I received some Burg cuttings from a friend & she recommended that I use 1 Tblsp of proxide in a gallon of water to spray & water them with, to keep down infestations, but I'm having trouble with what looks like aphids, but they are white. I don't have them on any of my other plants, just the topside of the brug leaves.
Does anyone else have this problem? If so, what do you use?
Aphids??
i use soapy water and wash each leave.
If you only have a few small cuttings or plants, similar to farmgirl I'd recomend just wipeing them off and squashing them! LOL...Have fun! :o)
I only have a few. I got disgusted the other day & did squash some of them off the smaller leaves. They are so disgusting. What gets me is that they are white, where the ones that get on my roses outside are more of a green color. thanks for all your suggestions.
Hosta, I tried the peroxide, the soap bath, the squashing and then alcohol spray. Only the latter worked. With the other two, it was less than a day before they had returned or hatched out a new crop. Aphids can be more colors than green. On one grape vine here, they appear as a sort of orangy color after they are older or larger. The ones on my brugs, which are growing in my kitchen, were almost transparent. And I have seen some on plants in the garden which were sort of blackish. Oh, it's been a week since I sprayed the leaves with alcohol and not a sign of any new ones yet.
dh just told me he added mouthwash to my soapy mixture the other day and they are all gone. i did cheat a little too by clipping off excess leaves and burning them.
What is the formula for the alcohol spray. Linda
Hi Linda.....we have missed you.
If they are cuttings just take them to the kitchen sink and put them uder running water and wash them off for awhile! I wash plants up to about 16 inches tall under the sink........as long as they fit. It gets rid of such things fast. I may have to do it a couple of times.
I have had the flu. Bummer!! I used lady bugs on mine. The baby ladybugs are just hatching out. They must be eating a lot because they are growing pretty fast. They haven't got ahead of the aphids yet though. Linda
The suggestion to just wash the aphids off is correct. Once off the plants, they can't climb or fly back so no more aphids. Another great biorational solution is to spray all plant surfaces with 1/4 to 1/2 strength Simple Green. It usually takes more than one treatment of just about anything because maybe we don't get all the critters the first time or the eggs hatch. I use about every three days, about three treatments to be sure. Also gets rid of whitefly. Cleanest plants in town LOL!
Is simple green a detergent? I have used palmolive out in my yard on my roses when the aphids are solid on the new buds and find it kills them quickly. thanks FushiaFan
Aimee, What is the formula for the alcohol spray?
FuchisaFan, If I understand correctly, you mix 1/4 cup to 1 cup of Simple green for spray? Just want to be sure of the formula before spraying on my plants.
Thanks everyone for you suggestions. I'm making note of all of them.
Jan
Hosta, no formula! I put straight 70% alcohol into a spray bottle, then sprayed tops and undersides of the leaves, rather heavily. Once. I let it dry, then waited to see if there would be new growth or any damage. After two weeks, there are no new ones, and the leaves are totally healthy and growing like weeds.
be careful, some brugs are more sensitive than others. especially the fuzzy leaf ones.
Are there smooth leafed ones? I know so little about them. I was surprised to note that the kind I got from Calla didn't have a single aphid, but the ones right next to them were covered, as were the ones on the snack bar a few feet away. I did note that those with the aphids dropped several leaves after the soap bath. Since they are all right in the kitchen, I can watch them closely and they are not likely to be forgotten. (I have a problem with that memory thing and have to build in checks and balances to keep me from killing things through benign neglect.) This is such a new experience for me, and I hold my breath every time I do anything with them.
well, there are some that are called smooth leaved, but even they are a bit fuzzy, and there are some that are very very fuzzy:) I'm not sure if some brugs are 'resistant' to aphids, but I know there are certain varieties that they don't like as well as others.
Thanks, tiG. I think mine would be classified as smooth, then, because they are not really furry like mullein or stachys.
good luck with them. soon we'll be moving outside and the caterpillars will take over and we'll forget all about aphids:)
i never had any aphids problems on any of the brugs i raised last year. anyway, to a gal. of water, i add 1 cup alcohol, 1 tbsp. Palmolive soap, and 1 tbsp of Murphy's oil. mix thoroughly and spray on the plant, including underside of the leaves. knock on wood, i never had spider mites problem either. i spray my plants only in the morning before the sun shines on them... to prevent any leaf burn. i never spray or water my plants in the evening...that is when all sort of insect problems develop. watering or spraying in the morning allows the plant to dry up in the span of the day... just my opinion.
Good words.
a note to share. I've done Safer's soap for the aphids...and it got rid of some of them. However, they came back mighty quick in spite of spraying weekly. (This is not to say that product is no good, cuz I know for sure it is...I use it for many other pests.) Last week I broke down and sprayed a Rotenone-pyrethrin mix on the brugs. It worked bigtime! Not an aphid in site, unless it's a dead one! (Also took out the fungus knats.) HOWEVER, I am witnessing some spots on the foliage of some of the Brugs from the spray. It certainly doesn't seem detrimental and I am not worried...I'm sure new growth won't be affected. Also, it has been 5 days now and there has been no bud drop from the spray, but am monitoring them closely.
