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I've got some great cobs on my sweetcorn, just waiting for them to ripen now. They look lovely, well, apart from all the blackfly on them  :o  Is this usual?

What do I do to get rid of blackfly?

Thanks,
Jo.

Are you sure it's blackfly?  more likely to be teeney tiny woodlice, who are also waiting for your sweetcorn to ripen:-X

YUCK!!!

I've just been out to have another look. They certainly look like blackfly and I've also just found an earwiggy on one too  ::)

How do I get rid of them?

Jo.

Jetspray?

I spray blackfly with a weak solution of shampoo water!   Worked on the broad beans and runner beans.

What do I do? Just add a small amount of shampoo with water and spray that on?

Does it kill the black fly, and how long does it take to work?

Thanks,
Jo.

Hi Jo.  I put about a teaspoon of shampoo in my sprayer, fill with water and then whack the black flies with it.  It seemed to work straight away.  When I go back the next day they are usually dead and gone. Good luck.  Got some spraying to do myself on the runners tonight.

Wash & Gone?

....well they certainly went  ;D ;D ;D

I haven't had blackfly on my sweetcorn before  ???   ;D ;D ;D

Feeling left out kev?  ;D

sorry to hikack the thread but didnt want to start another corn one, if my cobs are ripe can i still safely leave them on the plant until i want them?

Just a little Ollie.  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Quote from: debster on September 06, 2007, 18:28:27
sorry to hikack the thread but didnt want to start another corn one, if my cobs are ripe can i still safely leave them on the plant until i want them?

if i were you i would pick them before any thiefing anon nibblers get at them first
marg

We picked our sweetcorn harvest last night. We had poor germination and only ended up with about 12 plants. They were also planted a bit late and didn't grow very well. The cobs looked like they had formed but were about 1/3 of the normal length of a sweetcorn.  As they were so small I thought they would not have ripened, but we picked one and they looked ok!! Small, but ripe! I only ended up with about 8 small cobs, but they tasted great! in total I had enough corn for a portion for both of us for tea! It was not exactly the best use of space! Next year I will get them in earlier!

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I jetsprayed the little critters off and then sprayed where they had been with a soap solution, hopefully to deter them coming back. They're not there this morning so hopefully it's worked  ;D

The cobs look like they're nearly ripe now so not long to wait  :P ;D

Thanks for your help,
Jo.