beneficial nematodes

10 years ago

I noticed this item in the Home Depot email ad today, and went to their website to read about it: Ladies In Red Beneficial Nematodes.

Then did some google searching about beneficial nematodes, and found this youtube video from a Pesticide Free Workshop: http://youtu.be/YuZ8kr2WS6Q.

These little guys sound like the gardeners best friend! They get rid of all the bad bugs in a natural way - eating them for their food source. And if you have other critters like racoons who are frequenting your yard to get at the bugs like grubs, you can even be rid of them once the nematodes get eat up the grubs.

Has anyone ever used this method for insect control in their yard? Would be great to hear some of your personal experiences: how did you apply it, how well did it work, best price, etc.

Marj

Featured Answer

mstywoods
Original Author

9 years ago

Well I never did buy any nematodes. I kept checking local stores, and finally asked someone at O'Tooles why they didn't carry them. She said she thought they needed a more humid climate, and maybe that's why the store here didn't carry them.

I finally went to the CSU Extension site and submitted a question to the experts. The reply was "Beneficial nematodes are killed by heat and light. They require high humidity and free water to survive and move in soil. They also may not be able to penetrate your soil well, especially if you have heavy clay soil. .... Our climate is not especially conducive to the survival and spread of these nematodes, since we have a dry climate. "

They included a link to a fact sheet on the topic from the CSU extension entomologist: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05573.html. And it also says "Adequate moisture is the most important factor. Insect parasitic nematodes require free water to move and are susceptible to death by drying. High humidity and free water are the primary conditions for effective use of insect parasitic nematodes.

Insect parasitic nematodes also are susceptible to extreme temperature conditions. For example, short exposure to high temperatures (above 90 to 95 degrees F) can be lethal to commonly available strains of Steinernama carpocapsae. Low temperatures (below about 55 degrees) inactivate most Heterorhabditis species. Strain and species differ in temperature sensitivity."

Soooo, looks like I will pass on trying them (if they were cheaper, I might go ahead - but definitely not for the price online sources are charging!). Too bad - I did like the idea of using something natural like this for keeping the bugs under control. I'm sure there are other methods, so I'll keep looking.

Marj

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Comments (6)

gjcore
10 years ago
Hi Marj,

I have not used it before though I have read about them before and your post made me take the plunge and order from Hirt's Gardens.

I continue to fight fungus gnats. It seems they live outside all winter long and sometime in the spring they get into the house. grrrrr.

From what I've read you can apply them in various different ways such as a watering can, pressure sprayer etc. The one thing that the info did put a red flag up about is not to apply them during most of the daylight.

Greg
gardenarts
10 years ago
I applied 2 different kinds of beneficial nematodes from Arbico Organics over my entire yard and beds in the spring of 2012. I had a really bad problem with earwigs, centipedes, flea beetles, and fungis gnats prior to that and the results have been pretty amazing. I did quite a bit of research before doing it because they are pretty expensive and I didn't want the results to hurt any beneficial insects. Once applied, the nematodes are supposed to keep multiplying and last for many years, but with the drought last year, I'm thinking about applying them again this spring just in case.
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mstywoods
Original Author
10 years ago
I stopped by HD, but they don't have it in the store - has to be ordered online. I noticed that the HD ad for the Ladies In Red brand for 5 million nematodes says coverage is 350sf. The lady in the video said 5million would cover 3000sf. So that's a big difference! Reading the instructions from the ones available from Hirts and Arbico Organics, they seem to be more in line with her, although do say better protection if applied to around 200 sf. So I guess how much yard you should cover with the number of nematodes depends on how bad your bug situation is and/or how much you want to spend?!

So the prices I'm finding online are:

HD -
Ladies in Red @ 5million = $22
Nema-globe @ 5million = $30
Nema-globe sprayer = $10

Hirts -
Dr. Pye's Scanmask @ 5million = $15
Dr. Pye's Scanmask @ 10million = $23

Arbico Organics -
1/2 garden (5 million)/treats 1600sf = $16
garden size (10 million)/treats 3200sf = $30

So pretty close in price, although Hirts seems the best for the number of nematodes you get. What types of nematodes are you two getting? Gardenarts - how much sq. ft. did you cover with your nematodes? Do you need one of the special sprayers, or will any hose type sprayer work?

I definitely want to try them and see the results. We do have a problem with earwigs, ants and gnats, but I suspect we may have other bugs that are causing lawn problems as well. Just not sure what kind. I looked for grubs one year (found a diy test you could do for that), but didn't see any.

Marj
mstywoods
Original Author
9 years ago
So can't find any nematodes locally (called three different nurseries, as well as checked with Home Depot), so will need to order online. Wish I could purchase in person, because I still have questions! gjcore/gardenarts: how much sq. ft. did you cover with your nematodes? Do you need one of the special sprayers, or will any hose type sprayer work?

Thanks,
Marj
garnergarden
9 years ago
Fungus gnats, eh? That pricked my ears up... Been wondering about different ways to control those myself. And omg, can you get a flippin half order? LOL I don;t know what I would do with that many!! Hmmm.... What does one do with spare nematodes? *scratches head*