Red Lily bugs

You have to be diligent with hand picking these.The best thing is to have a white cloth around the stem covering the soil, and if they fall to the ground you won’t lose site of them in the soil.Once these have laid eggs,they hatch quickly,and its the babies that have a feeding frenzy.You have to pick off the eggs from the underside of the leaves.I have not heard of any pesticide that works,and the only known predator is you.If you don’t have the time to be on this everyday,then sadly you may find that the Lilys have to go.

-- Southwestern Ontario Canada Zone5b

Countrygal is right; mechanical removal is really the only solution to getting rid of them. These beetles are indigenous to Europe and Asia. There are no known predators or parasites of the red lily leaf beetle in North America. Even my chickens won’t eat them so they must taste terrible. I won’t use any insecticides in my garden as they do more harm to me, my family and the beneficial animals, insects and microorganisms in the garden and soil than to the beetles themselves. I have decided the lilies, although beautiful, are not worth the extra effort and have given up on growing Asian lilies in my garden.

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

Me too. I lost all mine a few years ago, I thought. Last year a couple came up, but the beetles got them. I’ll replace them with something else. I have enough fights with nature with my dahlias and brugmansia, so I’ll readily let the lilies go. I do have trouble with allergies with them also.

-- jroot ....... Southern Ontario .......... grow zone 5A ...................."Gardening is an exercise in optimism." ....... . . Author Unknown

Wow, I’m surprised that anyone feels as though they have to simply give up on eradication. However, we’ve already pulled up our lilies, hmmm I always wanted Barberry hedges, maybe now’s the time… Thanks for all the candid comments!

I didn’t say to simply give up.I am saying that if you don’t have the time,then your lilys will be consumed by these beetles.I wont give up as I love the Lilys,and I still have mine.Even if it gets out of control,I will grow them in planters.All I am saying is,there is no magic solution one can just spray and walk away.This is no different than growing potatoes,the beetles need to be hand picked every day,or you can use dust,which I will not use.If one does not control them,no sense in growing potatoes,right?

-- Southwestern Ontario Canada Zone5b