Lily beetles?

Oh no poor you.
I had alook at mine this am so far so good. but vigilence is the key.

Thanks for bringing it to our attention, Spritz - I will look in the morning - I found the first one last year on a fritillaria, didn't see any when I looked at them today but didn't look at the lilies.

Horrible things! I caught four and squished them - but one fell down and I coudn't find it. One of the lilies is full of holes. YUK!!

Not yet spritz but your garden seems to be a few days ahead of mine. Found my first large slug this morning :-(

We are fortunate that the lily beetle does not come this far north, yet.I was introduced to them in a friends garden in Harrow and had to be told what they were. Plenty of slugs, though, Andrew.

ive never herd of them and i have kept fish all my life lol

You are lucky, Np - they eat lilies until there's just a stem left! They are bright red, bigger than a ladybird and their grubs are just as horrible.

Yes, Bulbaholic, you are fortunate! I wonder how long it will be before you do get them?

Ah NP but do you grow lilies?

Good thinking, Moon grower - I reckon he might be thinking of WATER lilies!

He might...

I've not seen any here yet hope they keep away too!!! (North Lincolnshire)

derrrrrrr silly me i was thinking water lillies lol.i have day lillies will i get them on them then ? everyone is intitled to be stupid once in a while lol

No, Day lilies don't seem to attract them - just the oriental and asiatic ones that grow from bulbs - like 'Stargazer' etc.

Who said you're stupid, Np? You are just very lucky you don't know about these pests!

Grrrr the dreaded lily beetle. I was plagued by these pesky pests last year and didn't have a single lily flower - decimated they were. So.....I had a plan. I changed the compost a few weeks ago and so far so good in the 3 pots. However, I did notice someone has been chomping on the couple I have in the flower bed in front of the deck. I had a good look for the culprits today, but didn't see any lily beetles. They're bright red so should be easy to spot, but when they drop to the ground they're the same colour as the soil so difficult to find. Rest assured though, I'll be out there every day on lily patrol from now on - my precious lilies will not be eaten again this year!

Oh Spritz I just read this yesterday and today I looked at a Stargazer lily that had just appeared a few days ago and is now full of holes. What shall I do?

1. Keep your eyes peeled for the red horrors and get them off, then squish them. Look at least twice every day.

2. Get some bug-spray and spray all your lilies.

I hope it works - they are horrible critters. Good luck!

And for those of you who don't like to use chemicals in the garden you can wipe the leaves over with diluted washing up liquid - before the beetles energe frion the larvae. Don't let hubby use the dishcloth (and throw it away if he does!!)