Where are the pests?

[LLK]

I never thought I'd be worrying about the absence of common pests, but there it is: for the first time in my gardening and bonsai life (and I am over 80), I have not had to use snail bait once in this growing season, and hardly ever slap at a fly, while mosquitoes have been completely absent. Thank heavens my long wall of Chinese jasmine has attracted plenty of bees. However, there's hardly been a butterfly around and I don't think I've seen a Bogong Moth at all.
I am in Canberra, and the drought in the surrounding countryside has been severe, but has it been sufficient to kill so many of the small creatures which have been our hated companions for so very long? Is it another, dreaded sign of the climate change?
What is the situation like in other parts of the country?

Lisa

[Keep Calm and Ramify]

The common pests I usually have visiting me around this time of year, are these things & the mother in-law.

hopper.jpg

Both can be quite damaging.
The hoppers I can easily remove by hand, or by spraying on insecticide.
The mother in law....well....not so easy!

[bodhidharma]

They all migrated to my place in Shepherds Flat, in Central Victoria.

[gnichols]

If you're upset I am happy to donate some snails from my place?

Sent from my SM-G570F using Tapatalk

[LLK]

Well, maybe my place is a pilot of the climate change.

[dansai]

Maybe you have some very busy lizards

[Raging Bull]

At my place I'm waging a constant war against black ants. They are a real nuisance this year, putting aphids and scale insects on a lot of plants and constantly making their homes in the pots. The leaf cutter wasps/bees? are also shredding some of my trees' leaves.

[MJL]

Bl@@dy mozzies everywhere here.... they may not be affecting the bonsai but the are giving the person that waters the said plants the total sh!ts. I reckon I lose a pint of blood on an evening water and then come inside looking like I have measles; splashing cream all over the joint.

Ok - a bit of exaggeration ... but I truly wish mozzies sucked on slugs, snails and caterpillars ... and not me!

Little pr!cks - pardon the pun.

[Max]

over the mountain here in Tumut, I've not seen a snail in the garden but i do have a couple of blue tongues, snails i could count on one hand and they were curled up in pots, not many wasps or blue banded bees or honey bees, native bees, i've only seen a couple on my M linearifolias, lady bugs nil, hover flies bugger all, bush flies the same as with blowies. Thrips, scale, mozzies, aphids and black ants as per usual

[KIRKY]

Happy to send you all the mozzies from my yard. Beat them back with a stick and they still won’t take no for an answer.
Finally seeing some skinks back in the garden and the occasional pray mantis. Bee’s are sucking the moisture from the moss on my Satsuki’s every night, poor little buggers. The Native Paper Wasps are all nesting under the eves along the North side of the house. Stewie the ringtail is in his dray nestled in the arch of the arbour covered in Star Jasmine. He needs watering too on days that are mid to high 30’s low 40’s. So all is as well as it can be in this heat, come on winter
Cheers
Kirky

[Gerard]

Leaf hoppers have driven me crazy in recent years, this year they are absent. Lots of mantis and lady bugs are helping

[melbrackstone]

They all migrated to my place in Shepherds Flat, in Central Victoria.

and the rest of them are here in Brisbane!

I'm sure they'll return once the rain comes, Lisa.

I've noticed those pesky blue cycad butterflies always disappear in a dry spell, but return with a vengence as soon as we get rain, perhaps it's SO dry there your normal insect population is just hibernating...

[LLK]

Thanks for all the info, friends. Very interesting, and my sympathy to all sufferers.

Max in Tumut comes closest to the situation at my place. Yesterday ONE lonely bush fly sought my company, no other flies in sight. Seriously, I think there is something wrong with a place from where so many insects and molluscs seem to have disappeared. Sorry, I found one native snail on a bonsai, where it did no damage. Native snails eat the imported kind; maybe mine went on a binge.

But ants?? Little nasty black ants with a painful bite? Yeah! I've got those. I've had to spray my feet with vinegar/water, and also the tables on which I work. Ants HATE vinegar, coz its acidity competes with their own.
For mozzie bites: rub your arms and legs with diluted tea tree oil. Vinegar also helps against the itch of bites afterwards. All this fom looooooooooong experience.

Lisa

P.S. -- We have had quite a bit of rain and there's more coming. I'll report on progress.