Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

hello all
we have a problem with our cherry tree
we would use pyrethrum to kill the little buggers but as we have extended our aquaponics system the tree is about 3 meters away
is there anything that we can use to kil the aphids that wont harm the aquaponics
cheers brett&vicky

Any Ladybugs around?

not many ladybug around
i have never seen it this bad or this early
cheers brett@vicky

I would just go down to bunnings buy a few plastic drop sheets and cover the system then spray with pyrethrum there is no real other way to deal with such a large infestation of black aphids

Is pyrethrum harmful to fish?

i found this on a web site

Pyrethrum (Pyrethrin)
Pyrethrin insecticide, pyrethrin spray, pyrethrin fogging products, pyrethrin foggers.

Enviornment-Safe Pyrethrum

Pyrethrum is a completely organic, environment-safe insecticide derived from 100% African Chrysanthemum flowers. Pyrethrum powder is toxic to ants, roaches, silverfish, bed bugs, fleas, wasps, spiders, crickets, mosquitoes, and just about every other category of unwanted house or garden pest. Because it decomposes rapidly in the environment, pyrethrum has been approved for a wide range of indoor and outdoor uses, including homes, restaurants, broad-scale spraying operations, and organic farms.

cheers brett&vicky

and some more digging around the web and i found this

T. cinerariifolium is called the Dalmatian chrysanthemum, denoting its origin in that region of the Balkans (Dalmatia). It looks more like the common daisy than other pyrethrums. Its flowers, typically white with a yellow center, grow from numerous fairly rigid stems. Plants have blue-green leaves and grow to 45 to 100 cm in height. The plant is economically important as a natural source of insecticide. The flowers are pulverized and the active components, called pyrethrins, contained in the seed cases, are extracted and sold in the form of an oleoresin. This is applied as a suspension in water or oil, or as a powder. Pyrethrins attack the nervous systems of all insects, and inhibit female mosquitoes from biting. When present in amounts less than those fatal to insects, they still appear to have an insect repellent effect. They are harmful to fish, but are far less toxic to mammals and birds than many synthetic insecticides

cheers brett&vicky

I wouldn't worry to much I've used it on plants in my system but with a plastic drop sheet under the plant with no casualties not that I would recommend that because they are your fish not mine I found a simular statement on yates msds sheet about the product so thats obviously why I minimilized contamination, the organic solutions just weren't doing the trick

I tell you what i'm bloody jealous of those cherries. do you get heaps of chill time out your way?