GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE PESTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 786, 5 October 1929, Page 34

GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE PESTS

Ants. —These well-known pests occa- i | sionally make their home Inside a ! greenhouse, and cause damage in one j : way or another. To prevent their J reaching choice plants, it may be i necessary to stand an inverted pot in a seed pan lull of water, and to set the plant upon the invented pot. Small pieces of cottonwool round plant stems are also good preventatives. To kill ants which infest the soil of pots, immerse the pot for two hours in water, coloured red with permanganate of potash. At other times search out j the nest, and destroy it with boiling j wate- of coal tar disinfectant. At the j same time, wash down the place with ! ordinary disinfectant solution. Dusting naphthaline powder in their haunts discourages them. A bone left lying : about, or a piece of bread with syrup i or treacle on it, is a certain trap for ! the pests., which can then be easily l killed. I Cockroaches. —-Most readers are j familiar with this pest, which occa- ‘ sfbnally makes its home in the green- j house. Being a no.cturnal marauder, and hiding in chinks and crannies during the day, it is a difficult pest to deal with. The first thing necessary is to clear away all rubbish. Paint, whitewash, and hot water may then be freely used. In addition, it is better to poison the pests with beetle poison .from a chemist, and to trap them with .'beetle traps, or tins containing stale ; beer and sugar. Oatmeal with an ounce of parts green (poison) mixed I with it is efficient. I Weevils. —Although several kinds of j weevil may cause trouble, the clayI coloured weevils are, as a rule, the ! : worst. They feed at night, and hide i | generally under the soil during the | day. The full-grown insects attack j flowers, seedlings, ferns, and other j plants, while the white maggot hatched j from their eggs may be found in the i compost of all greenhouse pots. A j very good plan is to enter the green- | house at night and to shake each pot I over a paper smeared with treacle, oil, lor grease. Spray in:; with nicotine j insecticide gradually clears them j away, and pots may be allowed to I stand up to their rims in permanganate jof potash solution for two hours to kill the maggots at the roots. In | some cases a spoonful of guano, j watered in with tepid water, works wonders. Wood Lice. —It will be found that cleanliness in the greenhouse is a great step toward immunity. Thereafter, borax and beetle poison will soon clear away any which are left. Do not let the borax come into contact with tender plants. Mealy Bug.—Syringing with nicotine insecticide is advised, but the work must be kept up until immunity is secured. The methylated spirit bottle and a brush should always be available. Badly infested plants are best burned, and by a gradual process of elimination, coupled with constant attention, this difficult pest can finally be cleared out. Scale.—This pest may be found on the shoots, leaves, and stems of many greenhouse plants, like the fern, palm, aspidistra, camelia, etc. Hard-wooded plants may be scrubbed or liberally syringed with Gishurst insecticide or paraffin emulsion. Palm, aspidistra, and other leaves may be sponged with these also. The leaf is laid on a sheet of rdboard, and the sponge drawn gently along it. Other plants require to be syringed with nicotine liquid every third day.