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This resource page compliments of GrowIt Gold Works. GrowIt is a Garden & Landscape Design Software program versatile enough for all gardeners.
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Although there are pests in the garden that devour and spoil our precious plants, nature has provided her own control with other bugs that eat many of the pests we wish to eliminate.
For this reason it is not necessary to kill every bug in sight as many of them are our friends.
Ladybirds consume up to 60 aphids per day and the lavae consume up to 30 aphids per day.
Also Lace-wing flies, praying mantis, small wasps and many birds consume a variety of pests and contribute to a natural balance in the insect world.
Many of the chemicals available to control these pests are as toxic to humans, birds and other wild life, as they are to these insects and bugs.
There is an equal number of natural remedies which have proven effective, in some cases more effective, in controlling pests and without poisoning our environment.
For this reason I do not intend to list the chemical controls available to eliminate all the unwanted pests from our gardens. These chemicals are available from most garden centres and nurseries, some less toxic than others, and some so toxic as to be devastating to our environment, to wild life and to us.
The choice is entirely yours, the remedies I have outlined are all natural and non-toxic. Should you wish to use chemicals, please read the instructions that come with these products, and be ever careful to the harm you may inadvertently cause to yourselves, your children and the wild life.
The main diseases you will come across will be fungus diseases. In most cases it will only require you to remove the infected leaves and burn them. Should you wish to use chemicals to treat the problem then the following treatments are provided. There is no treatment for viral infections, although there are some chemical treatments that can be used to help avoid viral infections. These are also listed.
Powdery Mildew -> Powdery mildew appears with an ash-like growth over the foliage. It deforms young shoots including those of melons, cucumbers, marrows, crepe myrtles and roses and may also cause premature leaf fall. Spray with Bordeaux or copper Oxychloride.
Downy Mildew -> Downy mildew is evident by the tufts of whitish mycelium under the foliage of grapes, melons, onions etc. Leaves go brown and crimp downwards and sometimes wither at the tips. Spray with Zineb, Maneb, or Bordeaux.
Black Spot On Roses -> Obvious black spots on the leaves which later are surrounded by yellow, often causing the leaves to fall prematurely. Spray with Zineb, Captan or combination sprays.
Rust -> There is no cure for rust on snapdragons or calendulas but spraying with Zineb may prevent this happening. For Roses, geraniums, beans etc remove the infected leaves and spray with Zineb.
PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE CONTAINERS CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT (AND IT MAY WELL DO)