Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

Dawn dish soap. Mix it in a spray bottle. It will work on most bugs and is food safe. You can use it on most vegetables. Do it in the evening and rinse it off before it gets too hot the next day or it can burn the leaves.

I used NEEM oil last year. It's some type of organic pesticide (derived from an Indian tree's sap) that my wife picked up from Peck's. Spraying the leaves with a dilute solution every couple of days worked well for me. When it got closer to harvest, I tried to avoid the cones, but I don't think it's toxic.

I have had issues with those punks too. You can get some Guineas. They are a bird that eats ticks and those beetles. My wife is hatching a few shortly. We'll see how it goes. You do have to live in the country for those. They tend to move around and roost in trees.

There has been lots of stuff posted here on the boards about those bettles and how to deal with them as they are a large problem beyond hops. I have heard sworn testamony about the free standing traps that you can buy at the local hardware stores.

It is basically a attractant and then a bag that captures them. I have seen pictures of these bags completely full of bettles and heard several say that you if put up 2 or 3 around your yard, depending on size of course that you will not see another on any of your plants.

Here is a link to one of them at home depot.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R ... ogId=10053

I've had limited results with those bags.

They do fill up every year. But my house is 75% covered with a nice (non hop) vine that those beetles love. So I suspect that there are just too many for the bags to be thoroughly effective. I've wondered how well it would work with smaller annual infestations.

I use Sevin spray. It can last for a week or so if it isn't rainy. But I know that burns/kills a lot of plants after a day or two on it.

I have heard that those trap end up attracting more beetles to your property. They definately do capture them though.

There was a study on this, but I think the study was flawed.  From my personal experience, my plants had more leafs left after I put the bags out.  And, more importantly, I had fewer bugs the following year.
 
Remember, each female that winds up in a trap, is one less that can breed.

-Jim

On Fri, Jul 8, 2011 at 1:29 PM, Matt F <brew-tech@crbeernuts.org (brew-tech@crbeernuts.org)> wrote:

I have heard that those trap end up attracting more beetles to your property. They definately do capture them though.
 

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Thanks guys. I went ahead and gave a light dose of Sevin. Took them out immediately. No signs of new ones. It has the same insecticide my farmer buddy puts on the soybeans and it said its safe or fruits and vegetables up to a day before harvest. 1st year plants and not expecting much of a harvest anyway, just want the plants to root in well. I will update.

btw... still have the spruce on tap if anyone is curious.

Paul

JimPotts wrote:Remember, each female that winds up in a trap, is one less that can breed.

-Jim

Are you still talking about beetles?

Matt F wrote:

JimPotts wrote:Remember, each female that winds up in a trap, is one less that can breed.

-Jim

Are you still talking about beetles?

Or is one less I haven't bred.

There are two different "bait" scents for those traps. One is just a flower scent and the other has the flower scent and a female pheremone. I've used both and definatelygot more bugs with the two scent bait. That being said, I have a suspicion that these traps attract beetles from other yards is probably true. I tried "Milky spore"--4 applications over two seasons and this year have found only two beetles. You apply the milky spore with a drop spreader like fertilizer and my four applications cost me about $40.

Sorry but I can't resist - "milky spore" - really! And you paid for that!

Yes Tony,
The spore (not spoor) somehow stops the grub or eggs or larvae Whatever from completing its life cycle and you don't get adult beetles. I had bags and bags of those shiny green devils for three years and this year after the milky spore ( a dry powdery pellet) app. I have almost none. My flowers aren't all chewed up. At least not by beetles. I've got a problem with leaf miners. I wonder if they could get at my hops?

So guys, how are your hops looking? My Cascade probably have around 3-4 oz. (wet) that are ready to pick. Still a lot of smaller flowers developing. Looks like I'll have a good harvest this year as long as I keep them watered.

I just started picking my hops today and already have too much, I will be donating a lot of hops for the upcoming events and for anyone that wants them. This is a 2nd year cascade hop that I have 2 plants. The pictures below are of the hops I picked this morning from the one plant and another picture of what is still left on that plant.