In Trouble

Mr.Mealy Bug from www.greenharvest.com

its been months since i last posted a word... its time i did some blogging..i think i'll just put up some pics. these days winter is reigning and my little group of greens is doing fine save that pests have taken too great a liberty with them...not to mention the birds (alas! I've compromised over that)

mealy bugs have attacked full-fledged .. i never knew how how dangerous they could be(they look so cute) until a week or so ago my 4 foot tall elephant-plant was reduced to merely two(comparatively better looking, then) 10-15 cm long pieces.. they are hopelessly struggling to stay alive..

www.greenharvest.com.au has suggested some ideas to get rid of these. check out to see if they work. other than this i got to know that the big ants also help to keep these bugs in control too..

Suggested Organic Strategies:

• Use horticultural glues around tree trunks to aid biological control of mealy bugs, as ants defend these pests from attack by their natural enemies to maintain their supply of honeydew;
• Spraying with chemical insecticides often encourages the mealy bugs as the sprays will kill off all their natural enemies;
• Natural enemies include wasp parasitoids and ladybeetles. 

 the second pest attack was on my tomato plant, i tried all i could- shifted places, exposed the plant to extreme sunlight, but to no avail. so just today i cut off more than half of the infested plant and threw it away. hope the new growths will see a better future.