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African Violets

Tiny critters

19 years ago

There are these tiny ant-like creatures living in the soil of one of my African violets. Admitedly, I am very inexperienced. They look like tiny sugar ants or something similar. Very dark, very, very tiny. Suggestions, please? All help greatly appreciated!

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Comments (5)

marie_in_wa
19 years ago
Could these be it?

Here is a link that might be useful: Thrips?
mwedzi
19 years ago
Hi Barb, try blowing on them. Do they fly at all when you do? That will help the people around here (who are better than me at these things) help you out more.
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They look like aphids to me, though I've personally never seen brown aphids, so that's just a guess. I had the white, pink, and green ones in my garden. I just kill them by hand, and though it is a daily chore, it's actually quite satisfying! It takes very little pressure to smush the boogers, and at least that way, I know they're dead. It's easier for me than spraying the soapy water and just hoping they die.
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And all you can do is squish 'em! If you look, you'll probably find a few ladybugs and other predators taking advantage of these colorful aphids, so they'll help out a bit, too. For those of you in the deep south who have 'lovebugs' flitting all over the place, someone emailed me wondering what the heck they (the lovebugs) were doing all over those aphids. She was hoping (sorry) that they were feeding on them, but they were just after all of that sweet honey-dew that the aphids excrete. Darn it!!!
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That is not spider mite webbing. And the mites themselves are so tiny they cannot be seen with the naked eye.....unless you knock then off onto a sheet of white paper (they will show up as microscopic specks of dust :-)). If you suspect mites, the best thing you can do is treat your plants to a thorough shower.....in the sink, in the shower or outside with a hose if a large plant. Mites hate moisture and humidity and maintaining the humidity at an adequately high level - always a challenge with indoor houseplants - will go a long way in discouraging them. Just make sure you are very thorough - top and bottom of all the foliage and down into the stems. I don't find insecticidal soap all that effective against either the mites or the mealies and would prefer to use neem oil for this purpose. But if you do opt for the soap, I would use a proper prepared horticultural insecticidal soap, not something made from household ingredients. They are not at all the same.
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robitaillenancy1
19 years ago
If they're in the soil, they could be spring tails. Do they jump if you put a pencil led very near them.
Nancy in Montreal
Barb_GA
Original Author
19 years ago
Hi! Nancy, I looked at the pictures so they are not thrips. They look like itsy bitsy sugar ants, dark colored, maybe black, and so tiny. They do not fly nor do they jump! I've even put ant traps near the pots just to see if I could lure them away from my violets. They are so small I don't think they would show up with my camera. They are smaller than a flea, smaller than a pin head, about the size of a sharpened pencil dot. Thank y'all for any help. I've repotted and they apparently come in the window and set up housekeeping again!
robitaillenancy1
19 years ago
Ants do ocassionally go to Avs sometimes because other insects leave a honeydew residue which they will protect.

I don't know what these could be without a picture. Do you have a microscope or jeweler's loupe? Do they seem to affect the plant in any way?

Nancy

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