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Help! What are these things and how do I treat my hibiscus & home

10 years ago

We just got back from a mission trip in Magdalena,Honduras. And noticed a pest problem...never had these! This plant is in my sunroom and I am worried about treating the room as well.

I have Earth-Tone 3n1 Desease control that says it can be used for insect and mite pests. Will this work to treat it? And how do I treat the room? And other plants in the room? Seen white stuff on trim and on the floor.

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Comments (9)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
remove the plants .. and the room should be fine ... as there wont be anything left for them .. they suck plant juice.. not furniture.. eh???

and why arent these outdoors in shade for the summer... which is where you would treat them...

in fact.. treat everything that was in the room ... i mean whatever has the bug ...

i dont know the ID.. nor your suggested remedy ..

what ever happened with that large shrub you talked about moving....

ken
calliope
10 years ago
The leaves look sticky and gooey like how whiteflies do in a heavy infestation. Google whitefly and see if that's what you have. On a houseplant with glossy, thicker leaves you can often just wash them off.....outside please. I don't mean spray them with a hose, I mean a pan with soapy water in it and a light weight rag and wash the mess off. It will take off many of the crawlers and some of the eggs. The adults will fly off to parts unknown when disturbed. This plant needs quarantined from your others, and like Ken says outside is fine in summer.
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
10 years ago
I see some aphids and shed aphid skins. Aphids also make everything sticky. With hibiscus, I wouldn't be surprised if there were whiteflies, too.
calliope
10 years ago
I see them now as well since you mentioned it. It's obvious something is excreting goo. I used to grow hibiscus in the g'houses and that's why whitefly came to mind. They can be whitefly magnets big time. I guess I just got lucky with them and aphids. (a huge problem on easter lilies) Aphids at least are an easier fix. I'd still lavage those leaves to get off the honeydew, but plain water would be fine to do that and remove most of the aphids as well.
cadillactaste
Original Author
10 years ago
Rhizo...you seem right on the mark! I google searches what inspected you named. It showed a photo exactly what I posted! It also says that the shed skin is mistakenly thought as a second insect.

I placed it on the deck and had already sprayed it down with the 3n1 spray...though seems it didn't have to have it. It has since rained very hard...and for the most part seems to be looking good as ever.

http://www.learn2grow.com/problemsolvers/insectsanimals/insectdamagecontrol/aphids.aspx

Ken...our heavy equipment fell through...and the husband gave up digging a large hole by hand. He says next year possibly. But only with machine assisting the digging project.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
10 years ago
I think of hibiscus as a whitefly magnet, calliope. I was sure that that was what I was going to behold when I opened this thread! But, no....it was those durned aphids throwing their old, used up jackets all over the place again.
calliope
10 years ago
Nasty little creatures but sure a lot easier to control than whitefly.
Kimmsr
10 years ago
Controlling Aphids with Earth-Tone 3n1 Disease control is a bit of overkill since plain tap water in a spray bottle will do just as well. This product contains pyrethrins which are broad spectrum poisons that will also kill off any predators of those Aphids.
cadillactaste
Original Author
10 years ago
Kimmsr now that I know what we had...I agree. But my husband does not do well with any insect. Our house is sprayed to keep bugs away. So he was putting something on it. Until I found out what would treat them.

We set it outside and treated it. We've had hard rain...and a possible tornado. We have some people from the weather center coming to our area to check out the damage. Many homes with trees. We were fortunate to be spared...though two large branches that hang over our sunroom wa torn off. But were tossed into the ravine beside our home. Running on a generator...

The hibiscus was knocked down...but seems alright. With all the hard rain surely all insects are gone.

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