Tiny yellow fleas on new plants

13 years ago

I have a dozen tomato plants in containers and a couple of other veggies also in containers, all close together. The only plant I purchased (rather than grew from seed) was my cucumber plant, and it is infested with tiny yellow flea-like bugs. It's not doing well. I washed them off this morning, and checked the tomatoes, and sure enough, nearly every plant had at least one, and some had several, of these little bugs. What are they, and what can I do (organically) to protect my plants?

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Comments (14)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
13 years ago
You don't really mean 'flea-like', do you? How about 'aphid-like'? ;-)
digdirt2
13 years ago
Agree they are most likely aphids.

Dave
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wild8
13 years ago
Possibly young cucumber beetles?
Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
13 years ago
My bet is aphids.

Dan
taz6122
13 years ago
Spray with neem or dishsoap/water. Use joy or dawn (NON antibacterial) at 1tsp per 24oz spray bottle. Spray in the evening, after or near sunset for best results.
jeff_12422
Original Author
13 years ago
Um, yeah, I meant flea-like, but sure, they could be gnat-like or aphid-like.... I'm a total newbie, so I have no idea what they could be. I know one of our oleanders has aphid infestation, so maybe I should have looked over there to see if they're more aphid-like than flea-like!

How do you know the difference between young beetles and aphids, without waiting around to see if they grow bigger???

And I'll try the soap spray this evening. Thanks!
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
13 years ago
Young beetles are larvae of some kind...they don't look anything like the adult. When those larvae pupate, they transform into the insect we recognize as a beetle. They are not teeny versions of the adult, which will get bigger as they mature. They always emerge from pupation AS an adult. In other words, there are no 'young' (baby) beetle-y beetles.

Aphids are small, soft bodied, pear shaped insects which come in a wide range of colors. Once you've looked at a few pictures of aphids on line, you'll be able to easily recognize them for yourself.

There are other insect possibilities, but without a good description of the appearance or behavior OR a picture, we'd only be guessing. Aphids are a good guess given the information we've received...since aphids are a common pest of tomatoes (and most other garden plants).
teauteau
13 years ago
Hi Jeff,
Is this the bug?

Here is a link that might be useful: Oleander Aphid
heirloomjunkie
13 years ago
Yuck! That's one ugly bug. Assuming it's aphids, I had luck with an all natural garlic spray last year. Just google "garlic spray for aphids" and it will give you the recipe.

Kim
jeff_12422
Original Author
13 years ago
Yep, I think that's it! I couldn't figure out how to post pics (most of the links to test/help seem to be broken) and I doubt I could have gotten pics like that anyway!

The only reason I didn't think it would be aphids is that we do have lots of ants in our yard, so shouldn't they be taking care of the aphids?? And I never knew they could be yellow...

I'll be releasing some ladybugs tonight to see if we can get rid of them that way, but if we use the garlic or neem sprays, will either of those hurt/deter the ladybugs?
teauteau
13 years ago
Jeff,
Ants will "herd" aphids because they secret a "honeydew" off which the ants will feed so the ants can make the issue of aphids worse. The suggestion for natural garlic spray may be good as is a concoction of hot chile and soap which will do in these soft-skinned insects. BTW, aphids come in all kinds of colors...green, yellow, red, black, white...

Ladybugs are a good natural control. Here's a link you may find helpful on aphid control.

Here is a link that might be useful: aphid control
tracydr
13 years ago
Hi Jeff. Where did you get the lady bugs from? I have some aphids in my garden and would like to buy some, too. Or, green lacewings.
bella_trix
13 years ago
tracydr -I just ordered my lady bugs from March Biologicals on the recommendation of another GW member. They had the best online/shipping price, great bugs and delivered fast. I used them indoors to control an aphid problem on my pepper seedlings and was amazed at the good results.

Bellatrix

Here is a link that might be useful: March Biologicals for ladybugs
teauteau
13 years ago
From a little bit I have read, Neem should not be harmful to the ladybugs because they don't eat the leaves of the plant. Garlic oil should not be harmful either. Check with your local county extension agent too.