im still battling midges and since i still feel to guilty to use the heavy artillery im trying the drench the soil with neem every couple days approach. midges are awake early this yr. i saw one flying around. not any damage that i can see yet . so well see how this works.

Sounds like an okay plan. Let us know how it works.

can anyone post a pic of a Midge? I have no idea what it is. It's a bug, right?

they look like tiny mosquitos. and you wont see one unless you look really hard. they lay eggs in the tiny flower buds and turn them into a crisp. if you have a healthy plant and no flowers chances are midge is the problem. thats the first symptom. the second symptom is crispy black buds. or sometimes what look like black scratches on the bud. if you see any of these there are probably a few generations floating around. they only live for a few days. and new ones emerge. another tricky thing is that they come out when its warm and not windy. so not only do you have to pay attn to the plants but the weather too. neem is supposed to help. but a systemic works better. i dont want to hurt the beneficial bugs to much so im going to try the neem soak. usually the first flush is ok but the later the summer gets the worse they get if you do nothing

huh. Must be a Eastern thing.. or maybe a thing that only people w/water (not desert) have to deal with. Never heard of 'em. I'm lucky out here.. we don't have most of the buggie problems like Rose Beetle or Midges.. we have aphids, but who doesn't?

I have aphids and earwigs. The worst pest is Japanese beetles.

Actually the biggest pest of all, the boozehag next door, moved. Yippee!!! I can handle a few bugs, no problem, at least they are quiet. I can sit on my patio again without being threatened by a mentally unstable lunatic. What a relief.

Dana, have you used the Neem with any success for Midge in the past? I don't know if it will work on those suckers.

The best thing to use is the Termite and Carpenter Ant Killer. I one I have is ortho brand. Soak the shrub but mostly the ground. Repeat in three days to break the cycle.

so far i have a a good amount of buds. there are 2 roses that are ate up with midge damage. . (i have buds on them but could have more)the others seem immune.. i will try that ant killer on the 2 that perpetuate the problem. but so far so good. everything looks fab the Austins have almost no midge damage the hybrid musk's also have none to speak of.. its just those 2 noid climbers. there is a missing bud here and there though. do you know if the ant killer harms bees and ladybugs. i feel so guilty serving up poison pollen.

I would guess it does. But if you have a midge problem and can't get rid of them, it does really work.

Maybe you could spray late in the evening or at night when there are less bees and ladybugs around? At least you would feel less guilty.

What is the recipe for using Neem as a systematic and how good does it work?

so far i soaked everything every 3 days or so and i think it broke the cycle some. i had an excellent first flush. i have to keep up with it.. i dont know if it works as a systemic or not..