pest population density

[bicycle racer]

i have noticed that literally in the same city within miles of each other one person will have totally different pest problems than another. in my yard thrips pm and gypsy moths are a problem. spider mites are around but never get established on more than a leaf or two. i have a high population of beneficial lacewings which constantly lay eggs i see the lacewing larvae on the hunt all the time i think this is why i never get mites. a friend within ten miles of me has mites worse than i have ever seen. in my yard ten miles away i dont hardly get any and have never treated for them i get worse pm though than my friend. just wondering if others have noticed things like this. it just amazes me how a few miles makes such a difference.
by the way if you have thrips and caterpillar larvae problems spinosad works very well.

 

[Lost]

My neighborhood has all of the bushes infested with spider mites. You will walk by a shrub and its just mite webs, you cant even see the leafs.. Dunno how the plants survive..

 

[bicycle racer]

thats what i mean i have no mites really only thrips obviously there is something killing or out competing spider mites in my yard. i think it is all the lacewings i have been blessed with hundreds of those eggs on my plants and now there are few thrips im lucky. the caterpillars will come later in flower for them i spray spinosad weekly all the way through harvest.

 

[xX Kid Twist Xx]

he may have had mite infested plants that he put outside?

 

[bicycle racer]

i think it may have to do with more trees above which may host might populations still seems strange. soon the caterpillars will likely come there the worst.

 

[Lost]

Yeah, the crop killers start to strike as soon as the temps dip..

 

[bicycle racer]

is that what triggers caterpillar attacks? i always thought they wait for buds to be dense so the larvae are safe inside the buds when they hatch. what i do is begin thoroughly spraying spinosad when buds begin to develop or i see the first egg i do this weekly until harvest. i forget when i first got them last year but i should catalog these things.