World War 3
Calling all gardeners among my readers. Even lazy ones!
I need your advice. We’ve been invaded by a plague of Soldier Beetles. And I mean a PLAGUE! These photos with them resting on top of our recycle bin.
We’ve never had this problem before but these things have congregated at our places in their millions and have become a pest. They’re not harmful and I believe that gardeners like them because they keep the harmful bugs away but enough is enough.
They congregate in our big eucalyptus tree and a row of Photinia. They mate in huge clumps on practically anything green around a small section of our yard, and when things heat up, they swarm and you can’t venture outside without eating the things.
We have been spraying them with a white oil mixture of vegetable oil, dishwashing liquid and water but it has limited effect on these fellows. Slows them down and they disappear for a bit but come bouncing back with vengeance.
The local nursery confirmed that the problem is widespread in the area and more a nuisance than a problem. They mentioned a chemical that would work but at the risk of nuking every living thing within a wide range so we opted for their suggestion of bringing in the big guns of using the Karcher.
That, or napalm.
I’d be nuking them with whatever’s closest to DDT I could find! I hate bugs!
Ah, the smell of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane in the morning.
Sorry I’ve not been around much I got sick the day after Christmas, and am just getting over it.
I’ve lived in several areas that had plagues of insects, spiders, or toads. Anything in large numbers gives me the hee-bee-gee-bees.
Sorry to hear you haven’t been well. Take care.
SS but it looks like your be better off when they leave..Quote:- Since soldier beetles are beneficial and harmless it is unnecessary to control them. Larvae that enter a house in the fall are only a nuisance. Entry can be prevented by weather-stripping, caulking and other measures that seal likely points of entry. Spraying of either the exterior perimeter or the interior has little if any benefit. Soldier beetles already inside the house need only be swept or picked up and discarded.
A few pesky ones get in the house when the door is open but easy to despatch.
We have our own problem here in Florida, check out Love Bugs
I don’t love these guys. A few maybe but not this many.
Are you sure you’ve been a good boy? Maybe someone put an evil spell on you and sent you a plague of soldier beetles?
I’m purer than driven snow. I think they have the wrong address.
One rather gruesome trick is to collect a large handful of bugs and blend/process them with a cup of water, pour the mess through a sieve and spray that around, (that is an old fashioned and harmless trick from before the days of chemical warfare) Another is to blend/process garlic and water, sieve and spray that around.
Might go for the garlic and water one, eh.
Oh, vampire beetles: In that case everybody should wear garlic on a string around there neck and carry a cross and a wooden stake.
Should be gone in no time, or after dawn.
I’m sure the neighbours will be impressed.