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franktank232

Are there no pests in S. Florida?

franktank232
12 years ago

I see all these pictures of mangoes and lychees, etc etc...and yet no threads on insect problems, spraying schedules??? Do you guys just not have many pest issues? I know squirrels and theft are a problem.

Up here in the Midwest its bugs, bugs and more bugs. You want fruit eating pests, we have them. A guy needs to spray about every 7-10 days to get a good looking apple,plum,apricot up here.

Comments (16)

  • carbos
    12 years ago

    I don't know about anyone else here, but I built a model of my mother-in-law which is used as a scarecrow. Nary a pest of any kind to be found.

  • squam256
    12 years ago

    Insects are not much of an issue if at all when it comes to fruit on the trees.....fungus is a much larger issue with mangoes.

    Insects are more of a problem with leaves and stem growth. There are chewing insects like root weevil that like to munch of leaves and then there are the piercing/sucking types like spider mites, which I have had to deal with with some of the younger trees I've grafted.

  • zands
    12 years ago

    Big MedFly infestation last year ruined many mangoes in Palm Beach County. One grove had to destroy $10,000 of mangoes. Early this year we had reports of MedFly in Pompano Beach but it must have been eradicated. No problems this year

    Here is a link that might be useful: South Florida MedFly problems

  • marinfla
    12 years ago

    I have been having a big problem with scale. They are now on every mango tree I have. I tried 70% alcohol with a tooth brush on one tree and it seemed to work well but 1. it was time consuming and 2. they come back quickly because of their reproductive cycle as the branches and soil are where the larvae end up. So I am going to get a big sprayer and try spraying Neem Oil every 5 days.

    Any advise would be very much appreciated!!

  • franktank232
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Didn't Israel introduce sterile male Medfly's? I think that has helped that problem.

  • mango_kush
    12 years ago

    Its been extremely dry this Spring, anthracnose wasnt much of a problem.

    mangos are resilient to pests, once rooted they pretty much grow effortlessly

    lychee get munched on by the asian grey weevil in my yard.

    citrus attracts every disease and pest known down here, they have better luck growing it north of here where the winters curb some of the pests

    anonas attract borers and beetles

  • mfajar
    12 years ago

    I agree with mango Kush the only thing my mangos get is the fungus but my citrus gets everything, the leaves are all curled up by one bug, the straight ones have that gooey black/white thing in the under side, the ones remainig are eaten by who knows what. I spray with neem and from time to time sprinkle with copper. But the fruits seem unaffected so far.
    Marin the only thing I would recommend with neem is to do it at sunset and if this heat dries them too much water them the next morning in between the cycle. Oh I sometimes mix the neem with a bit of dishwashing detergent.

  • marinfla
    12 years ago

    thanks mfajar! I alaso forgot to mention the mealy bugs are everywhere too and a rare grey asian weevil here or there.
    And I too have been having a problem with some of my citrus trees with the leaves curled up with slime trials underneath them as well. I always ask myself what are the purpose in the food chain these pests and can never come up with any benefit of their existence!

  • puglvr1
    12 years ago

    Marin, I've had scale too on a few of my mango trees. I also use Neem with a few drops of Murphy's oil soap. Helps, but I have to spray it once a week at least 3 weeks in a row. I spray it in the shade(potted) or at sunset so it dries all night before getting full sun again.

    Those curly leaves with the trails on them are Citrus Leaf Miners...its on every single Citrus tree in Highlands County! Probably the majority of Citrus in Florida as well. Fortunately unless the tree is very young or newly planted it doesn't affect the fruits...it just makes the Tree really UGLY to look at,lol...I've also had mealies or aphids? on my Citrus this year for the very first time. I HATE bugs!!

  • sleep
    12 years ago

    I had sale on my Carambola and Sweetsop. I used this stuff and it worked well..

  • Man-Go-Bananas
    12 years ago

    Does anyone have a picture of the scale?

  • puglvr1
    12 years ago

    Here's a picture I found on the internet...I didn't have them quite this bad but you get the idea.

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • boson
    12 years ago

    Hi,

    I gave up on growing citrus (from seedlings) because of leaf miners. The killed all leaves and the poor seedlings couldn't survive.

    Tomas

  • marinfla
    12 years ago

    I went to HD and bought a 32oz bottle of that Bonide pictured above. A bit pricey at $20 bucks compared to cost of other products but worth it if it works well. I also bought a one gallon canister sprayer. I mixed 5 oz of Bonide in a gallon of water. The sprayer was a dreamy application process... A thin but forceful mist that clung to all of the leaves. One gallon was enough to treat all of my trees. I am looking forward to some really healthy trees after this application!

  • sleep
    12 years ago

    Marin,

    It is a bit pricey, but it really did the job for me.

    I needed to repeat the application a couple of times on my sweetsop, since it was pretty heavily infested with scale. You may need to do a few repeats as well..

  • marinfla
    12 years ago

    I was planning to repeat the process every 7-10 days until my trees are bug/disease free! The liquid didn't smell bad either. I hope it is no6t a killer on Lady bugs.... I have lots of them around.

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