Can you prune to the point of no leaves? Would that help. Kind of like pruning Rose Bushes. I too am overwintering for the first time so I may not be much help. I am dramatically trimming them back because I don't want to deal with too many dead leaves and bugs. Maybe it won't even help, who knows.

Chris

> what would you do.

Ladybugs!!

John47 turned me onto to them a few years back and you would not believe how effective they are on indoor plants!

jt

I never had any luck with ladybugs or green lacewings when overwintering plants in the house. The chemicals only work a few times and then stop working also and I've tried about every one of them in the house. Every chili plant I brought in over the years becomes completely overrun with aphids and it eventually killed them. The only thing that ever worked for me (and it is horribly tedious and gross) is to hand remove the aphids from the plant. I put on gloves and sprayed the leaves and stems with water, then ran my fingers along the stems knocking aphids off, right and left. This would kill them and the plants would be fine for maybe a week or two then I would have to do it again.
I have never tried this but I read somewhere that putting an inch or so of sand on top of the dirt in the pot helps prevent the nymphs from emerging. The aphids are in the dirt and spend part of their lifecycle there so if you can impede their progress in anyway you might have a chance.

kendra

where do i get 5 ladybugs????
I think i will just put it outside.
next year i will do the ladybug thing.
shayne

Shayne,

Your message got me looking at a few plants in the house. I had aphids so bad on one plant I put it outside. I just didn't want to deal with that indoors. I enjoy the challenge of overwintering, but not at the expense of pests overrunning the house. Every leaf was filled with white crawling bugs! Yuck.

The other plants don't look as bad. I'm trying a homemade spray a member on here (UCVinero) posted a while ago as a precaution:

- 1 Qt hot water
- 1 Tbsp antibacterial soap
- 1 tsp habanero powder ground finely
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Combine, stir, and spray plants once per week. I'll try. I used baby shampoo as opposed to antibacterial soap. The original poster said he had no problems using the stated ingredients above and it was quite effective. We'll see. :)

Just DON'T spray yourself accidentally. OUCH, that would be so painful.

Chris

I was able to keep the aphid population down, so that the plants survived last winter by taking them to shower once a week. I put the plants in the shower stall, tilted the pots and showered the planst from all sides with the hand held shower head.

I did also spray the plants with insectisidal soap after every shower.

I still have some plants in garage and I am not sure, if I will try to keep them alive through the winter. It was such a mess last winter.

Five of my pots I brought indoors are 16" wide. Taking them in the shower every week would NOT be an option! I'd break my back. lol. Good idea though.

Chris

For aphids all you need is 1 tbsp of dishsoap in a gal of water. Spray with soapy water, let it sit for about 15 min then rinse with clear water. Might have to do it 4 or 5 times to get all of them.

Habaneros is for four legged critters only

I must play with my plants too much! I noticed the aphids at the early stage...a few here and a few there and immediatly (can't spell) begin a "seek and squish" routine until all signs were gone from my Habs. That was about 2 weeks after coming inside (Sept 19) and I haven't had any since. No chemicals...no soap, just me :D
I think I'm liking the sound of "pop" under my fingers too much LOL!

Vera