This is my second year for bringing in brugs and I would like to ask those who bring theirs in what they do about bugs..How do you get the plants free from bugs so you arent bringing in all the creepy crawlers...I do strip the leaves ...Judy
What to do when I bring in the brugs?
I don't have the answer, but I know I had a problem this winter. I think it was spider mites they had while they were still outside. Then inside for the winter, I think they got aphids. I klled the spider mites ok, but the aphids (if that's what they were) kept coming back. It was awful.
I was going to spray with insecticide before I brought them in, and then spray every few weeks whether they had bugs or not- as a preventative. Maybe one of our experts knows if this is ok, and if so, what they recommend. I have used malacide, alternating with ortho garden outside. Inside, I used Neem oil, alternating with soap spray. There is most likely a better thing to use inside. What is good? What is a systemic?
Please let me add that I am a newbie and I do NOT know what I am doing. Let's see what our experts have to say. They know what they are doing, I don't, so please wait for their answers.
Last year I started doing something new when I started my cuttings. I wore latex gloves and I dipped each cutting in a tub of mixed miticide, planted in fresh dirt, and brought them inside. I didn't have mites or aphids more than once during the winter, but I did have white flies. I'm going to use Scoot's recipe for spraying this winter and see if I can keep them to a minimum, at least. For aphids, I'll use Merit and hopefully, the mites will be scared to death and won't come around. If they do come, I'm armed!!
Volek Dormant Oil