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Can anyone tell me what these are and how to get rid of them?

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

I don’t know why my question didn’t post.

anyway....

i couldn’t identify these from literature or online research. They are about be 1-2mm long, reddish yellow, non-flying. They seem to group together on top of the leaves. I have removed what I thought to be some eggs which felt like tiny crystalized dots.

i first noticed them on my fiddle leaf fig but unfortunately they have spread to a lemon tree and a strelitzia as well.

the plants seem to be thriving still but i’m worries this might end soon as the fiddle leaf is showing some rust colored spots in the bottom of some leaves as well as some kind of black discoloration or coverage on the roots of the leaves ( I have found something about residue of metabolized discharge?)

i showered the plants and used some natural, greasy bug spray but other than reduce it didn’t get rid of them completely. Are there any nematodes I could use?

any help would be greatly appreciated!

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Comments (3)

Gred
4 years ago
They look like thrips to me. They can be treated, but mine always seem to come back.
Alix Faas thanked Gred
Samer Saade
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
best way to take carve that problem / use one tae spoon of dish saop on one gallon of water then spray it thats kill all the buge
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It looks a lot like aphids of various stages...bit hard to tell, though. Given that seem to be alive while you're spraying Spinosad, they most likely are aphids. Spinosad is not a very good aphid control given that the aphids feed off of sap/leaf interior feeders rather than being whole leaf eaters. Check out one of the many homemade soap spray controls online and mix one up. The infestation looks a bit heavy at this point to just go for a simple spay of the water hose on the plants.
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Are you sure they are insects? There are many mites that fit that description. Are they rounded at the rear? If so ... could be mites. Some mites are bad for plants, some aren't. I have lots of little mites like that in my worm composting bin, and the types in there are supposed to be harmless to live plants. I think they would only survive in your plant's pot if the potting mix included lots of nutrient-rich organic matter - compost and the like. Also, I suspect that they would be discouraged if the potting medium were dry much of the time. Do you allow the soil to dry pretty thoroughly before watering? The dry brown edges do sound typical for what some begonias do in humidity that is too low for them.
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Please do not use dish soap as an insecticide for any plant.

Detergents

Dishsoap/ detergent’s effect on plants varies with the mode of exposure. Dawn, Palmolive, Joy, ...... dishsoap, as examples, are each and all a mishmash of chemicals, at least eleven of which are phytotoxic. If the top of the plant is sprayed thoroughly with even mild detergent solutions such that all surfaces including leaves are covered, the detergent can easily dissolve the protective coating of cuticular wax on the leaves of the plant, causing abnormally high rates of water loss and possible necrosis of all or part of the leaf. Cuticular waxes prevent leaves from drying out, and help stop pathogens from attacking the leaf. Strong solutions will even dissolve cell membranes, causing death of the cells.

If a detergent solution is used as a soil drench or makes its way into the soil as a consequence of over-spray or run-off, the effect on roots is immediate. Because one of the main function of roots is to absorb water and nutrients dissolved in water, they lack the waxy protective coating that leaves employ. Detergent solution in contact with root cells can quickly dissolve the lipid membrane surrounding cells, killing the cells and inhibiting water/ nutrient uptake. Hair cells growing as appendages off larger roots do the lion’s share of assimilating water and nutrients, and these very delicate cells would be the first casualty of any detergent in the root zone.

There are widely available insecticidal soaps, designed to be used topically and made mixing potassium with only long chain fatty acids, carefully selected and specifically formulated to be safe for mammals & birds, death on most insects they contact, and most important, safe for plants. If you need something "soapy", it would be much better if you selected a product intended for use on plants than one intended for other purposes.

Al

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