Stink bugs and mulch?

[Tracydr]

Is mulch bad when I have a stink bug problem? Last summer I had a huge stink bug and leaf-footed bug problem. I also had deep mulch,as always but this was my first summer gardening in NC. I only saw a couple of stinkers in AZ.
I'm trying to figure out if I should do as I normally do and mulch deeply with shredded leaves and pine needles or if I should leave the ground bear. I would much rather mulch,especially since I don't have running water to my garden,yet. But,I don't want to be breeding stink bugs,either.
FWIW, I am surrounded by Big-Ag crops of cotton,soybeans and corn. I'm sure that doesn't help one bit,
I am going to try some trap crops,sunflowers and amaranth,okra,maybe corn.How far away should they be planted from the tomatoes for effect?

[b54red]

I also had a big stink bug and leaf footed bug problem last year and got rid of them rather quickly and very few returned. I mixed about 2/3 cup of diatomaceous earth food grade in a gallon of water and strained it into my sprayer. I then added a good dose of Permethrin and a Tbsp of Dawn dishwashing liquid. I kept shaking it every minute or so to keep the DE suspended and sprayed my tomatoes and peppers with it late in the evening or really early in the morning at daylight. It also had the added benefit of getting rid of most of my aphids and whiteflies and I never saw spider mites last season. The DE keeps on killing long after the immediate affect of the Permethrin is gone but a heavy rain will wash it off. I had to reapply it one more time. If you are worried about using the Permethrin which is a good knock down poison with out much residual poisoning effect then you could try using just the DE and soapy water which would probably have to be applied more often in order to kill the larger stink bugs and leaf footed bugs which are both susceptible to the Permethrin in higher doses.

I recommend using a heavy layer of cypress mulch which does a great job of keeping the soil cool and moist for much longer than any other mulch I have tried in 40 years of gardening in the south. The mulch will improve your fruit set by keeping the moisture more even for longer which results in less blossom drop in our heat.

Bill

[AlittleSalt]

I planted sunflowers about 80 feet away from the garden. Our okra is 12 feet from the last row of tomatoes. I will be using a permethrin insecticide. I haven't found diatomaceous earth - It's probably right in front of me while shopping, but I haven't seen it.

[Tracydr]

Robert-check the feed store. I get it in a big bag at the feed store.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by b54red

I also had a big stink bug and leaf footed bug problem last year and got rid of them rather quickly and very few returned. I mixed about 2/3 cup of diatomaceous earth food grade in a gallon of water and strained it into my sprayer. I then added a good dose of Permethrin and a Tbsp of Dawn dishwashing liquid. I kept shaking it every minute or so to keep the DE suspended and sprayed my tomatoes and peppers with it late in the evening or really early in the morning at daylight. It also had the added benefit of getting rid of most of my aphids and whiteflies and I never saw spider mites last season. The DE keeps on killing long after the immediate affect of the Permethrin is gone but a heavy rain will wash it off. I had to reapply it one more time. If you are worried about using the Permethrin which is a good knock down poison with out much residual poisoning effect then you could try using just the DE and soapy water which would probably have to be applied more often in order to kill the larger stink bugs and leaf footed bugs which are both susceptible to the Permethrin in higher doses.

I recommend using a heavy layer of cypress mulch which does a great job of keeping the soil cool and moist for much longer than any other mulch I have tried in 40 years of gardening in the south. The mulch will improve your fruit set by keeping the moisture more even for longer which results in less blossom drop in our heat.

Bill

I'll give this a try.
I was afraid the little baby stink bugs were hiding out in the mulch.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

I'll give this a try.
I was afraid the little baby stink bugs were hiding out in the mulch.

Give the mulch a little spray while you're at it.

I just had to finally resort to Sevin to stop the small worms that were trying to destroy my plants. Before the last rain I had been using BT and hand picking but it only slowed them down. After the last 4 days of rain they were widespread and the foliage was taking too much of a hit. I know the Sevin will totally take care of them in one day and the worms were just too far ahead of me. I'm hoping most of my ladybugs are gone by now. I haven't seen any in a week so they are certainly thinned out and I did my spraying just at dark today. I haven't seen but a couple of stinkbugs and a few leaf footed bugs but I'm sure their population will take off soon and require the Permethrin and DE treatment.

Bill

[MrSalvage]

Originally Posted by b54red

I also had a big stink bug and leaf footed bug problem last year and got rid of them rather quickly and very few returned. I mixed about 2/3 cup of diatomaceous earth food grade in a gallon of water and strained it into my sprayer. I then added a good dose of Permethrin and a Tbsp of Dawn dishwashing liquid. I kept shaking it every minute or so to keep the DE suspended and sprayed my tomatoes and peppers with it late in the evening or really early in the morning at daylight. It also had the added benefit of getting rid of most of my aphids and whiteflies and I never saw spider mites last season. The DE keeps on killing long after the immediate affect of the Permethrin is gone but a heavy rain will wash it off. I had to reapply it one more time. If you are worried about using the Permethrin which is a good knock down poison with out much residual poisoning effect then you could try using just the DE and soapy water which would probably have to be applied more often in order to kill the larger stink bugs and leaf footed bugs which are both susceptible to the Permethrin in higher doses.

I recommend using a heavy layer of cypress mulch which does a great job of keeping the soil cool and moist for much longer than any other mulch I have tried in 40 years of gardening in the south. The mulch will improve your fruit set by keeping the moisture more even for longer which results in less blossom drop in our heat.

Bill

Hey Bill, I need to buy a sprayer for a small garden so I can use this solution you recommend. I have never used a sprayer so i have no idea what to buy. It's a small garden 20 x40. Could you recommend a sprayer and how would I apply the solution with it?

TIA
Bill

[b54red]

I used to use the tank type sprayers until I found the SP2 backpack sprayer about 8 to 10 years ago but that might be more than you need. I would recommend Hudson sprayers with a brass wand and brass nozzle if you go with a regular tank spray because they just work much better than the plastic ones.

Bill

[MrSalvage]

Ty man!

[MrSalvage]

Hey Bill,

The only local DE I could find is

http://stgabrielorganics.com/product...omaceous-earth

85% DE
10% Silica something?
5% Moisture

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Is this going to matter?