Grapefruit Tree Help...please

Discussion in 'Citrus' started by sizenson, Sep 28, 2006.

  1. sizenson

    sizenson Member

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    Thanks for the bug clairification. Gross. There are MILLIONS of them and they are totally annoying and have invaded at least one other plant. I need a "shunt" to get the pest spray into the soil and kill off these annoying buggers. Any suggestions for products that I can "water" the tree with that will kill off the bugs but not the tree?
    Though the pest strip sounds like a good solution that won't cause my family to breathe in bug spray....the tree is in the eating area of our kitchen and I just don't think that having pest strips all over is the impression that I want folks to have of my kitchen. (We aren't dirty...why promote the bug problem...most neighbors wouldn't understand the root-gnat-aspect of things.)

    I wish the pest spikes were still around. Cancer causing...maybe...but they worked. (that pesty US Government...ha ha ha!)

    As always, we will take any suggestions!

    Thanks and Happy Holiday!

    Susan (And her green-goddess friend Gladys)
     
  2. sabagal

    sabagal Member

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    Susan,

    I've lurked for some time and had to jump in. As an entomologist I'd like to make a suggestion. Even though you are not eating fruit from your grapefruit tree you may from it or another in the future. Anything you pour into the soil can be taken up by the tree and will end up in the fruit. Skeet suggested pyrethroids which are fairly innocuous. Personally I wouldn't go any stronger on a plant I may eat from. I have never learned how long some of the chemicals linger in the plant tissue but many of the systemics that work so well are forbidden on any food plants. Personally, I err on the side of caution. The yellow sticky cards are not no pest strips. They are cards with a nasty goo on them in a color of yellow that is attractive to many insect pests. The gnats get stuck and die there. Just change them when the surface gets crowded and you can do a good job of killing them off. Along with that, dry your soil until the tree begins to wilt. Do this several times and it will kill off the multiple generations that are in the soil. Since the buggers are constantly laying eggs you have to deal with several generations to get rid of them. Your blaming your husband is funny but not too far off. It is possible to buy potting soil or components that are infested. Any that you have left can be put in the oven at 200 degrees until it is heated through. I have done this in the past. One way to check if you have fungus gnat instead of fruit flies is if they are attracted to your computer screen. For some reason the gnats love the screen and are a real annoyance. Hope this helps.
     
  3. sizenson

    sizenson Member

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    Such GREAT information! WOW! I laughed when you wrote that we may be eating fruit from this tree...we are not. I think that (at the old house) it did sprout several gumball sized grapefruits that quickly fell off before they matured but since we have moved to this house (4 years) nothing has bloomed. We may have had something that cross pollinated in the old neighborhood but not here.

    As for the spray, my husband (who most likely bought bad soil) does many health studies so there are no sprays that are bad in this house. The one that I am using now is made from all naural ingredients. (We prefer to get cancer and other diseases the natural way....through genetics...ha ha ha)

    Ok..now the questions.

    Where to get the yellow sticky things?

    When you say to let the soil dry (which I will do now) to kill off the current occupants, do I then water the wilting tree and let it re-dry again? I'm thinking that this would kill the adults but not the eggs...but when I water the tree won't the hatching eggs lay more? (or am I to be spraying and yellow sticky thing-ing at the same time?? I am familiar with fleas (vet clinic employee) and their life cycles so I knew that I'd have to deal with lots of generations of gnats.

    As always...thanks so much for this help. She really is lovely and I do enjoy her!

    Susan (and Gladys)
     
  4. sabagal

    sabagal Member

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    Hi,

    The yellow sticky traps can be bought at many garden supply stores. You can also Google that term and there are loads of sites that sell them. I am new to this so don't know if it is proper to name companies. (I'd be grateful if one of the more experienced of you would let me know) But I bought them off the internet for my job and found them in less than 2 minutes of searching.

    For the watering, yes let the tree soil dry down and then water. You don't want to dry the soil so much that you kill the plant. Unfortunately it is a fine line and you have to watch the trees closely. I did this once at a job where many houseplants were infested and everyone thought I was killing the plants. It took at least four times of drying the soil to get rid of the critters and every plant survived just fine. Yes, each time you water more eggs will hatch but that is the only way to get rid of them. As long as the eggs stay in the soil unhatched they are a potential problem waiting to happen.

