Thank you, Howard. Yes, we will isolate any poison from the flower petals. We love our pollinators.

Bill

Howard, they seem to prefer our lilies, and have also taken some bites of the echinacea.

Hello Howard:

I wanted to update our conversation regarding Lily Leaf Beetles and larvae. I started by using Neem Oil on the larvae, but that didn’t stop them. I then moved to a Pyrethrin product, and removed as many of the larvae as I could see, which also had no effect (larvae were back the next day). I finally went to Sevin. This may have been coincidence and timing, but the larvae disappeared, briefly.

A couple weeks later, however, the actual beetles appeared. I again started with Neem Oil, found that ineffective and went to Pyrethrin, to no avail, and finally Sevin, which they laugh at. I’m now to the point where I have to catch each beetle (hard to do with that “drop to the ground and disappear survival adaptation”) and actually drown it in Sevin in a small container. Spraying the beetles as they feed on the plant has no effect.

To help prevent this infestation next summer, what can we do? Is there a way to work a product into the ground to kill eggs and larvae? Is there a best time of year for this?

Thanks again,

Bill

Extremely helpful. Thank you.

Bill