Serious help blackfly

[plotman]

I have a serious, and i mean serious infestationof blackfly on my broadbeans. Two weeks ago i spotted the blighters and pinched out the tops and sprayed with soapy water. The result is they have just muliplied to point of stopping the beans from early developement. Apart from atomic controlled explosion has any one got any suggestions please

[plotman]

Well im suprised, All you experienced allotmenteers and no one has a suggestion

[zazen999]

Yup, leave it more than 40 odd minutes, and someone will be along with something I'm sure.

[SarzWix]

Squish them as much as possible to begin with, then get one of those high powered garden spray bottles and blast the off with jets of water. And in the meantime, order some adult ladybirds off Wiggly Wigglers website, or some ladybird lavae from any place which sells natural predators. Plant some very yellow flowers next to them to attract hoverflies.

[zazen999]

I'd suggest for future reference......sow in the autumn and plant out very very early spring [mine went in the first week of Jan]....I find that if they have grown enough and toughened off before the blackfly are around they don't get any....well, I've not had any myself so can only comment on that.

I cut half of mine down last night as they had finished, and spent the evening de-podding loads in front of the 'prentice.....makes way for the peas which are next door to the broadies.

[plotman]

Thanks sarswick, appreciate yr advise, will try the water treatment and l will look into wiggly website, Reckon squish must be a northern term ) but think i get the jist. Many thanks

[plotman]

Thanks sazzen

[Farmer_Gyles]

a quick squirt of basic insecticide kills off the blackfly - the blackfly seems to come over a few days, so repeat every day or so

[PAULW]

If you spend a few minutes looking at the blackfly you will notice there are ants wandering over the beans, these ants farm the ants milking them for the honeydew the blackfly produce the ants will take blackfly from the older plants and place them onto the younger sweeter plants, so what I do is put ant powder around the base of the plant kill the ants a quick squirt of GP insecticide for the blackfly and there you are problem solved.

[Two_Sheds]

If you don't want to go down the chemical route, this is what works for me:
- start your beans early, and plant them out early (Nov or March). This will toughen them up enough to withstand the blackfly invasion in June
- keep looking over your plants. As soon as you see some blackfly, squish them all. Keep doing it.
- encourage predators that eat blackfly (ladybird & hoverfly larvae) by growing plants such as Limnanthes and English Marigolds
- grow a sacrificial plant ... nasturtium is the best blackfly attractant there is (it works for Cabbage White caterpillars too). Once infested, pull up the nasturtium and compost it with pests included.

It works!
I have only just got some blackfly, and my broad beans are already producing lots of beans. If they were still baby plants, they would really suffer from a big attack.

[selfraising]

I found an infestation of black fly on my parsnip shoots. Didn't think they went for parsnips

[Two_Sheds]

I found an infestation of black fly on my parsnip ... Didn't think they went for parsnips

Oh yeah, I did too! On my bolting parsnip.

[lainey lou]

Hi Plotman, my broadies just up the road from yours have also been infested with blackflies, even the crimson flowered variety. I have been spraying them every day or two with soapy water with a few drops of tea tree oil in, it seems to be keeping them under control.

The nastertiums I have planted next to my beans are strangly aphid free - must be clever these Wiltshire blackfly!

[Farmer_Gyles]

paulw - thanks for the tip about ant powder - gonna do that in a while when it's a bit drier!

[lainey lou]

Cornflour is good as ant powder BTW.