You are correct Gardeneer, but they have to be blue, not yellow.
Ozone, nematodes are drenched into the soil, Spinosad would not affect them.

additional to the nematodes order ladybugs, minute pirate bugs, green lacewings... any beneficials and release them, but also provide a sanctuary for them, buy a wild flower seed packet and plant those also. Things that provide pollen and nectar to feed on and winter cover to hibernate over. I found ladybugs to be far more efficient than sprays to control aphids in my greenhouse. I bought 1500 last year for the greenhouse and released them a handful or two at a time and they cleaned up all the pests I had in there. This year... same thing, I have aphids on a few things and I went to Hirt's and bought another 1500 and have released only a couple of handfuls and I can find no aphids out there. I store the rest of them in the refrigerator until I need another handful or two. They will also eat the thrips.

Since I just sprayed, I will wait a little on the assassin bugs but will go for the beneficial nematodes asap. I have blue traps in the garden but I have plenty on the shelf and can put out one per plant if I need to.

I'm with HTG on a very similar rotation. Outdoors here on the West Coast can be challenging in terms of insects.

I use DE, Neem Oil, Pyrethrin (sparingly), Met52EC and sometimes BT... All on a rotating basis, about 5 days in between.

My "break in case of emergency" is Deltamethrin, although I haven't had to use it in a long time.

Aphids, whiteflies, and tomato bugs are attacking with serious mojo this spring.

Lost a lot of flowers trying to get control of the invaders.

[QUOTE=Gerardo;551228]I'm with HTG on a very similar rotation. Outdoors here on the West Coast can be challenging in terms of insects.

I use DE, Neem Oil, Pyrethrin (sparingly), Met52EC and sometimes BT... All on a rotating basis, about 5 days in between them.

My "break in case of emergency" is Deltamethrin, although I haven't had to use it in a long time.

Aphids, whiteflies, and tomato bugs are attacking with serious mojo this spring.

Lost a lot of flowers trying to get control of the invaders.[/QUOTE]

Its tough here in So Cal. We never get a deep freeze that would help kill off bad bugs anually. Instead we live in endless summer where bad bugs multiply every year. Drastic times call for drastic measures.

Thripps are starting up for me as well. Been dowsing everything with Azamax but the thripps are still around although the population appears to not be increasing. I'll be rotating in Spinosad next cycle and may get some DE. This year, I'm not being 'reactive' to problems..I am aggressively searching them out loaded for bear. In between spray cycles and while the plants are still small...daily inspections and smooshing is also quite satisfying. Been getting around 10-15 a day on two different plants that are segregated. Will also be upping the concentration of Azamax to the highest level per the label next cycle around.

I see we all have an itchy trigger finger. Cool.

I need to find some wood to knock on, but so far in this part of So Cal the bad bugs seem a lot less terrible than they were last year, and I'm seeing a lot more good bugs in my garden. Not a single aphid on my pepper starts, which is a first in the last handful of years.

Heirloomtomatoguy, I hope you update on how your experiment does with the spider mites. Those are usually my number one issue with my tomatoes and I'm getting desperate. Hoping the "less bad bugs" thing carries through to those for me, but not expecting it to.

So... I order the nematodes today, will be here on Friday. They also sell the assassin bugs but they suggest I wait about 30 days otherwise the spray application I did yesterday would kill them. They also confirm the spray I did will have no affect on the nematodes so... bombs away! I will stake blue sticky traps at each plant since I only have 12 plants and the traps are not expensive and its cheaper than the alternative of no tomatos

If your buying assasin bugs dont use DE at all because it kills pretty much everything but worms. As for the nematodes keep them refridgerated until you use them. The sooner the better as they begin to die off after a week or two. When you mix them with water use a large spray nozzle or they will plug up the tip and continually be shaking and swirling you spray bottle in order to assure you are evenly covering the dirt.

I haven't tried this method on thrips yet because they were not a big problem for me the last few years. What I did last year that worked on stink bugs, leaf footed bugs, whiteflies and aphids was to mix some DE food grade into a gallon of very soapy water and mixed it up well and strained it into my sprayer then I added a good dose of Permethrin. I only had to use this mix twice all summer but it devastated all of the above insects and if I see thrips I will definitely try it on them. Whenever thrips show up in numbers I get a lot of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus and one year I lost about half my plants to it in a couple of weeks.
This mix seemed to work on almost all insects except worms, including any poor beneficial ones that happen to be around so only use it if necessary. I'm hoping I won't have to use it this year but past experience in this buggy paradise leads me to believe it will be needed again. Oh yeah, a heavy rain will mean you have to reapply it just like most fungicides it will wash off.

Bill

I loaded up on the blue thrips sticky traps yesterday setting out one at each plant. At first I didnt notice but after taking a second look at the traps I find they are loaded with thrips in 24 hrs. They are hard to see but these traps work. :worthy:

[QUOTE=OzoneNY;551703]I loaded up on the blue thrips sticky traps yesterday setting out one at each plant. At first I didnt notice but after taking a second look at the traps I find they are loaded with thrips in 24 hrs. They are hard to see but these traps work. :worthy:[/QUOTE]

If the traps are loaded then the plants probably have many thrips on them too. The traps wont stop the life cycle of these monsters but will help. Hopefully your nematodes get there soon.

[QUOTE=OzoneNY;551703]I loaded up on the blue thrips sticky traps yesterday setting out one at each plant. At first I didnt notice but after taking a second look at the traps I find they are loaded with thrips in 24 hrs. They are hard to see but these traps work. :worthy:[/QUOTE]
Glad to hear that.
Seems to me that is the simplest, most effective solutions. You see them dead and they won't have a chance to multiply.

Gardeneer

My beneficial nematodes (or predatory nematodes as they call it) arrived today. I will start the assault on these thrips tonight when I get home from work. Release the hounds! :frank: