Amateur flower growers who grow often come across a flower - red bugs.
Insects attack the beautiful and soon it dies.
Description of the pest
The fire beetle belongs to the leaf beetle family and poses a great threat to the leaves Today, two types of onion rattle and lily rattle are common. they eat the foliage very strongly, sometimes you can find a plant with a bare stem.
Important! If you ignore the invasion of "firefighters", their larvae are able to eat the plant completely in 4 weeks! As soon as pests have been discovered, it is necessary to start an active fight against them.
- Onion cracker. This pest is a representative having a bright red body and head. Thanks to powerful jaws, the pest can eat not only foliage - its prey is the buds, flowers and stem of the plant. The main target of leaf beetles are lilies of the valley and lilies. That is why they have another name: "lily beetle."
- Lily ratchet. Another pest of lilies, the so-called red beetles. They have a rather attractive appearance, have rigid wings. Among the people, such pests are called "firefighters" because of their colors. They have an elongated red body and a black head.
Harm in the garden
Leaf beetles moved to summer cottages relatively recently: back in the 90s, they lived exclusively in forests. Today, the lily beetle is quite common in the garden, and you need to know how to deal with it. 
Did you know? The larvae cover themselves with mucus from their own excrement. In this way, they protect themselves from birds that ignore the young, which they mistake for their feces.
Undoubtedly, adults are capable of harming plants in spring, but it is not so great and is not capable of leading to the death of a flower. It is necessary to beware of larvae: they appear on the lower part of the leaves a little later, have an orange color. During one season, one leaf beetle lays approximately 450 eggs, from which several generations can hatch.
About a week after being eggs laid, larvae appear Pink colour. They are located under the sheet, so they are quite difficult to notice immediately. The larvae are very voracious and can eat all the leaves on the flower, leaving only the stem. 
After 2-3 weeks, they move to the soil, where their transformation into pupae begins. orange color. After 3 weeks, red pests go hunting. For the winter, they hide in the ground or fallen leaves.
Important! When planting lilies, it is worth laying a garden film between the rows - this will prevent the beetles from digging into the ground, and you can quickly destroy them.
Leaf beetles attack plants very quickly, and sometimes you may not have time to enjoy the beauty of flowers.
How to deal with "leaf eaters"
If the red beetle began to appear on lilies, you need to know how to get rid of it. There are several pest control methods. Let's consider them. 
Manually
The simplest and safe way beetle extermination - mechanical. They can be collected by hand or shaken into a container. The jar must be closed with a lid, since the beetles are well kept on the surface of the water and, having gathered in one heap, can easily get out of the container.
If you have a small area, this method will help to cope with the invasion of "firefighters". Beetles need to be collected several times a season. Despite the fact that insects do not irritate the skin and do not have poison, such an event should be carried out with gloves.
Chemistry
If the mechanical method of dealing with beetles has not brought results, more difficult methods must be used. This is about chemicals, which are detrimental to insects. However, they should only be used when the lilies are not in bloom. 
Did you know? Fire beetles are very cunning: when a person approaches them, they fall to the ground with their black belly up and become invisible. After the danger has passed, they take off and start eating flowers again.
There is no drug aimed at the destruction of this particular type of pest. It is advisable to use solutions and agents whose purpose is the destruction of leaf-eating pests. Often, the same drugs are used to combat "firefighters" as they are used to destroy
Over time, rattles become resistant to chemicals. If red bugs began to appear on the lily, you need to know how to treat the plant. The following drugs will have the best effect: Talstar,
If the flower garden has big sizes, and you also found a lot of larvae, it is recommended to spray with a special solution prepared according to the instructions. Do not deviate from the recommended proportions, as this may result in burns to the plant, while the beetles remain unharmed.
Lilies get sick, pests damage them. Experienced flower growers know: the sooner help is provided, the easier the lily will be able to defeat the disease or heal the wounds inflicted by harmful insects.
Gray rot on lilies, treatment for rot
Gray rot. This is the most common fungal disease. It affects the aerial part of the plant. Most often, lilies suffer from gray rot when wet. rainy weather, with thickened plantings, insufficient care, the presence of weeds in the flower garden.Externally, the disease manifests itself in leaf spot. Round or oval, brown, reddish or orange spots appear on the lower part of the stem, then rise higher. In damp weather, they are covered with a gray coating of mold. Gradually, the spots increase, merge and cover the entire leaf. As a result, it turns brown and dies. The pathogen overwinters on last year's leaves and stems.
