
I feel like I've solved that problem completely by making up Ant poison bait stations.
I save up 16 oz water bottles, I'll mix sugar and Borax 50/50 with some water to make a syrup. Get a few hundred cotton balls. Get the "syrup" mixed into the cotton balls then put 2 or 3 in each water bottle. Spread the bait stations out one for every 3 or 4 full sized pot. On the ground not in or on the pot.
 
DCallahan said:
The European hornets, bald faced hornets and Yellow jackets are my biggest pests. I started to make good headway with them by putting out Fipronil in the Spring using fish based cat food for the delivery mechanism.

You want to Absolutely avoid any sugar in the bait to avoid honey bee casualties.
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I'm going to try that next season
 
Can’t believe I forgot my worst pest

Root Knot Nematode
  • potted trees if infected - air layer or junk it
  • inground trees - treating with jadam JLF/JMS and organic matter/fertilizers and pray roots can outrun or regrow faster than RKN can infect.
 
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