I followed three different approaches in last three years to deal with aphids & thrips. These are basically sap sucking insects that come on the fresh growth. Last to last year, I used neem water (not neem oil) and tobacco water. Both were very effective against aphids, specially neem water that I used to make by boiling neem leaves. However, it was quite a hassle preparing these solution once in 10 days as aphids would come again. More importantly, both neem water as well as tobacco water killed the beneficials too which was highly undesirable. So I wanted a permanent organic solution; a preventive measure that would discourage aphids in my garden. Last year, looking for an effective preventive measure, I went for a high Ca and low nitrogen therapy. Low nitrogen puts a check on rapid growth and Ca hardens the tissue walls. So we are looking at hard tissues with less inter-tissue gap which makes the fresh growth on a rose bush un-attractive for the sap sucking pests. Again a success and there were hardly any aphids or thrips on my roses last year. But I had a price to pay.... over doze of Ca resulted in lighter shades and low fragrance in my roses. Even those roses that have the reputation of being most fragrant had mediocre fragrance. This year I adopted the approach that was similar to what Valrose wrote. I just asked myself that how much of damage aphids or thrips caused? Not much perhaps, unless there are too many of them. So I decided to live with the aphids and thrips on my rose bushes this year and when I saw too many of them on a bush, just sprayed it with a water jet. Used nothing against them. It was much easier and I have had no issues with aphids so far. I would recommend the third approach. I would let the nature work and only interfere when it is necessary or un-avoidable. best regards

Hi. I dont see any bugs. But I find that being indoors causes more bugs to be comfy since it's less in stronger light. Then if they persist, swab them with a Q-Tip dipped in some alcohol, and then repot as these bugs can live in the soil and suck at the roots.

I used to use the Avon SSS on both myself and my show animals! They do make one that has sunscreen and bug repellent in it but I haven't been able to get it at the flea markets anymore. I tried a natural spray on repellent from Tractor Supply but I swear when I got to the garden to start working I was attracting all kinds of wasps including the black and white ones that bite really bad so I never used it since. I am very sensitive to Deet so I have to use the lowest content which doesn't last very long. I also noticed several years ago that I was burning the plants in my big pots by the door when I sprayed down at the landing before going out. So I go out further away from the flowers before spraying but I see the tips of the grass are now burnt there too. I tried to sit out for a few minutes last evening to watch the sky to see if we had any bats but I got bitten so bad I scratched for over an hour even with alcohol rub and antiitch cream. We have a large creek (anyone from somewhere else would call it a river) right in front of the house. I bet that repellent clothing isn't cheap and how long would it last if you washed it?

It's a really bad photo, but it looks like a leaf-footed bug. These are sucking pests--they suck juices from plants and fruits. They're not that big a deal on plants, normally, but they can blemish fruits. The easiest way to deal with them is to pick them off by hand and kill them or drop them into a container or soapy water to kill them. Wear gloves because, like stink bugs, they exude an unpleasant-smelling liquid when you bother them.