Kitchen Garden Forum

Has anyone else noticed how relatively free they are of pests this year?
Other than badgers and foxes which have been far more than a pest. I have no carrot fly even after leaving off the fleece due to getting fed up with replacing it, no whitefly and no catterpillars even though there is a few white butterflies about and no blackfly on the beans. Rust on the leeks but no moth - all uncovered. What has happended?

It really has been a topsy turvy year. If only it could continue next year.

Beryl.

Hello Beryl
I think the long spell of severe weather just before Christmas must have had a lot to with it. Like you have found, we have not had must trouble here except for the b***** rabbits but even they haven't had much mxy this year.

John

I picked an undamaged cabbage today, no spray or dust or fleece, a first for me.

I think maybe you are right John. What ever it is like Peter it's a real pleasure to see healthy plants.

Beryl.

I would agree, right up till the rain started, but now the slugs and snails are on the increase again due to it being so wet, so needing to be vigilant again especially in the fromt garden where the ducks are not allowed, my ducks are enjoying it though and have puddled some great mud baths

Yes, NB, we have some huge slugs and snails on the allotment at the moment - they even attacked a marrow! When we see them, we send them "on holiday". i.e. throw onto the pasture next door. No doubt, they find their way back over and through the dry stone walls!

Otherwise, I agree with Beryl, it's been a relatively pest-free year, presumably because of the low winter temperatures.

I have visions of lots of slugs and snails airborne winging it through the air.... giggles... they do have a homeing instinct.

Funny I was thinking about this today when I washed off my carrots which were grown uncovered and are unblemished. No cabbage whites seem to have successfully laid but white fly id very lively on my brussels.

I'm sure it will be all different next year though - the challenge of us growers!

Westi

I have lots of garden spiders, I noticed a couple of cabbage whites caught in their webs, definitely fewer this year, the garden spiders do a good job catching pests.

Me and the Old Codger, were talking about the large cabbage white today. Although there have been a lot about throough the year, i have only had one plant with a couple of catterpillars on.

Very strange.

My Calabrese and Romanesque and a couple of Red Cabbages were attacked by Gall Weevil and now my Leeks have been hit by Leek Moth,even though they were covered with scaffold netting.

I might be wrong but I don't think scaffold netting is fine enough Snooky for the leek moth.
If they are not too bad you could try cutting them back, they will regrow but won't be quite as big.
Beryl.

Beryl wrote:I might be wrong but I don't think scaffold netting is fine enough Snooky for the leek moth.
If they are not too bad you could try cutting them back, they will regrow but won't be quite as big.
Beryl.

The mesh should be small enough I think. The problem is the eyelet holes needing to be sewn up first.
I was thinking of using fleece next year for leeks, as mine have been devastated again this year. I've had to cut them down 3 times already.

oldherbaceous wrote:Me and the Old Codger, were talking about the large cabbage white today. Although there have been a lot about throough the year, i have only had one plant with a couple of catterpillars on.

Very strange.

There have been a lot more of the small white this year down here. Although there have been plenty enough of the large white around. Anybody with unprotected brassicas on our site has had them stripped bare.