I’m a bit emotional right now. But in the bad way to be fair.
I just got stung by a wasp without any reason, after having to take a extensive
shower before because my body was totally itchy from all the mites and whatnot.
UGH! 😫
I’ve been pretty proud in the beginning of this experiment, because there were
lots of wild bees, beetles and other cool critters around here. It’s basically
like being in nature. But I forgot that nature sucks… 🥲
For example, imagine laying in the grass and just chilling.
Beautiful for the first 5 seconds, but then, you begin getting stung in the
asscreek by a dozen ants and get everything ruined.
Nature is basically dead in my area, so only the asshole bugs survive here.
The whole balcony is swarmed by aphids/ mites as well as ant colonies that
protect those suckers from ladybugs and other beneficial predatory insects. The
aphids droop honeydew everywhere, which attracts lots of yellow jacket wasps,
which in return could kill my girlfriend in minutes because she’s highly
allergic.
I didn’t even realise that asshole (the wasp, lol) is there until I got stung
just by existing.
I’m right about to pull the trigger and get my pesticides (neem oil/ pyrethrum
extract) out.
Also, I began to hate soil even more than before.
I have to hunt for slugs every evening, because they’re everywhere, and I can
barely stand a chance against them.
There are gnats living in it too, as well as other unwanted guests.
The plants in soil are starting to spread diseases and pests to my otherwise
healthy plants in hydroponics. I will for example harvest my weed soon, and
there are bugs sticking in the buds like in a glue trap. I have no idea how I
should get them out of them, it’s just disgusting.
I also largely prefer hydro compared to soil, not only because there are less
pests, but also because due to the much lower water demand and control it gives
me.
The soil is guzzling water like crazy and still the plants are looking way less
healthy.
Spraying neem oil on my hydro plants and just not using soil anymore seems to be
the way better choice right now.
Sorry for the rant. It had to be.
What should I do?
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In my experience, the ants that nest in our pots tend to favor the species we let have dry periods between waterings - in other words, our driest pots. If we can get the ants out of the picture, the aphids will lose their defenses and your predators can have a field day.
One method we’ve had some success with is submersion in water, using medium to large storage totes depending on the size of the pots. The tunnels flood and sometimes collapse, and you can flush them out.
Something else you could use is diatomaceous earth, which is generally available in garden and hardware stores. Make sure to liberally coat the soil surface and stem, and try to dust the aphids as well. Don’t inhale it. You’ll need to reapply it whenever it gets wet, so I’d recommend bottom watering whatever you can - I have a few small (1m x .3m) rubber boot trays I use for that. Something to note is that the DE is a broad-spectrum tool, so it won’t discriminate between the ants, aphids, or the predatory insects.
