Keeping Lily Beetle Under Control

This has been a tried experiment with practice and diligence — my story at Hartle-Gilman Gardens

How many of you have Scarlett Lily Beetle?  I do— most do now days.

I have experienced Lily Beetle three seasons ago and the first season I had no clue what it actually was. The second season I bought every product know to mankind and that year I had no beetles, but I must be honest, I do not remember even a bug on the property that year. How terrible. Lifeless the gardens seem to be that season. Never again I told myself.

So, after research of digging deep on the life cycle of this Scarlett pest, , I found a happy compromise within the meadows of Hartle-Gilman Gardens.

some facts of the Scarlett Beetle… emerging in the spring they mate and lay hundreds of eggs on the undersides of leaves of lilium. Eggs hatch about 7-10 days, that is why I spray twice a week with my two products for about 5 weeks total starting mid April, each week in May and a couple weeks in June. Then randomly if I see fly-in beetles. The beetles like to sun themselves. So, a sunny day you can spot them on top of the leaves. They like to mate. A LOT OF MATING GOING ON MEANS A LOT OF EGGS—So spray twice a week — you will be very happy that you took the time to take care of a possible infestation.

This works— I have over 3k lilies that emerge each spring that are either within the display gardens or in test plots for future research. So lets make a potion or two….. yes–two different sprays.. I will explain further down.

1. The first and the most important strategy is to start in the earliest stage of the season when the pips are emerging out of the soil. As soon as the lilies start growing and you see the emerging of your prize lilies it requires you to put on a sweater, on a cool April day, and scratching some of the leaf coverage from around the pips and start your weekly practice of one of the most important rituals of you conquering any infestation of Scarlet Lily Beetle. .

• If you are in control of the beetles and larvae for the entire season, remember the benifits—

 (even if the lilies look fantastic) , this will reduce the emerging  beetles that overwinter and the following season, you will see the reduction the population. We will always have some fly-ins per-se, as my neighboring garden friends may not practice what I am going to start preaching.

Let’s start with the method of madness—Hand picking, combing through thousands of lilies was not something that I truly had time for, but I did. Each moment I was outdoors, I would scan with my hawk eyes for that Scarlett beast. Handpicking and digging my nail into the body until I heard a crush of satisfaction. Trying my hardest I had heard that there were some great products on the market to aid in my task. Almost like bringing in an exterminator. So— I decided to grabbed my credit card and I tried a few things.  

   I read that diatomaceous ( die ah da matous earth ) could be used as a good preventive. Well, that worked somewhat, but it was not as effective as I needed it to be.

 I tried a bottle of Neem oil with peppermint, and products that were crop ready… spending more than I wanted to but the claims were exactually what I wanted it to do. Kill the beetle.  Well…. The summer continued and the lilies were still getting eaten. How was I to have a business that specializes in Lilium of all divisions grow healthy and strong lilies.  Time to dig into some research of IPM. Gardening is always full of rewards as well as challenges. I truly believe that every plant I nurture, and every bloom reflects my care and dedication to the life of a plant well lived, and in my case, the health and growth of a bulb to increase season upon season. Spreading blooms of delight within the gardens.

Here is the dirt on what worked for me, and what practice I am doing again this season.

Lilies in Minnesota St Paul,  Hartle-Gilman Gardens emerge April 6,

Time to make a concoction of Neem Oil Juice/Spray.

Half a gallon,   give or take

5-6 Tbs Neem oil and 1 Tbs Liquid Dawn Soap. We need to have a surfactant added to the oily substance.  Mix well and pour into a spray pump bottle.  I add the Neem oil and the dawn first and then add water slowly so it will not create bubbles in the container.

Lets talk about Neem Oil—.  Derived from the neem tree seeds ( Azadirachta  AZ A DIR ACTA  INDICA  

 There are two different ways of extracting Neem oil from the seeds:

1. Alcohol extraction removes az a dir ach tin from the oil which is the specific chemical that we need to kill the larvae of these Scarlett beetles. The products that I have purchased in the past were the common neem products that are out there on the internet and at the local nurseries. These products are sold to kill mites and aphids, or even work as a fungicide for roses, that contains “clarified hydrophobic extracts of neem,” which is that darn alcohol -extracted version I mention above , and thus it will not kill beetles or larvae.
2. Cold-pressing – the “Pure” Neem Oil – This dark rich, thick oil that is great for the skin as well as your lilies will do a great job. Make sure it is 100% Neem Oil, make sure it says “Pure” as well as Cold-Pressed.

Neem oil is absorbed systemically throughout the plant when it is absorbed via roots; but when sprayed on to the foliage, the plant absorbs less of it. This makes neem safer than other broad-spectrum systemic insecticides when it’s used as a foliar spray.  So, buy the Pure Cold Press Neem Oil and save a ton of money and have an extremely effective foliar product that you have made yourself.

 Observation with Neem Oil— The spray doesn’t kill them immediately, but it does repel them.  It takes a day or so as they digest the foliage of the lily plant that has been sprayed. The neem oil spray effects the larvae greatly from developing and advancing to the next stage of development. So the second generation will die.  So, if you have not found all the eggs, do not worry, they will not further develop with the neem oil that has been sprayed on the foliage. Remember, there is no need to keep spraying your lilies daily. I usually have a routine of twice a week for a couple of months… then randomly

I also have noticed that the spray leaves a small residual on the foliage so it’s easy to see when I need to reapply.  Usually each weekend, I try to spray (remember this is short lived as the season reduces after 5-6 weeks)

WHEN THE BLOOMS START TO POP–

STOP

Now as a Master Gardener, we all were taught practices and principals of IPM (Integrated Pest Management), and that is to avoid allowing pest to become resistance to an insecticide (Your Homemade Neem Spray) Contacting the professionals, I asked if this can happen with Neem Oil, Yes was the reply I received. The beetle can become resistant to my homemade  product. So—– here is the second product I use and why I chose this one.

The safest and most effective insecticide is Spinosad—- a purchased product that works wonderfully.

   because it kills both the larvae and the beetle. When comparing it to many other products out there of broad-spectrum insecticides, Spinosad is safer because it doesn’t get absorbed into the plant and spread systemically into the vital fluids of nectar and pollens. Spinosad is derived from soil bacteria so the product allows insects to visit and gather foods and nectar. Spinosad remains on the leaf surface, where it kills the beetles and the larvae by both contact and ingestion.

So, I am now using two different products for the Scarlett Beetle. Each week, at the beginning of the emerging of plants, I will walk around and spray twice a week, rotating as I want the best management for all living within the beds at Hartle-Gilman Gardens. Neem and Spinosad, Neem and Spinosad.  But when the blooms start to pop, I stop —

Please refrain when flowers are in bloom. I think it’s the best practice personally. If I see an adult beetle on a blooming stem, I will hand pick it off and cut it in half with my fingernails.

Remember to interexchange your insecticides, we do not want the Scarlett you know what to be resistant in the future.

It is time to start my regime of making homemade horticulture tea for the flowers and vegetables.  It’s a process but—Hey I am outside picking and weeding daily, so why not add it to the normal ritual of daily gardening. 

Now the gardens buzz and its beautification of addition lilies— do not stop from any future collection of lily bulbs for the seasonal blooms. Because we now know the secret have Scarlett Beetle at bay.