Can any of you tell me what is all over my CMs? I tried to get a picture but I don't have a macro lens and so they are too small to see in the picture. They are on the under side of the leaves...they look like little nats almost and they leave a bunch of beige colored eggs...tons and tons of them on my CMs and they are making all my leaves turn yellow and fall off. Can anyone suggest what I should do?
Thanks, Michelle
ps. I'll take those silly sharp shooters I had earlier this summer over these. These things do a lot of damage!
Another weird bug on my Crepe Myrtles
Aphids? I had one white CM for a few years that ALWAYS had aphids. They will cause the leaves to yellow and fall off. Do you have a magnifying glass to look at those eggs closely?
I have 2 red ones and another white ones that never get a single aphid tho.
ps...wanted to add that I got rid of that one!
This message was edited Aug 12, 2005 11:16 PM
aphids love CM's...they are CM biggest enemy. They will in turn cause something called sooty mold, the black stuff that covers CM's..This is caused from secretions that the aphids leave behind. They drop 'honey dew' on the leaves and a fungus grows on the honey dew, leaving the leaves looking very black.
A quick blast with a strong water hose will help, but you must be faithful in doing ever couple of days, making sure you get the underside of the leaves.
Also, Ultrafine oil helps, but you have to be careful when using it. The oil will scorch the tree if the tree is in the sun or still hot from the sun. It is best to use Ultrafine oil about an hour after the sun is not hitting your tree. Using it in the late evening is the best time, when aphids are more active.
I've also used a weak mixture of Dawn liquid and water to blast the critters off.
hope this helps.
justme....wow..YES...black goo is all over the leaves!! Matter of fact, before I noticed the bug, the leaves looked like they had clear goo on them...then as time went by and I saw the yellow leaves falling off...i noticed a lot of the leaves looked like they had charcol all over them. I thought aphids looked different from these things..but maybe I'm wrong. I need a magnifying glass to look at them.
So Sevindust or bug-b-gone doesn't work? seems to have little effect on them really. I think I will try the dawn liquid and water. How much dawn per gallon of water would you suggest?
Thanks blond...this is our first time having CMs. We bought them in the spring and they were doing great. It is the light pink ones that have the american indian name. so no mildew like my neighbor's. but we have these doggone bugs killling it. I'd rather have the mildew. His CMs are very close to ours but he has no bugs on his. go figure!
thanks!! Michelle
I guess that must be how some are. The one I got rid of had aphids, the ones that don't have aphids get PM. All except this beautiful white Nachez that doesn't get either.
Don't use Sevin on something like aphids! (or anything else) The aphids are not easy to get rid of and you could beat the tree to death just trying to spray them off. Once you do that I don't think they are dead. I am currently battling aphids on my milkweed, which is normal but it's out of control now, and my water bill could skyrocket just trying to shoot them off. Within hours they have either crawled back up or reproduced.
Try using the soapy water and adding some orange oil if you have it. If that doesn't kill them then try some insecticidal soap. It's not harsh and doesn't have a lasting residue. (from what I've been told) You may still have to hose the dead ones off and keep spraying for a while, but it's the only way to keep them from killing it, or at least mutilating it's appearance.
Thanks blond. I will try the soapy water and then see what happens. Both CMs are really taking a beating from those demon bugs!
Good luck! I know it's frustrating. I'm battling them daily, actually several times a day, on my milkweed. It naturally attracts them, but they are so thick that they are just trying to kill my plants. gggrrr!!
ggggrrrrr is right! I found one little lady bug on there and so thought about getting a bunch of ladybugs to eat all the aphids. but in the meantime, I am going to do the soapy water thing.
Thanks again, I will let you knwo how it goes.
Michelle
I tried the ladybug thing. They all left the next day and I had plenty of food! If you do it, let me give you a tip. Do not sit your bucket of ladybugs on the ground for them to crawl out IF you have toads! I put the lid that was covered in ladies in one spot then took the bucket to another. When I went back to the lid a big toad was sitting there! So I ran him off and went back to the bucket and there was one there too! LOL I know that they ate some, but quite a few made it to the tops. I think if I do that again I'll cover the plant or area with netting (like my butterfly cages) and trap them inside and force them to eat. Hey, that's actually a good idea! I might try that asap.