Hi all,
I have some of my gessie plants growing outside for the summer and I'm going to start bringing them in soon.I'm thinking of giving them a dishsoap bath.What else would you do to make sure not to bring any creepy crawlers in?
plants thats outside and bringing in?
good question.
The routine varies for me from year to year.
I think it depends on how prevalent "pests" are outside (and what the pests are), whether you can continue treatment indoors (I can't - too little space, no place to isolate etc), and what your tolerance for them is.
I've stopped putting pots directly on the ground, so I no longer have to worry about snails and slugs. (Yes, I'm on the 9th floor, but they find their way in pots of new perennials.) I don't have a mealie or scale problem unless I introduce them to the balcony. My biggest issue this year will be spiders and mites (the morning glory is speckled beyond belief. and it's climbed all over a columnea and a few other houseplants).
In an ideal world, I do as much preventative as possible before I bring them in because I have no way of doing much of anything through the winter. Even neem sprays make the apartment uninhabitable. I try to time it so the last step in the treatment cycle takes place on the weekend I bring them in - so if I'm doing soap or oil sprays, I try to do weekly sprayings for 3 weekends.
I'm hoping I won't have to do any "big gun" treatment this year other than for the mites. And I might actually try to repot many of them before they come in to minimize things in the soil..... (But I really really doubt I'll find the time or energy for that....)
Jan, don't be afraid to use the Avid I sent you...............remember it is 1/2 tsp for a gallon of spray and you don't need that much spray............just do it outside before you bring them in..............I just use a walmart spray bottle or any empty spray bottle you have at the house..................or you can bring them and wait and see ..............the worst thing that could happen is you end up spraying all the gesneriads you have in the house................
The directions say to not mix up any more than you need at the time...........so 1/8th of a teaspoon to a quart of water...........and you are good to go bringing them in from the outside.............
Jan, here is what you may be bringing in (LOL)
I took all my episcias from the outside, brought them to the kitchen sink and took cuttings to put in a terrarium for the winter........and new starts.........
Look at what I grabbed in my hands when I reached in a pot to bring out the entire plant................I first squealed and then calmed down and got a paper towel to gently take him back outside with his mama........
Thanks for the avdive ladies!
It's the spiders I'm so afraid of.I have a major problem with black widow spiders here and I'm so afraid to bring the plants into the house.With my health I don't need anymore problems.
black widow spiders! yuck!
I don't have experience dealing with them, so all I can say is.... As with any pest control, pick a method that targets that particular pest and select the method that will work best for you. I think there are a lot of products for spiders, and you might be able to treat the plants before bringing them in. Yikes!
Spectracide makes a produst called "Bug Stop"... available in a number of sizes... it will stop spiders in there tracks. I waged war two years ago on Black Widows, and this product worked great for me. You can spray it on the outside of each container if concerned about the plants themselves being sensitive.
There was a thread recently on this forum or the indoor plants forum where several were talking about having to bring plants in. The topic of fungus gnats came up. Someone suggested a piece of a mosquito dunk in your watering can resolves the problem. I bought some this weekend, and plant to do this with all the pots coming inside.
I couldn't find the thread just yet, but if I do, I'll post the link to it later.
Karen
NOW I find it!!! LOL!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/765690/
I use Neem as a preventative throughout the summer, usually. this year I did not and started about 30 days ago. If I actually see any bugs, like mealies or scale, I'll spray with alcohol. But, when I'm pressed for time(like now when I'm trying to get everything in before frost!), I'd use a systemic insecticide. BATS(Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub) is really good for mealies. And of course, if I find an infestation, I don't hesistate to use BATS. I just can't risk having my other plants infested!
Ants! What have you found that's effective against them? Despite my best efforts to dunk and drench each container to drive them out, I inevitably end up with one or more nests of those tiny black ants in my morning room.... The ant baits only "sorta" work... What do you think I could drench the soil with prior to bringing in plants that might be effective?
BT solution usually works against ants. (Must be something about protecting the babies). I never had any luck with mosquito dunks doing anything, but others say it works so you could try that. Or get some knock-out gnats that has worked great for me.
Orangeplus cleaning solution also works, but you might have issues with drenching your pots with that..... I haven't had any plants complain though, and it's biodegradable.
I also had good luck with ant stakes in the orchids pots.
I've got some BT, never thought to try it on ants... thanks!
I've used murphy's oil soap in my water, probably works like the orange plus... but I've only used that as a drench for fungus gnats and not in my larger containers. Should be worth a try!