    Do your spray, the yellow sticky cards and the drying at the same time. You have to hit them hard like this because even though they mostly feed on the moist organic matter, when the numbers get as high as you are describing they have to feed on the root hairs like skeeterbug said to have enough food. On a positive note, other than laying eggs and being an annoyance at the computer screen the adults are pretty harmless.

    Hope this helps Gladys get well again

    p.s. my husband said I should have originally said I am a Horticultualist and Entomologist. Hard to decide sometimes which field to fit into.
     
  5. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Fungus gnats are often more annoying to people than to plants. Larvae sometimes feed on roots, however damage to the plant is very rear. The presents of fungus gnats is almost always a sign of over watering. The use of the microbial bacillus thuringiensis (BT) israeliensis is commonly used and provides great control. It is commercially sold as Gnatrol and Vectobac. - Millet
     
  6. sizenson

    sizenson Member

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    Ok...my thanks to you both. I will look up the sticky yellow things after posting here to see what I am in the market for and will also call my local garden stores (we have a few good ones) to see if they have the compounds that were described.

    All I know is that this tree MUST survive or my mother-in-law will have (yet) another thing to give me guilt about. (the list is LOOOONNNGGG and she is so passive about it!)

    I'll let you know how my search ends!

    Susan and Gladys
     
  7. sizenson

    sizenson Member

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    Ok...so how about this idea? (given to my by the guy at the local garden place) How about using a layer of Bonsi soil? He seemed to think that it would prevent the gnats from being able to surface and return to the soil while allowing the tree to breath and get water. (after I let it dry out and then do the watering/drying process)

    Well?? I bought the soil but wouldn't even think of using it without some imput.

    Thanks!

    Susan (and Gladys)
     
  8. Paula G

    Paula G Member

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    Which kind of gnats are attracted to the computer screen?
     
  9. sizenson

    sizenson Member

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    Hi Paula,

    I guess that fungus gnats like the computer light. So do others...hmmm.. the only thing that I can tell you is that "regular" fruit fly type gnats are attracted to a mixture of applecider vinager and dish detergent (in a small glass) while these little buggers weren't. It was SO frustrating! I did finally manage to kill them all. (and without the special soil that this other garden place sold me that I returned....) I just did the water, spray, dry, water, spray, dry cycle until they were gone. It was a long time though.
    I am happy to say that Gladys is looking...ok...not great...but ok. We are approaching summer here so when it really starts to heat up, I think that I am going to move her outside for a while to really get the benefit from the hot weather that I think she is craving.
    Thanks for all the help!
    Susan (and Gladys the Grapefruit tree)
     
  10. skeeterbug

    skeeterbug Active Member

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    Hi Susan, Glad to hear that Gladys is doing better. I'm sure some warmer weather will be helpful, just don't let it get sunburn-- if you put it in direct sun -- give it just a few hours at first then increase a few hrs at a time.

    Skeet
     
  11. sizenson

    sizenson Member

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    Sunburn?? Really? I can't believe it! HA! Who would have thought it. Well...she IS doing better but in no way as good as she had looked a few years ago. I hope that she continues to turn it around. I try to water her only when needed...about every 2 1/2-3 weeks and I do water her slowly. She still has some yellow spots on leaves and I saw a spider web or two on a branch. (I won't use pesticides to spray around the kids and dogs so the spiders do like our house...) I got rid of them. She does have new growth...just not as much as I'd like to see. Just keeping my fingers crossed. As always, thanks for your comments and direction! We have both benefited from them! :)

    Susan and Gladys <who is getting her bikini on waiting for the summer here>
     
  12. Paula G

    Paula G Member

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    Susan, my grapefruit tree (Cedrick) has been having issues with sunburn too, the sun coming through the window and the skylight above him are very very hot. I just learned the leaf damage is probably sunburn. Argh.
     
  13. sizenson

    sizenson Member

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    So what does Cedrick's damage look like? Gladys has beautiful dark green leaves with yellow spots and then they fall off dead. Harumph! I don't think that it could be sun damage yet (we are in central Ohio) since the sun isn't at it's strongest time of the year AND our windows are coated with that UV stuff. Any ideas?

