Greenhouse - Protection from the nasties.

Tiggy · Post by **Tiggy** » Sun Aug 19, 2012 10:27 pm

What is the most effective way to try and debug a greenhouse before putting the plants back in? I have a few odd plants in already (new ones that have just been re-potted, and gymnos.that seem to prefer being there) but the last three buds on my gymnos. have been eaten during the night just as they were due to flower.

I realize that nothing is fool-proof but I just want to know how to make sure that the plants will be as safe as poss. when they are put in for their winter rest. Thanks for any advice.
Susi

majcka · Post by **majcka** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:46 am

It would be good to know what eat them. The protection might be depend on what you have inthere.

Sharpy · Post by **Sharpy** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 11:51 am

I have had found large cockroaches love to eat Gymno flower buds. Lost quite a few buds a month or 2 ago till I found the guy sleeping in a hollow plastic leg of the tables my plants are on. He even chewed the tops off a couple of the growth point bumps on a Baldianum

Not sure if you have those over there or not. Bug spray FTW for me.

Tiggy · Post by **Tiggy** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:56 pm

Sharpie - They do exist here but have not seen any around, horrible horse-flies, and plenty of grass-hoppers crickets mice snakes etc. The trouble is the gh. windows are open during the day and even though I have a good look around before closing for the night can't see anything.

I'm tempted to lay my bets on crickets at the moment. Most of the plants are outside, and wasn't really planning on using the gh 'til autumn and cooler temps. set in, otherwise I would have had net at the windows to try and keep them under control a bit. Hey Ho! That's life I suppose. Can't have the hot weather without everything else that goes with it, unfortunately. By the way you say you use a Bug Spray FTW? I know this may seem a stupid question but what does FTW stand for?

Majcka - As you can see from the above this is the core of the problem, trying to find out what it is.
Susi

Tiggy · Post by **Tiggy** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 10:08 pm

Here's some shots of my poor little gymno "the morning after the night before"

: chewed up gymno. 20.08 (1) (Copy).JPG (46 KiB) Viewed 2757 times

: chewed up gymno. 20.08 (2) (Copy).JPG (40.21 KiB) Viewed 2757 times

: chewed up gymno. 20.08 (3) (Copy).JPG (47.97 KiB) Viewed 2757 times

Susi

Sharpy · Post by **Sharpy** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 10:54 pm

hehe, sorry. FTW = For the win.

If that is cockroach damage, its was a small roach. The big ones here are about 1-1/2 to 2" long and a 1/2" wide. We don't mess around in the cockroach capital of USA. I'm guessing crickets, like you said are common there. A mouse probably would have not stopped at that little nibble. And the damage I had looked more like someone to a few large bites out of a apple. Nice smooth removed area.

If they are on a table try spraying some poison down around the border of the table. Maybe a barrier will keep them at bay a little. Just a idea.

Tiggy · Post by **Tiggy** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 11:17 pm

Thank Sharpy. Will have to see if I can find something to deter them. Don't like killing anything though. Just have to see about getting that net on the windows as the summer seems as if it going to carry on for a little while yet. Once autumn starts the temps. drop at night here quite a bit so should resolve the problem I hope.

Susi

majcka · Post by **majcka** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 6:27 am

Maybe a net could help. Only how dense should it be? I have one that has 1,5 x 1,5 cm holes. That could be cats and mice retained, but cricket still gets in. Some of my felow cactikeepers has even more dense net. The kind even a fly couldn't get in.

Tiggy · Post by **Tiggy** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 10:01 am

Majcka - After having a good think about this I now have an idea forming of how to block them ( I hope

) Will try and sort something today and then post again if I think it is OK. Will fine net or mosquito net but want to be able to remove in the daytime for air circulation. Keep me out of mischief for the day if I can work in this heat that we have at the moment.

What is like where you are? I think you have the extra high temps. as well don't you?
Susi

majcka · Post by **majcka** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 3:37 pm

Tiggy wrote: What is like where you are? I think you have the extra high temps. as well don't you?

Yap. Extra high temps is 36C (95F) and that is high for here. We have an orange on meteoalarm for temps. And that shows how good of meteorologis I am. Just last week I said there won't be no higt temps anymore here.

And here wa are. They say it will be so for another week.

Tiggy wrote: Majcka - After having a good think about this I now have an idea forming of how to block them ( I hope ) Will try and sort something today and then post again if I think it is OK. Will fine net or mosquito net but want to be able to remove in the daytime for air circulation. Keep me out of mischief for the day if I can work in this heat that we have at the moment.

Keep us posted about how it's going. OK?

Or you can try that way:

Tiggy · Post by **Tiggy** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 9:43 pm

Have put some anti-bug contraptions in the gh tonight. All home-made from whatever I could find for now. Will have a more serious go at it in the next few days. Took some pics. as I thought they might amuse someone to see how I improvised, just have to load them, re-size and then post them. If I don't have time tonight they will be on tomorrow.
Susi

Tiggy · Post by **Tiggy** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 10:31 pm

OK Re-sized the pics. now to see if I can up-load them quickly-First two shots are of the material that I used.

: P1030535 (Copy).JPG (67.2 KiB) Viewed 2717 times

: This is also mosquito net that I used for the windows in the house; P1030540 (Copy).JPG (32.21 KiB) Viewed 2717 times

: P1030556 (Copy).JPG (43.02 KiB) Viewed 2717 times

: P1030593 (Copy).JPG (50.72 KiB) Viewed 2717 times

: P1030578 (Copy).JPG (76.48 KiB) Viewed 2717 times

: P1030584 (Copy).JPG (20.26 KiB) Viewed 2717 times

: P1030588 (Copy).JPG (24.56 KiB) Viewed 2717 times

: P1030590 (Copy).JPG (27.5 KiB) Viewed 2717 times

: P1030593.JPG (52.29 KiB) Viewed 2717 times

: And last but not least.......; P1030605 (Copy).JPG (47.12 KiB) Viewed 2717 times

Now to wait and see if it works

Susi

Post by **daiv** » Wed Aug 22, 2012 1:52 am

Looks like you've come up with a solution - hope that works.

I could not offer much from experience as pests don't seem too interested in my plants. I do treat them once a year with a systemic insecticide - imidicloprid so that might be why I think my greenhouse is also a rather sterile environment. Pea rock on the floor and everything is very very dry and hot. The plants get watered, but any water that runs off dries fast. These are generally bad conditions for bugs.

I did have a mouse, but after I put some mouse traps out, it seems to have just gone away on its own. No more sign and nothing in the traps.

majcka · Post by **majcka** » Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:07 am

daiv wrote: I did have a mouse, but after I put some mouse traps out, it seems to have just gone away on its own. No more sign and nothing in the traps.

Which mouse would be in that conditions on its own will???

majcka · Post by **majcka** » Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:08 am

See, Susi! Even the food net come handy.

Greenhouse - Protection from the nasties.

Greenhouse - Protection from the nasties.

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Re: Greenhouse - Protection from the nasties.