Treatment. The affected parts of the plant must be removed and the bush should be sprayed with a solution of 1% Bordeaux mixture or foundationol (20-30 g per 10 liters of water). And at the end of the season, the stems must be cut to ground level and removed from the site or burned. To further insure the lilies from this disease, in the spring (in mid-May, when the leaves are fully opened), treat the lilies with a solution of copper oxychloride (50 g per 10 liters of water). The liquid will stick to the leaves better if you add a little shampoo or 40 g of soap to it.
Advice. Not all lilies are equally affected by gray rot. If this disease has started in your flower garden, try growing Eastern, OT or LA hybrids that are less susceptible to it. But unpretentious, growing well in middle lane Asian hybrids, unfortunately, often suffer from gray rot.
Fusarium on lilies, treatment of lilies
Fusarium. A very dangerous fungal disease, often leading to the death of the bulbs. Infection occurs through the soil in which the spores of the fungus are located. First, the disease affects the roots of the lily, then, spreading from the bottom, the entire bulb. External signs Fusarium - yellowing and drying of the lower leaves.Treatment. In order not to infect lilies with Fusarium, plant only healthy bulbs. If you notice any suspicious spots on the scales, separate them, and lower the bulbs for 10 minutes in a strong solution of potassium permanganate.
When growing lilies, remember that the development and spread of the disease is facilitated by soil moisture (especially excessive), acidic reaction of the environment (pH below 6.5), the application of nitrogen fertilizers in excess of the norm, and the use of mullein solution for fertilizing.
Mosaic on lilies, treatment of lilies
Mosaic. It belongs to the most harmful viral diseases. External signs are so characteristic that it is difficult not to notice them. Light spots appear on the leaves, the plants grow weakly, the stems are bent, the buds and flowers are ugly.Treatment. Unfortunately, scientists have not been able to find effective ways treatment of this disease. Therefore, mosaic-infected plants should be dug up and destroyed. The carriers of the virus are aphids, thrips, mites and other sucking insects. If you wage an uncompromising struggle with them, you can reduce the risk of infection to a minimum. In addition, the disease is transmitted with the juice of a diseased plant when cutting flowers, shoots, so a knife or pruner must be constantly disinfected.
Fighting red lily beetle on lilies
Red lily beetle. In Europe, this pest is found everywhere. It appeared in our country in the early 90s of the last century. Outwardly, it resembles a firefighter beetle, and in terms of fertility and gluttony, it is similar to the Colorado beetle. Damages lilies of the valley, hazel grouse, but most of all lilies. It feeds on their leaves, flowers, bulbs. It appears on plantings already in April, and if it is not stopped, larvae will soon appear, and then it will be difficult to cope with the pest.Fighting means. In the spring, when the beetle first appears on the lilies, it must be collected by hand and destroyed. If it is possible to inspect the plantings often and carefully, then in a few weeks you can get rid of the pest. But when time is lost and larvae appear, you will have to CARRY out chemical treatments. It is necessary to use those drugs that help in the fight against the Colorado potato beetle. For spraying, 1-2 g of actara, or 1 ml of confidor, or 2 ml of sonnet can be diluted in 10 liters of water.
Aphids on lilies, means of control
Aphids. These insects, in addition to harming plants themselves, are also carriers of viral diseases, so they must be destroyed, preventing the appearance of large colonies.Fighting means. Inta-vir works well against aphids (1 tablet per 10 liters of water). Fufanon solution (10-15 ml per 10 liters of water) can also be used for spraying.
Mice on lilies, means of struggle
Mice. Very dangerous for lilies, because they can destroy all the bulbs in the ground.Fighting means. Lily bulbs must be protected from rodents, especially in the off-season, when the owners rarely appear in the garden. Take small boxes, make holes in them on the side for the passage of mice, lay the poisoned bait. In this capacity, you can use the preparation storm by mixing 1 briquette with 1 kg of flour or cereals. Cover the box with a lid to prevent accidental poisoning of birds or pets. Place several of these boxes on lily plantings, and it is advisable to change the bait to fresh once a month.
To protect lilies from diseases experienced gardeners advise in the spring, as soon as the sprouts appear, shed the soil with the following solution. In 1 l warm water dilute 1 tbsp. a spoonful of soda blue vitriol, ammonia and while stirring in a thin stream, pour into 9 liters of cold water.N. Ya. Ippolitova, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences
Bright and harmful ... beetles - firefighters
Back in July, some flower growers could notice gnaws on the leaves and even petals of lilies, significantly spoiling the appearance of flowers, especially from a commodity point of view. Since some lily hybrids still bloom in August, for some this question may still be relevant.