    Susan (and Gladys...who is single by the way...ha ha ha)
     
  14. Paula G

    Paula G Member

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    The leaves which I suspect as being sunburned get papery thin in patches, and it seems like the cells in them became flat and dead. The colour doesn't change at first, but then it gets pale and yellow or white. For some reason this seems to only be happening to the leaves living on branches from the lowest oldest part of him. (Cedrick sends Gladys his enthusiastic regards :D). I suspect Cedrick is ready for a much larger pot. But he's just sent up a torrent of new growth on the top and I am loathe to disturb him.
     
  15. sizenson

    sizenson Member

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    I am going to see if I can post some pictures of the leaves here for further help. I was unable to before but will wait for spouse help! Then you can tell me if they match what is going on with Cedrick. Gladys is in the largest pot that I want to allow. She did get an infusion of new soil last summer (at her lowest point) but it was bad cheap stuff that my husband bought. THIS summer...I am going shoppng and we are going to really do it up for her.
    I'll try to get the post done soon.

    Susan (Gladys is in her 20's and is willing to date a younger tree...how old is Cedrick?)
     
  16. skeeterbug

    skeeterbug Active Member

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    Susan, you mentioned spider webs earlier and yellow spots--that combination suggest red spider mites to me, especially if the yellow spots are very small. Look on the bottom of the leaves and you may see some tiny red specks and some may move-- if so you have spider mites. You can kill those with soapy water or a mix of soapy water and oil (vegetable oil) -- about a tablespoon of dishwashing liquid in a gallon.

    Pictures will help if this is not the case.

    Paula, it is possible that the leaves are just old--typically leaves live for just 12-18 months.

    Skeet
     
  17. sizenson

    sizenson Member

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    HI! I was glad to see that you are still keeping an eye on the posts! Your advice was so wonderful before..whew!

    So, no red spider stuff. I think it's a soil issue still. The stuff that we replanted her in was so crappy (thanks to my husband) that I think that she'll benefit with a soil change again this summer. (I will do the shopping though) I am going to try to get some pictures posted soon.

    Stay tuned!

    Susan (and Gladys..who may have better luck working the camera than Susan)
     
  18. sabagal

    sabagal Member

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    Susan,

    Good to hear that Gladys got over her fungus gnats. The drying completely treatment really does work.

    Having lost many leaves on other plants to sunburn I am obsessive about my lemons. Here is how I handle the problem. I put them in total shade for at least a week and then start gradually moving them into more sun over several weeks. Sunburned leaves develop a bleached out look first and then get brown and crispy since they die. Interestingly, half a leaf can burn and the other half be just fine. Not fun to watch. (Lost all my leaves on a jade plant once that way. Was so sad) I actually acclimate them to inside in the fall the same way, gradually over several weeks. I am just hoping the Missouri weather gets good enough to move them out of the shade soon. The wind tips them over in all the storms we have had. That is another danger. Until they have acclimated properly harsh winds can dry the edges of the leaves and they will look like someone torched them. I always move them into a protected area until the wind dies down. Hope this helps you get Gladys outside and happy in the sun.

    P.S. Since my trees are only 3 years old next month I think they are too young for Gladys.
     
  19. sizenson

    sizenson Member

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    Thanks for the sun information. Our deck is shaded most of the day until later afternoon. Our other deck (the last time she spent a summer outside) was morning sun and afternoon shade. I am not sure what I will do but I am going to get her outside since she really liked it that one summer and she is due for a treat.

    I will try the gradual movement.

    Thanks so much for the suggestions! Hopefully she will thrive. (if not...my mother in law will kill me!)

    Susan (and Gladys who is available to tree sit younger trees...)
     
  20. Paula G

    Paula G Member

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    Cedrick is about three :D
     
  21. Chuck White

    Chuck White Active Member

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    Very late, I know. The 'yellow sticky things' are available at most garden centers and are most often sold for trapping White Fly.
     
  22. sizenson

    sizenson Member

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    Thanks. I'll keep those in mind. I did the dry/water/spray with a mild spray routine and FINALLY am happy to say that we are fungus gnat free. Whew! Those buggers were terrible. That is the last time that I let my husband choose the soil.

    I will look for these tapes soon to have on hand since we are going to let Gladys outside this summer and I am sure that she will be nice enough to bring critters back inside with her in the fall.

    Susan (Gladys is looking forward to some sun and fresh rainwater!)
     

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