blackfly

[hamsterqueen]

I have finally managed to get down to survey my veggie garden, all is doing wonderfully and seems to have gone wild in the last week.

Courgette is flourishing, but seems to have blackfly on the flower buds, any ideas how I can get rid of it?

Ideally without nasty chemicals

[rooksie]

I'm in the same boat. I've removed the leaves from the courgettes that have the most of the critters on. Grew courgettes last two years and never had a problem but this year there's loads of blackfly. Still producing courgettes though....

[hamsterqueen]

thanks, I've never had the problembefore this year either. It's the first time Ive ever grown courgette plants in a container.

I seem to have loads of flawer buds and baby courgettes and tehplant looks flourishing so I;ll just remove what I can and let it get on with it.

:0)

[starloc]

try mixing a teaspoon of cooking oil, a drop of dishwash liquid and a litre of water, it kills blackfly, spray it on them and spray the plants , the oil on the surface makes it hard for them to lay eggs or hold onto the plant and it kills the insects sprayed onto them

[ginger ninger]

Good tip Starloc.... dose it work for green fly as well???... The one and only ladybird seems to have gone.

[starloc]

Good tip Starloc.... dose it work for green fly as well???... The one and only ladybird seems to have gone.

It works for greenfly as well, there are other oils that can be used, make sure you dont make it too strong a teaspoon in a litre is usualy more than enough, i often use neem oil as well, both work, but most use sunflower oil, or corn oil
commercial growers often use horticultural oil ( a clear pure mineral oil )

Cooking oil does the same as horticultural oil, neem is a natural pesticide some dont like neem oil

it also works for things like scale and leaf miner, it stops them holding onto the leaves, but when sprayed on the aphids, blackfly etc it just suffocates them as well as making it impossible for them to feed

just dont spray it on bees, ladybirds etc, it wont hurt them unless you spray it all over them