Who eats them?
Aerial parts of lilies and other plants can damage 2 types of Lilioceris: lily beetle(L. lili) and onion ratchet, or onion daylily(L. merdigera). The first is a red beetle with a black head, 6–9 mm in size, and the second is red all over the top, occurs and harms much more often. Both species belong to the leaf beetle family, from which the Colorado potato beetle is better known.
An adult onion ratchet is a small (7-8 cm) elongated oval beetle with orange-red elytra and a black abdomen, it is also called the onion leaf beetle, it hibernates in the soil, comes to the surface at the end of April. In addition to all types of lilies, the beetle can destroy the foliage of plants of the following crops: onions, hazel grouse, tobacco, potatoes, kupena and other plants. It is worth noting that hazel grouses, especially small species, can be eaten clean by lilioceris. And not only leaves, but also green boxes with seeds.
As leaf beetles, they actively gnaw on leaves, as well as buds and flowers. Females lay eggs from May to July.
The larvae emerging from the eggs are very untidy in appearance; not only are they covered with mucus, they are also in the habit of smearing themselves with their own excrement. Perhaps this serves as protection from the burning rays of the sun. Larvae of the first instars skeletonize leaves (eat soft tissues leaving veins). Older ones gnaw pieces out of them. They feed on the plant for 2-3 weeks and pupate.
How to get rid. If your plantations are small, then be sure to use chemistry, it is enough to collect and destroy beetles and larvae manually several times during the summer. The beetle usually sits openly, it is clearly visible, but you need to have some skill, because at the slightest danger it tightens its paws and falls to the ground with its back down. Black-brown belly with 
it flows with the soil, and finding a pest can be quite difficult. Of course, picking by hand, especially larvae, is unpleasant, but it is reassuring that they do not emit poisonous and skin-irritating substances, like some other insects.
If the plantations are decent. Many of the insecticides used against the Colorado potato beetle are suitable for spraying. The specificity of this pest is that in the surrounding nature there is always its reserve. You collect, you poison some, others fly in. In nature, the onion leaf beetle feeds mainly on lilies of the valley.
Of the insecticides, systemic ones are considered more reliable: Actellik (1.5 g / 10 l), Aktara. Their peculiarity is that they are assimilated by plant tissues, which for some time become poisonous to the pest. However, before buying and even more so using this or that drug, pay attention to such regulations for its use as the waiting period - the period (number of days) that must pass from the moment of processing to the use of plants: for Aktellik it is 20 days, and for Actars - 14. That is, to spray lilies with them and vegetable crops follows respectively 3 and 2 weeks before cutting. If the larvae were found at the time the buds began to bloom, then these chemicals can no longer be sprayed. Accordingly, in this case, you can either collect manually, which is disgusting, or use biological products such as Fitoverm and Bitoxibacillin, the waiting times for which are 2 and 5 days, respectively. To reduce the number of the pest, it is very important not to let it multiply. We must try to find and destroy all the found larvae, preventing their pupation.
Lilies are strong and hardy flowers, but they are also subject to attack by pests, among which insects of the Leaf beetle family - lily and onion rattles are considered the most dangerous. The task of the gardener is to process the lilies from red beetles as soon as possible so as not to miss time and not lose young plants.
How to identify a pest?
As soon as the first rattle beetles are seen on flowers in spring, the gardener should immediately begin to fight them. It is not difficult to recognize this pest - the beetle has a bright color and a rather large size (0.6-1.5 cm).
In the people they are called squeakers or firefighters and are often confused with each other. The period of active reproduction of red beetles is from May to the first half of July.
Adult individuals do not cause significant damage to plants (although they feed on lily greens). But each female ratchet is able to lay up to 450 orange eggs per season. The clutches look unpleasant, like small lumps of gray translucent slime, and are located on the underside of the leaves, so it is difficult to see and pick them by hand.
The rattlers got their name for the chirring sounds made during danger.
What damage does the red beetle cause?
Within a week, the eggs hatch into larvae. Within 16-24 days, they develop on the above-ground part of the plant, then go into the soil and pupate. During the growth period, the larvae are able to completely destroy the leaves, buds, buds, and partially the stems of lilies, as they are very voracious and are excreted in large quantities.
By ignoring pests, the gardener risks losing the entire plant in a fairly short time. First, the lily will begin to wither, then it will lose its buds and leaves. Naturally, it will not bloom. In the middle of summer, a new generation of beetles will emerge from the ground and will continue to eat the remains of the flower (fortunately, after this, the breeding cycle will not repeat until the next year). Already in July, only a bare stem will remain from the flower.
