Green tiny insects in the tunnel ..

[Camile]

Hello,

I was wonderring if anyone could help me out ...

I have hundreds of little green beasties, mostly on the lettuces in the tunnel ...

there isn't much harm done to the plants ... but some are infested by them ...

anything I could do or introduce in the tunnels to help that ?

is there any supplier of biological controls in Ireland ? like we saw on River cottage with the aphids ...

maybe those beasties are some ...

Thanks,
Camile

[Millymollymandy]

They are probably greenfly which is an aphid. The ladybird is their natural enemy, so I suppose you could hunt for some outside and put them in your polytunnel! That might be a bit time consuming though!

It's a real pain when they get in your lettuce as they take so much washing to get rid of the bugs.

[Thurston Garden]

I have a pooter which I use to manually hoover up ladybirds. See here.

Scarletts are a good supplier of biological controls but you need a lotfor a largeish tunnel and ladybirds are far cheaper!

Also try and encourage lacewings into the tunnel - they are partical to an aphid or two...

[Millymollymandy]

I like your widget TG - and had a good chuckle over the first comment about it in your blog.

[Thurston Garden]

Ahah, yes... made by a neighbour... my mate had one too but his was made with the drainage hose off an old washing machine!

[Camile]

Thanks for that,

I'll definitely give a go at making a pooter .. sounds like fun too !

Camile

[Camile]

Good evening,

Here is what I found so far to help attract/control the insects in the tunnel ..

I have some nasturitums, french marigold, pyrethrum, fever few, geraniums, petunia, and sunflowers ...

I had most of them in the tunnel, except french marigold, pyrethrum, and feverfew, but found this list today:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants

and they all confirm that they attract/control aphids ...

Happy days
Camile

[Millymollymandy]

What plant is pyrethrum, Camile? I only know it as the active ingredient in the insecticide I use in my chicken shed.

[Camile]

Hi 3M,

It actually is a plant called Pyrethrum, the latin name seems to be Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium ..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrethrum

It's worth a try anyway ....

Camile