Help - What is it and How do I get rid of it?

Today while I was cleaning out some plant debris, I found this mess on my EE. Is there anything I can do?

Condition of the plants. - they haven't been watered in about 3 weeks (I have been busy with holidays), They are in window with Caladiums and one Brugs. There were a couple of Sweet Potatoe plants however they died. Under the table these are on are two trays of succulents.

Some of the leaves of the EE were very mushy as if they rooted, same for the succulents. The succulents did not have any of this on them. Please help.

Another Pic.

#3

Looks like aphids but it's hard to be sure.
Take it in the tub and spray them down the drain.

It may take a couple of times.
If they kept coming back use Safer's Soap on them.

Ric

Where do I get safers soap? Do I need to get some new soil?

No new soil needed.
I have good luck just spraying them off.

HD or Lowes carry Safer's.
Be sure to read the directions carefully if you get the concentrate.
They have it in a Ready to Use form also though.
Be sure NOT to put the plant in the sun, after spraying, for several hours.

Ric

Yep, they look like aphids to me too. Follow Ric's advice and be diligent as it may take several treatments to clean up all your plants.

Hi folks,

For what it's worth, I'm having a mite problem on my EEs, and Safer isn't doing it for me. They just keep coming back, paricularly on the younger plants.

I'm assuming snboyken doesn't have mites (no webs visible). I've been reluctant to use something stronger than Safer, because ears are so sensitive to chemicals, but at this point, I don't think I have much to lose; they're dying anyway.

Steve

Try a systemic like Bonides plus the rinsing in the shower. also, on another DG forum, some folk use Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap to get rid of a lot of critters.

I plan to go by Lowes tomorrow at lunch and see about the safers. I will let you know the results. My biggest obstacle will be getting my son or hubby to take them downstairs to the shower, I think I will then leave then in the bathroom until they are all gone. Thanks for all the help.

I have sprayed theses several times however now the leaves have are disappearing, I dug up a couple of bulbs and they are half mushy, can I cut off the mush part and save any of the bulb or is this hopeless.

These ears went around my pool and now my pool will look bare. naked without them.

Hi - Yeah, I agree with the others that your problem looks like aphids. I had a bad infestation on my peppers a while back, and I sprayed them with my "cure all" - a combo of vegetable oil, alcohol and dish soap. It took about 2 hours for the plants to look amazingly better. Did lose some leaves, but still producing peppers and the leaves are coming back. If you want I can send the recipe.

please send the recipe, however I am not sure I can save these.

This was highly reccommended by other DGers, so I hope it works for you.

1 cup cooking oil
2 Tablespoons dishwashing soap (not the anti=bacterial kind)
1/2 cup alcohol

place 2 tablespoons of mix in 1 cup of water.

Happy hunting!

Sharon, are those just regular colocasia bulbs? When mine poke out (who knows with this weather) I'll have plenty if you need some.

some were, yes, some were black magic, running ears and black stem and a few new ones I got last fall. I will take any however as I put these around my pool and it will look so bare without the ears.

Yes I am concerned about my other ones (I have a few different colocasia, probably my favorite plants!) coming back this year, since I'm right at the end of the hardiness spectrum on a few of them. I can't seem to find my Nancy's Revenge (not a good sign), and I see no signs of growth on the good ol hardy regular ones.

Have you tried planting something else around it like red geraniums? For some reason I remember Red geraniums attracting beneficial bugs to eat the aphids. The soap idea would work if necessary. Planting something that would attract aphid preditors would solve it permanantly though hmm? I have several random garlic plants all over the place, they seem to keep bugs at a minimum.