All in all, that spray took care of a very heavy infestation, and the plants came thru just fine (except for the leaf spots). We're it time to sell plants I would NOT spray this mix tho, mainly due to the visual effect it has done to the leaves. (I should post a pic.)
I'll try the alcohol/soap mix again sometime for comparison.
Did you mix up the Rotenone-pyrethrin mixture yourself Shoe?
Kell, it comes in a bottle, store-bought. A combo mix, only takes about a 1/4 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon per gallon.
I quit using rotenone a few yrs back, kell. I had this bottle and because my infestation was so bad decided to use it. I'll probably use it on non-food crops when needed but that will be the extent of it. Also, I feel I should let you know that it has been linked to contributing to Parkinson's disease so it should be used cautiously. The best thing is to not let your bugs get the upper hand, then you can use a tamer spray. (Don't get me wrong now...there are definitely much more powerful sprays out there, and I'd still caution you and others against using them as well.)
I seem to be able to get rid of aphids ok, it is the spider mites that I dread!
that mix will take care of the spider mites. for sure!
As a good alternative tho you could also spray safer's soap and put some pyrethrin in with that, or even neem oil. And mist your plants regularly...spider mites HATE being clean~!
I have a couple of plants in my dripping wet hoophouse that have mites. I can't believe they like it in there! I have been using Neem regularly! I hope i do not have a new kind that lov eit wet and eat neem oil!
I sprayed my fungus gnats with safer soap with pyrenthin, directly on them and they didn't even get a bellyache! I just bought some pool dunks to water my seedlings with...... that has the right kind of BT in it............I hope!!!
am not promoting this site, hope it give some pointers on how to eradicate these pest ... http://www.doktordoom.com/pests.html
about time you came to the rescue Ma Vie!! I think I will try your solution in the morning.......... and srpay with some hydrogen pyroxide. Do you think it would work after you already have the infestation?
I had a terrible time getting rid of them dang knats! when I sprayed soap they just started singing and dancing and blowing bubbles! When I sprayed the rotenoe-pyrethrin I didn't see them for a few days...today I saw a couple, so Im assuming they are newly-hatched. Wonder if that is true with yours.
If you're having that much rebellion I think you should go with the rotenone-pyrethrin mix. Zap them bad boys!
i do alternate spraying with alcohol or hydrogen peroxide mix everyday... i figured the bugs do not get accustomed to what they are being sprayed with. as i have said before, i never did have spider mites nor aphids on any of my plant/s.
i do, do spray each day cause it is windy and very dusty where i am situated. mind u, i do spray early in the morning! never at night or late in the afternoon, except in the summer time when things get too dry.
do the best u can in ur situation. observe and watch closely what u do. what worked for me may not work for u, but i do try to observe the plants i grow and the invading "visitors". so far, thanks Kell for the caterpillar killer u sent me, it sure get those buggers under control.
do observe also how much alcohol or hydrogen peroxide to use. add or take off if need be. see what will work best in ur situation. that is what i do sometimes. i do not religiously use specific amounts. i gave the formula as a guideline. do what will work for ur case or situation. good luck!
hydrogen peroxide mix:
for every gal of water add...
1 tbsp. hydrogen peroxide [prevent fungus growth]
1 tbsp. Palmolive soap* [make water wetter & soften the soil to allow quick penetration to the root.]
1 tbsp. murphy's oil [made from vegetable matter. the oil allows the formula to stay on the leaves.
alcohol mix:
for every gal. of water add...
1/4 c. alcohol
1 tbsp. Palmolive soap*
1 tbsp. Murphy's oil
*try to get Palmolive liquid soap with lemom scent cause all bugs detest the citrus or lemon scent. always good idea to use soap once in a while or often when watering cause the soap does soften the soil, thereby allowing fertilizer penetration to the root zone more effective. just an observation from reading during my numerous search on the www. the soap and oil will also give ur plant a nice clean green luster on the plant's leaves.
1/4 to 1/2 cup Simple Green to 1 cup of water is about as strong as you would ever want. I usually only add about 1/2 cup to a quart of water unless I don't get really good results. Simple Green is listed as an all purpose cleaner, not specifically a soap or detergent, but I'm guessing that it contains a little of one or the other. It works great on a variety of insects.
Aphid control is a funny thing. Simply spraying the plants with water is very effective in removing the aphids which cannot fly up and reinfest the plants. The aphids are put on the plants by other insects (I think ants?). So, I think what we are really controlling is whatever insects are "farming" the aphids. Maybe that explains why different folks have different experiences with control?
Fuschia, I am really puzzled about this, because I always thought aphids were an outside or greenhouse thing. There shouldn't be anything to cause aphids to suddenly start growing on plants which have never grown outside, have been in my kitchen since arriving as cuttings. I have never been bothered by ants in this house, despite the fact that they are a real menace outside. Also, none of my other plants, not even in the greenporch which opens into the house, have shown any sign of infestation.
Shoe, be careful with Rotenone if you have fish. The tiniest amount drifting over water where fish live can kill them. Many years ago, that was the chemical used to thin out trash fish in the bayous in Louisiana. Don't know if it still is, but it seems likely.
I have aphids and no ants.
url to learn more about aphids... http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/fldcrops/ef103.htm
Aphids before breakfast! You learn something new everyday. Thanks for the hyperlink.