More legs than my cat? Kill it with fire

[half_whit]

Alright, prepare to point and laugh. I have an unhealthy fear of bugs. Maybe partially from having to dig a couple dead ticks off my nethers with a nail clipper. Maybe I was molested by a heard of locusts as a child. Who knows.

And I'm growing hops. Because I'm an idiot. So here's my "newbie" questions regarding pests:

1)The place I'm growing is prone to ladybugs (lots of them), which I understand to be good in preventing or at least managing aphids. Beyond the natural deterrents, are there sprays that have been deemed safe (environmentally and for consumption) that people use to help deter these nasty little ****ing **** **** **** *************'s before they establish themselves?

2)My region is about to experience it's regular cicada plague. Am I screwed?

3)Also, only partially related...has anyone had trouble with deer? Or are they generally disinterested in hops?

 

[bknifefight]

I use Neem Oil on my apple trees so they don't get aphids. It's organic and made of Neem (a kind of fruit) so I doubt there is any issue with it being on the hop leaves.

I haven't heard of deer eating hops, but even if they do, they can only reach the bottom 4 feet or so of them. Your vines will be A LOT taller than that.

 

[mlsuggs]

I haven't heard of deer eating hops, but even if they do, they can only reach the bottom 4 feet or so of them. Your vines will be A LOT taller than that.

You've never seen deer stand up on their hind legs, to get fruit/leaves off trees about 6-7' up, have you... That said, generally if the hops make it past the "shoots coming out of the ground" stage and into the "bines climbing something" stage, the deer tend to leave them alone.

I second the Neem oil; works well on aphids.

Can't imagine the cicadas will do too much damage; I'd be prepared to flick 'em off the bines, if need be (deal with them as you would with Japanese beetles)...

My 2 cents. YMMV. Hope this helps!

--Misha