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Tiny bugs on creeping jenny plant

9 years ago

Hi! Any help identifying the bugs and treating would be greatly appreciated. I have three wall baskets full of the creeping jenny and they are cascading down the wall. The plants look lush and healthy aside from having these teeny tiny bugs on the leaves. I

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Comments (6)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
9 years ago
Thrips.
patchyjack
9 years ago
Yep. They look like thrips to me too.

As for treatment, I've had great success stopping them with plain, simple water.
Thrips need a dry place to reproduce, so if you wet the whole plant down, including under the leaves, every second morning for a couple of weeks, you can drastically reduce their numbers.
It's hard to get rid of them entirely - and even if you do, more will often come - but once their numbers are under control, an occasional hose-down will keep it that way.

Hosing works better on some species of thrips than others, but it usually makes some difference in my experience.

I've also heard that neem oil spray is very effective at getting rid of them, though I haven't tried it.

- Sparkey
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Hello Feegle. Have some White Nancy lamium growing nicely below a royal purple smokebush and after 2 summers, it has filled in nicely. Doesn't appear to be traveling too far from its home. But that creeping jenny, now that's another story! I have a very old Victorian home that probably once had a fabulous garden. We have creeping jenny all over the yard, getting mowed over and over again, and still it lives. A few years ago, I decided I kinda liked those cute little leaves, so transplanted some into my main garden. It has pretty much carpeted most of it, and I've allowed it to happen. That is, with the exception of around the rugosa rose bushes, cause they supposedly need lots of circulation around their base. Anyway, the creeping jenny has carpeted a major portion of my main garden, and I like it. I think it's a matter of taste. What would you rather look at in between plants, mulch or creeping jenny? It seems like the creeping jenny comes up right through the hardwood mulch except where it's more than 2". It also seems to help keep the soil moisture somewhat even, but I could be wrong about this. Have only checked once in a while. If you don't like it around a plant, it's easy enough to pull up and replant and will recover and keep on conquering with just a little watering at first. Good luck! Aunt Peach in Elgin, IL
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
9 years ago
I'll vote for the neem oil, based on my experience with it. But try the plain water first.
drebenc
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks so much for the very informative responses!!! I will hose them down until I can get the neem oil. Have a great weekend!
patchyjack
9 years ago
No sweat!
I hope it works!
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
really??? ... did you guys miss your IPM notes last night???

first.. two bugs NEVER requires any action ... and she provides no history of more than those shown ... and you want to to slather one neem????

i would not use anything on creeping jenny ...

crikey.. its an invasive in most places [though maybe not in hanging bags.. lol.. but any piece that falls off.. will start the whole garden invasion ...]... i dont know how any bug could kill it ...

i would want to make sure they are ON the CJ... and not visiting from plants that might really need an intervention ...'

do NOT spray your plants with anything more than water ... until they show some damage.. which you can attribute to this bug ... we do not live in a perfect Disney movie.. where the garden is bug free .. its good to know what it is.. but we rarely need to act .... that is IPM ...

ken

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