Here's a neat trick or hack using vaseline to organically control pests like aphids or scale/mealybugs on a fruit tree. Smear vaseline around the trunk of the tree to stop ants from climbing up and protecting the aphids/scale. This leaves the pests vulnerable to being eaten by predator insects and thus reducing the numbers in an organic way without using harsh pesticides. Enjoy :)
Self Sufficient Me is based on our small 3-acre property/homestead in SE Queensland Australia about 45kms north of Brisbane - the climate is subtropical (similar to Florida). I started Self Sufficient Me in 2011 as a blog website project where I document and write about backyard food growing, self-sufficiency, and urban farming in general. I love sharing my foodie and DIY adventures online so come along with me and let's get into it! Cheers, Mark :)
G'day, I'm Mark from Self Sufficient Me and I'm back with another quick fruit and veg
growing tip and this one's an ingenious way to use vasso to stop scale and aphids from sucking
the life out of your precious fruit trees and plants. Let's get into it. Scale and aphids are
insects that feed off the sap in your plants. Like a tick or mozzie sucks blood out of us
and if we let aphids or scale get too numerous they will eventually kill the plant or tree.
These pests do have natural predators like wasps and ladybugs which is good hey but not so fast
because these sinister little buggers have a clever trick to protect themselves and it's called
ants. They bribe ants yes that's right they bribe them with a honey secretion that ants just love
to eat and in return for this sweet treat the ants protect the scale and aphids by attacking
any predators that try to get them but if we stop the ants that leaves the aphids and scale
vulnerable to their natural predators but how do we do that well it's easy get some vaseline
on your finger and smear a coating around the stem of the tree about an inch or so wide or
if there's lots of ant activity perhaps several inches wide what this does is create a sticky
boundary that doesn't hurt the tree but it does stop the ants from climbing up or getting back
down make sure there's no other way for the ants to get up the tree such as a stake or branches
that touch the ground because they will find it and use it as an alternate route the vaseline
should last several days and by then the ants that were trapped on the tree will die off and many of
the pests now that the ants can't protect them should become food for predatory insects evening
out the balance in nature once again without the use of harsh pesticides. If there are a lot of
ants trapped on the tree they might get desperate and create a forced bridge across the vaseline
so it's a good idea to get the numbers down and a great way to do this is by vacuuming or blowing
them off. It's important to point out that this vasotrek is a temporary fix and if the predatory
insects don't clean up the pests the ants will eventually be back and the pests will grow in
numbers again but there are other organic measures you can use in conjunction with this vasotrek
to really close the deal and I'll be chatting more about these methods in my next video
10 organic ways to control pests in your garden so keep an eye out for that whoever said vaseline
was only good for sore holes and cracked lips was obviously not a gardener. I hope you enjoyed this
video if you did give it a big thumbs up and also share it around because that helps my channel out
thanks a lot for watching bye for now. Another winner for organic garden
oh these babies are getting close to ripening
