On 19 Jun 04 at 8:06, Mark Smyth wrote: > Does anyone know of a control, other than hot water, for Narcissus > flies? I have never seen as many as this year. I have lost count of > how many I have swatted over the last few months. All my friends > have them. Unlike the vine weevil, the narcissus fly is quite sensitive to the usual range of insecticides -- it's just a fly. A drench of almost any residual insecticide, such as methoxychlor, will do -- if, that is, you can still obtain the stuff. The difficulty is that even methoxychlor requires re-application every two or three weeks for two or three months while the fly is on the wing, and I for one am not thrilled with the idea of using so much of any pesticide. We have a great many feral narcissus here and they host narcissus flies in huge numbers. Many cultivars disappear in one year. I've taken to growing my favorites in large pots and putting these in the shade one the flowers are over. The narcissus fly does not seem to attack bulbs in the shade. I am surprised that pheromone traps have not been developed for the narcissus fly. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island