Topic: black fly on cardons

[dibberxxx]

Could any body tell me please how i can get rid of black fly, cardons are covered in it and i don't want to spray with anything that will harm wildlife as they are next to a wildlife pond , any suggestions thanks

[djbrenton]

Just blast them off with a hose if you've got water, otherwie a bit of soft soap in water does the trick.

[Mrs Ava]

Mines the same Dibber, absolutely smothered!  I can't hose off as I have no water at the allotment!  AAGGHHHH!  I fear I am going to have to spray with sumfink else!

[dibberxxx]

tryed hosing off EJ  but does not seem to budge them so will ahve to try with soapy water

[ptennisnet]

Fingers and thumbs....and soft soap if you're feeling queesy.

This year, following ideas from this forum, we're trying nasturtions to encourage them to leave earlier than they might but they haven't worked yet!

[Mrs Ava]

Fingers and thumbs!  I would be smothered as the entire plant is covered!  Plus they are inside the flowers, which are as sharp as hell!  However, thanks to my glorious allotment neighbours, I was able to use a hosepipe that reached all the way to the far end of my plot today, and I did try to hose them off, and bother them with my fingers, so things are looking up.  Guess I will just have to persevere.  Do you think it has been a bad year so far for blackfly?

[john_miller]

Remember tennis, there is more than species of blackfly. The species that will select nasturtiums as an alternative host to broad beans will probably not be the same one that attacks cardoons and will find nasturtiums unpalatable too.

[Mrs Ava]

Little black swines, and green ones, and white ones, and a kinda yellow one also!  gggrrrrr.  Anyhows, rather pleased when we went a'picking on the plot this morning to see a large collection of ladybirds now residing on the said infested cardoon.  Good job I didn't spray!  ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

They don't last long if you don't panic. My broad beans were smothered a while back; now only a few in the middle of the bed have them.

[Marianne]

Hi Robert,
Talking about broad beans, I have had the blackfly infestation too but managed to get rid of them by squirting water onto them.

The beans now look rather large ! (about 15cm long and photo enclosed) - Would you say it is time to pick them or should I leave them longer ??   ???

Thanks for any help.  :D :D

[Robert_Brenchley]

They look a bit small, but give them a good feel. If you can feel beans, slit a bit of one open cautiously and have a look. You won't find all of them ripening at once. I meant to pick the first of mine today, but got totally distracted by a swarm of bees which had to be extracted from the centre of an apple tree.

[Marianne]

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the good advice.   :DI did in fact pull off one pod today and opened it.  It contained tiny beans which I tasted with delight !  ::) ;D  You are right, they need to grow a little more so I will leave the rest on the plants.  Would you say it is safe to eat the pods themselves (in a soup for instance)  ???

I hope you got the bee problem sorted out - Ta again.  ;D :D

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've never tried eating the pods so I can't comment on that one. The bees are sorted, I hope. I brushed them into a swarm box (I tend to be a bit cavalier with swarms as they won't normally sting) and got about half in first go; the rest cascaded out of the apple tree they'd settled in, and I got covered. The queen went in, which is what mattered, and within a minute they were calling the rest in. After an hour and a half 99% were either in or on the box, and I carried it off with masses still hanging on to the outside; I wanted to watch Time Team and couldn't be bothered coming back afterwards. There's still a possibility they could abscond, but it's unlikely; they've got no brood to hold them in the box. I'm not entirely sure which colony they came from; I've got one very strong one which wants to go, but I want to stop it as it's bringing in loads of honey. The hot weather has caught me a bit unprepared and it's bringing on loads of swarms. There was a commotion round one of my other colonies a bit earlier, so it's probably that one. I thought it was too weak to swarm, but it had several queen cells ready to hatch so it's perfectly possible. I'll probalby combine it with a weak colony later today, and let the bees decide between the two queens.

[Marianne]

Thanks once again Robert.  ;D :D

I am amazed at your knowledge of bees but noticed that you are in fact a bee keeper!  My hat off to you as it seems to me like a rather dangerous passtime!  :o 

I would not miss Time Team for anything - I am a compulsive watcher of this show and absolutely adore archeology.  In fact, when I was younger, I wanted to become an archeologist but it never did happen. 

Thanks for your help and good luck with all those queens !
 ;D :D

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've got the swarm combined with another colony, and they should be OK. Hopefully the wet weather will discourage further swarming as it's late in the season now. Beekeeping isn't dangerous in fact; in the States, where there are far more bees (and people) than here, there are a handful of deaths due to bee stings each year, and most of those result from someone doing something stupid,like spraying them with a slow-acting insecticide. I don't get many stings, and 99% of those are on my hands, where they don't hurt any more than a pin prick. The honey is fabulous, burns or wounds treated with it heal up better than they do with anything you get from a hospital, and propolis (collected plant gums) is a sufficiently powerful antibiotic to cure abscesses. You can't go wrong as long as you're careful to keep nice tempered, low swarming bees. I have come across colonies which will chase you half a mile down the road, or swarm endlessly, but nobody in their right mind will keep those!

[Marianne]

Hello again Robert.  :D

I had the shock of my life last year.  I was sat quite serenely in my garden with a glass of Shiraz when a bee landed on my blouse. 

It decided to walk along and went underneath, inside my blouse.  My daughter noticed it came back and stung me on my neck.  I had not noticed the sting until minutes later when it became very painful and I now wish I had had some of your honey to heal it quicker !  ;) 

I cannot understand why it stung me as I did not even know it was there.  Needless to say I am now quite apprehensive of them and tend to keep well out of their way !  :o
It's nice to see that you really do know your "stuff" - Good luck with the swarm of bees!  :D :D :D

[Robert_Brenchley]

It probably got trapped betwen your blouse and your skin, or something like that. It's unusual for a casual bee to go under anyone's clothes, though they get under mine all the time. There's nothing like the sensation of bees inside your trousers, heading for the goolies!

[Marianne]

Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!  ;D ;D ;D ;D

Thanks for making me laugh !  ;D ::)