nhardy
1241204265
Posted 1275873662
Reply with quote #1
I was inspecting my fig and found a baby praying mantis in my tree. I saw them last year on my apple tree. And now I found the egg sack attached to my tree rose that I wintered in the garage.
TucsonKen
1246833094
Posted 1275876273
Reply with quote #2
I'm no expert on this, but other than big beetles that eat the ripe fruit, or little beetles that get inside through the osteole and turn the figs sour (neither of which would be controlled effectively by spraying), I haven't had many bug problems. I have yet to run into any pests that cause serious damage to the foliage, and I've never sprayed my in-ground trees. I did find some scale on the stem of a recently-purchased fig, but the tree was small enough that I could scrape most of them off by hand. A few tiny scale insects had also migrated to the new growth, so I tried spraying those and ended up losing those leaves due to damage from the insecticide.
satellitehead
1257988353
Posted 1275877343
Reply with quote #3
Praying mantis are incredibly advantageous to keep around. I would not kill them, they will not touch your fruit, but they will kill predatory bugs that would otherwise kill certain plants. I think you could be OK without spraying if it moves on ... but .... meh.
smiles4allages
1253047123
Posted 1275878541
Reply with quote #4
You may want to check the LAW in some states like NJ it is against the law to kill a Praying mantis
nhardy
1241204265
Posted 1275883544
Reply with quote #5
I'm not trying to kill the praying mantis! Just the other bugs if the praying mantis leave me next year. They are good luck! I just did not know if you have bugs and they are a problem. So if you don't have to spray & you don't have any praying mantis living in your trees, then I guess I won't have to either. I'll google scales to be on the lookout for them.
nhardy
1241204265
Posted 1275885421
Reply with quote #6
Jason you had to say it! Worry about critters. I just dropped my sister off at her house down the street. And in the headlights there it was a great big raccoon! Two weeks ago it was a ground hog on my neighbors front lawn. Two months ago it was a possum on the front lawn. Three months ago it was a deer down the street over the five lane of traffic. And six months ago it was a fox about 1/4 mile where the deer was. We have geese walking down our street. I should live in the country if I know all this animal live in my neighborhood. Then I would have more space to plant more figs!
ejp3
1193140374
Posted 1275964182
Reply with quote #7
Nhardy, you are talking about 2 fruits on the opposite side of the spectrum (apples and figs), when it comes to "spraying". One of the reasons I started growing figs is because I couldn't believe how hard it was (or how much pesticides you have to use) when growing apples in my location. I cant imagine any pest or disease that would warrant spraying fig trees.
satellitehead
1257988353
Posted 1275967139
Reply with quote #8
spider mites. but that's for folks who grow indoors, i guess? but you can use something like insecticidal soap, neem oil, BT etc. which are relatively non-toxic things (well, neem, in moderation).
Fredfig
1273006291
Posted 1276024788
Reply with quote #9
I always thought that caterpillars, insects did not eat the leaves, buds of Fig trees. That, the lymph / latex was how the tree protects itself, even if a random "bug" nibbles on a leaf , he will give up quickly.
satellitehead
1257988353
Posted 1276032475
Reply with quote #10
There are several bugs that will eat leaves. I think I remember on the Queen of the Figs (while still showing), they discussed one insect that figured out a way to fleece the leaf - this beetle goes to the base of the leaf and severs the main vein so no latex can reach the tip of the leaf. I then devours the leaf from tip to base, cuts the next main vein and repeats the fleece.http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/the-queen-of-trees/introduction/1362/
noss
1244523274
Posted 1276065556
Reply with quote #11
I had mentioned the June bugs/beetles a while back. Every night, I now go out between 9 and 11PM and go June bug pickin'. I pick them off the leaves with a tissue and then put them in a zip-lock bag. Not seeing as many now.
