Red Lily Beetle beware .................

Right, I'm off out to check now. I was hoping the cold winter would have given them a setback. I'll know i'm getting old when I'm not quick enough to strike them like a lighting bolt and they get the chance to hide from me belly-up on the soil!

 

How do you squash them? Finger-and-Thumb or is that not strong enough? trying to get them off the plant they fell on the ground and then I couldn't find them ... wasn;t sure if they were going to nip me, or not?

 

Finger and thumb they dont bite but they are quick
just pretend its £10.00 on the floor in a shop that will spead you up

Spruce

 

Hi Kristen. They are a bit of a tough nut to crack, but I reckon a pair of long nose pliers would do the job nicely

 

Hiya M/F. Does that actually take care of them ? I thought they were pretty much invulnerable.

Cheers...Freddy.

 

Wasn`t Lily wearing `em?:yess:

 

Especially if you hit them on the head with the tin.Wave

 

Yup, finger and thumb, but you have to go for a clean grab as if they feel the leaves rustle they will fall belly-up on the compost and be invisible. Then, when you've gone away, they just climb back on. Once I've got them gripped firmly between finger and thumb I put them on the path and stamp on them. They don't nip, in my experience.

Found six so far, thanks for the heads-up. That's several lots of coitus very gratifyingly interrupted.

I don't use chemical killers as I've found that if I pick them off regularly during April/May the numbers diminish considerably later in the summer.

 

Just an update. I used Provado a week or two ago, and I haven't seen one since ! :D

 

My first encounter with the lily beetle has occurred this week. I was walking past the lilies (which were totally untouched last year) and noticed loads of holes over all four plants, closer inspection revealed one bright red bug on each plant, which quickly got knocked off and squished. The way they pull the legs in and drop off was a bit of a surprise (and a good escape mechanism if your eyes aren't so good). After reading up on them i went back to look for eggs and found loads of tiny bright red/orange eggs on the under sides of the leaves and these also all got a good squishing. Being new to all this I'll have to keep an eye on all the other lilies and see how much damage they can do?

 

I have found loads this year and have enjoyed squashing them with my shoe on a paving slab so there is no way they will be coming back.
Here is a couple of photos I have taken in case any members who are new to gardening are not quiet sure what they need to look out for