Armed to the teeth

Organic or conventional horticulture ~ my internal war and external battles. 

Confession - My name is Nicola Hope, Organic Horticulture HND and former trainee at two prestigious, fully organic gardens - Highgrove and Lake House......and now regular user of really nasty Ultimate Bug Killer-Very-Definitely Not-Organic spray in the glasshouse. 

So now you know, but please don't tell Prince Charles or Sting. 

I didn't want to do it

They made me do it

They drove me to it

I just cannot get rid of the mealybugs. 

I have tried everything else, honestly I have, but they're still there and, what's worse, they're breeding, spreading, sucking the life out of the resident Bougainvillea and absolutely, well and truly not shifting. 

I imagine that they laughed at my organic control efforts, wrapped up behind their little fluffy shields. 

I have tried physically wiping them off with white spirit; purchased biological control called Cryptolaemus montrouzien - funny little beetles, which are supposed to find mealybugs irresistibly delicious. These ones didn't seem remotely interested...... and then died. 

I tried blasting the mealybugs off the plants using a water jet but, there they remained, laughing at me like tiny woolly sheep, happily continuing to munch on the Bougainvillea, wall-trained pelargoniums, Passiflora, mimosa and a poor old peach tree. 

I would never have thought to go down the conventional control route but an experienced (much older..... no, wise) professional gardener advised me that the only way I would get rid of the mealybuggers was repeated use of Provado Ultimate Bug Killer. 

Last year I made rubbishy little irregular efforts at killing the mealybugs with the chemical spray - safe to say that this didn't work either. The tiny sheep creatures were still there munching and laughing and all I felt was guilt that I was using chemicals. Ooh, if my lecturers could see me.....shudder! Mostly I worried about all the other beneficial insects that I would be killing alongside the pests. 

A few weeks ago I decided that enough was enough - the mealybuggers were taking control of the Westside (or, what most people would call the propagation end of the glasshouse - too many evenings spent watching 'The Wire'). What they fail to realise is that I am in charge of the whole garden and they will not win. 

So I commenced my weekly attack on the mealybuggers. I leave no leaf unturned, no wooly enclave un-blasted - I feel no more guilt.......as long as I keep my use of chemicals to this one small part of the garden. I will not be using chemicals outside of this section of the glasshouse. I refuse to completely abandon my principles. 

I still adhere to the philosophy that a garden left completely chemical-free for a number of years will eventually reach a fragile equilibrium - the beneficial plants, animals and insects will equal the undesirable weeds and pests, sort each other out and exist in a nice food-chainy ecosystem........with a little help from your local, friendly, organic gardener. 

I will still be weeding (along with half of the nation) and I will still be wielding organic slug pellets and copper barriers like Rambo wields his AK47. 

What? You didn't think that I accept that slugs and snails have any right to eat my Dahlias, did you?! Bottom left hand corner - 'Certified for Organic use'. I am allowed. 

Slugs and snails, grrrrrr, that's a whole 'nother blogpost (or 12). 

Now if I can just exterminate those mealybugs......so far......hmmmm.....I'm not sure if even big, tough Ultimate Bug Killer is having much joy. Watch this space. 

See, Your Royal Highness and Mr Sting, I haven't completely gone over to the dark side........it's just these goshdarned mealybugs!!!!