The first signs of damage are the eaten edges of the leaves and holes in them, the plant looks lethargic and painful. From now on, it is not too late to save the lily for future flowering.
chemical fight
There are no individual preparations designed to deal specifically with red beetles. But both types of ratchet are effectively affected by pesticides designed to exterminate leaf-eating insects (for example, Colorado beetles).
Treatment chemicals much more efficient folk methods. Poisons allow you to completely rid the garden of pests after a single treatment.
In the direction of action, insecticides are of several types. Here are the most common ones.
- Chloroorganic. These are highly toxic drugs that destroy most pests. Disadvantages - harm humans and animals, destroy beneficial insects. Such preparations are not recommended for use in personal garden plots.
- Phosphorus organic. They selectively affect pests, with a small consumption, the effect appears quickly, but the toxicity for warm-blooded animals and humans is high. It is necessary to carefully observe safety precautions and avoid accidental contact with the solution on the skin, mucous membranes and respiratory tract. Common names are Tagore, Aktellik, Malathion, Karbofos.
- pyrethroids. Relatively safe and sufficient effective drugs, destroying nervous system insect. They are made on the basis of derivatives of the natural substance pyrethrum. Among the shortcomings - with not too careful processing, some of the pests can hide and survive, and with regular use they develop resistance. The most famous drugs in this group are Bifentrin, Fastak, K-Otrin, FAS.
- Neonicotinoids. A modern group of insecticides that have a detrimental effect on the nervous system of pests. The drug penetrates into all parts of the plant, so they can not only be sprayed, but also watered under the root. It acts quickly and effectively, but is quite toxic to humans and animals. Popular brands are Aktara, Konfidor, Calypso, Mospilan.
- Bioinsecticides. Preparations based on fungi, bacteria or nematodes do not pose a threat to humans and environment effective, but usually not cheap. Not addictive to pests. Well proven in the fight against rattles "Nemabakt", "Lepidocid", "Fitoverim, KE".
To spray lilies from red beetles with any of the listed means, you need to prepare: carefully study the instructions for the selected drug, observe all dilution proportions and precautions recommended by manufacturers. Sometimes a single treatment with insecticides does not give a result for the whole season (beetles fly perfectly, which means they can move from a neighboring site at any time).
It is necessary to treat lilies with insecticides before flowering. Each preparation has a waiting period after use - it must be taken into account when cutting flowers for bouquets. For most products, this is about 3 weeks, for biological - 2-5 days.
Folk remedies
For opponents chemical processing There are a number of folk methods of dealing with the red beetle.
- Collect mechanically. You can catch the beetles themselves (it’s convenient to put the caught ones in a container with soapy water) or look for their masonry, and subsequently the larvae (they are small, so it will be easier to remove them from the leaves with pieces of soft paper, cloth). The method is complicated by the fact that, at the sight of danger, the beetles immediately fall to the ground with their belly up, and it becomes difficult to consider them.
- Shake beetles and larvae from bushes on cardboard or polyethylene laid on the ground.
- Spray with water. But both the beetles and a significant part of the larvae will soon climb back onto the plant.
- Spraying with natural solutions or infusions (dry mustard, ash, laundry soap, wormwood, etc.). This will scare away adult insects from landings, but not destroy them. Some of the newly hatched larvae die. Processing is carried out at least once a week.
- Pollination with dry ash or mustard.
- During the season, cover the ground under the bushes and between the rows with a film (this will save at the same time from weeds). The larvae will not be able to burrow into the ground for further development.
However, during the season, lilies from red beetles will have to be processed in such ways many times. In this case, it is better to combine them, since none of these methods will bring the desired effect the first time.
Additional control measures
Adult individuals hibernate right there, in the garden, digging into loose soil near the crops edible for them. Red bugs attack lilies with the arrival of heat, and in April-May they begin to mate and lay eggs.
Fire bugs often hide for the winter under a layer of fallen leaves. Therefore, all plant debris should be removed from the garden, as well as weeds should be removed along with the roots. Waste must be disposed of carefully (for example, incinerated). Throughout the summer and autumn, you can continue manual collection pests.
To keep flowers from the Liliaceae family intact, it is important to prevent the mass spread of the pest. Fortunately, rattle beetles feed only on lilies, not settling throughout the garden and vegetable garden. Having tried several methods of struggle and choosing the most effective among them, the grower will easily learn how to exterminate red beetles, and healthy bright lilies will bloom in the flower beds every year.
