Okiehusker,

You can knock them off the underside of the plants by directing a sharp stream of water at them. Of course, they may come back so you might have to do this repeatedly.

If you want, you can spray your pepper plants with either neem oil or insecticidal soap. I'd spray on a cooler, cloudier day since such sprays can damage tender plant foliage once we're having hot temperatures. Of the two, neem oil is believed to be safer for the lady bugs.

The lady bugs will take care of them too, and so will green lacewings.

Whiteflies vector a lot of diseases so it is important to knock down their population early on, and you can do it yourself if you think you don't have enough beneficial insects around to take care of them.

Some gardeners put out sticky traps and the whiteflies are attracted to them and then become stuck to them. You can buy sticky traps, or paint Tree Tanglefoot on any yellow object if you want to make your own.

In my garden, ants and ladybugs seem to peacefully coexist, so I wouldn't worry about the ants unless they are fire ants and they are attacking you. In that case, I'd use an organic fire ant product that contains spinosad. The one I buy comes in little white plastic container shaped like laundry detergent jugs, but very very small by comparison. I usually get it at Lowe's or Home Depot. but you may have to go to a nursery or farm store that carries a full line of organic products if the big box stores in your area don't carry a good selection of organics.

Dawn

I think i would much rather use Neem oil than soap if it is considered to be safer for the "ladies". LOL. The ants are what i've always called "piss" ants and I don't mind them so i am not in need of fire ant killer, as of yet (crossing fingers).

Tree Tanglefoot? Never heard of this. Is it usually available at nurseries, like TLC?

Thanks for the help,
Brad

Brad, It might be. I usually bought it at nurseries in Texas when we lived there, and I still do most of my shopping in Texas because we are closer to the D-FW metroplex than we are to OKC.

Tree Tanglefoot is a sticky product primarily sold to put on places where you don't want birds sitting or nesting or to put as a pest barrier on some kinds of trees. For example, if you have barn swallows (they live by the hundreds under the bridges here in southern OK since there's fewer barns than there used to be) that want to build nests on the side of your house, you put the tree tanglefoot there and they don't like sticking to it so they go away and build a nest elsewhere.

To make your own sticky traps, you can paint small pieces of scrap wood yellow and then apply the Tree Tanglefoot to that. The bugs are attracted to the yellow and become trapped. When the trap is covered in bugs, wash off the tanglefoot and reapply a new coating. Or, you can use pieces of yellow posterboard for a throw-away trap, or pieces of yellow plastic cut from laundry detergent jugs.

I haven't bought Tree Tanglefoot in a few years, but it comes in all sizes of containers. We used to buy it in fairly small tubes, but it comes in very large containers because its' intended use is as a tree trunk barrier (especially with fruit trees). I'll find and link their website. I always bought regular Tree Tanglefoot, but they have expanded their product line and now have a coating made just for the purpose I described. You might find it in a store, or you might have to order online.

On the website linked below, just click on "Tangle-Trap" to see their Insect Trap Coating.

And, by the way, you're welcome. Happy to be of assistance.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Tree Tanglefoot products

Dawn
I've been thinking that birds roosting in two trees that I have in my front border, which is surrounding by all kinds of low growing evergreens, shrubs, perinnials, etc, is partially the cause of the pesky Possum grapes cropping up in that area. I don't mind some of the Poke Salat, I eat that in spring, but the wild grapes have multiplied so fast this year I can hardly keep up with them. Do you think the Tree Tangefoot would work to put in these trees? They're at least 30 ft. tall.
I wish I had some Barn Swallows to keep the mesquitos down. I can't go outside without some kind of protection on.

Shekannah,

The bird roosting probably is at least part of the problem and Tree Tanglefoot might work, although it would be hard to coat all the branches on a tree that size.

"Our" barn swallows (I consider them ours because they nest/roost under the county bridge/road that run over our creek) fly and swoop endlessly and I certainly hope they are eating mosquitoes. Our best mosquito eaters by far, though, are the dragon flies and damsel flies, and of course, the bats come out at twilight and eat their share of flying insects too.

Even with all the birds and predatory insects, the mosquitoes are the worst this year they've ever been. One of the few things I miss about "drought" during a rainy year is the lack of mosquitoes during prolonged drought, especially once the ponds and creeks are dry. I don't miss the skeeters at all in a dry year.

Dawn

I don't know when dragonflies hatch out. I do remember seeing them during the summer, but they need to work harder! I'm thinking about building my own bathouse. Better than being munched on all summer by mosquitoes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bat-garden-natural-organic

Shekanahh,

If you are interested in building a bathouse, there are plans on the Oklahoma Bat website below, and there's lots of info at the Bat Conservation International website too.

Everything we've done since we moved here has been aimed at encouraging a diverse population of wildlife. Happily, the bats visit us every night. They are especially fond of flying and swooping over the five ponds (one is seasonal since it catches the overflow from the big pond, so that's only 4 ponds most years, but 5 this year) and around the outdoor security light.

We plant tons of night-blooming plants to attract night-flying insects and they, in turn, attract the bats. I'm in the process this month of transplanting 36 white-flowered angel trumpets to a newish moon garden area since the four o'clocks took over most of the original moon garden. I'm working on this area this week since the temps are cool.

At night, we like to sit outside after dinner and watch the purple martins, bats and other night-flyers and listen to the frogs, etc. Prior to sunset we'll see the dragon and damsel flies. There's dozens at any given time of the afternoon and evening at the height of summer. Right now, there's only a few. I assume it will take the population some time to rebound after 20 months of drought finally dried up all the ponds and creeks in 2009.

Sometimes, if we talk softly so our voices do not carry too far, we'll hear the call of the Whip-poor-will and Chuck-walla's-widow.

We're nature nuts.

Dawn

Dawn,
That sounds so idyllic, sigh. Times like that are only meant to be shared with a loved one. I miss that being a single lady. My hubby died when my boys were little, and have lived most of my life alone it seems.

Well, I am trying to develop my own micro version of yours. Very micro in comparison I might add. I was raised a country girl, and would have loved to return to that lifestyle at some point. There are so many things I would love to be able to do with more room.

I did get excited about the bathouse project and went ahead and bought one today,along with some night blooming flowers. I think I'll place it on the highest eave of my house on the south side, well above 15 ft, and where the 4 cats don't roam much.

I also bought more hummingbird attracting seed, since I'm too busy to be continually filling the feeders.

I realize I probably hijacked this thread. My apologies. You know conversations sort of run that way at times.

Anyways, it sounds like you have built a wonderful place and lifestyle. Your family is very blessed.

I wish you could post some pics for us. I'm sure everyone would love to see them. Maybe when your garden gets in full bloom with the "almost" sounds of elephants and monkey's roaming through it?

Shekanahh