Thanks so much for all the info and opinions. GingerBlue, would geum be growing wild in my woods? although I did plant a Mrs. Bradshaw last summer that died out on me rather quickly, but it is possible that it seeded first, but that was 12 feet or more from this one. And was downhill, seems unlikely? Is there a native variety I am not aware of? So at this point we would say #3 is a candidate for Round up? #1 I don't think is Indian Mock Strawberry since I see no evidence of that type of growth habit on any of them, and wouldn't they have flowers on them by now? So maybe it is a geum? Any other opinions on #1? The alder shrub (I think that is what it is, thanks esh) I assume should stay right? As long as it is not an aggressive I will keep it as it is behind my planting beds in a section where the runoff has channeled a ditch.

I planted some in the fall and they grew super fast, to get devastated by worms, but grew back like crazy and are blooming profusely and beautifully. Good point about drawing pests to the garden just to feed them - like agricultural misdirection? Ha. I'll be interested to hear what folks have to say about that? They are also beneficial for other reasons - they're pretty (not to be underestimated imo), edible - both leaves and blossoms, and draw all kinds of good pollinators... All part of keeping a diverse buffet for a diverse insect population. But I am new to gardening and await other (more experienced?) input on this question....

After watering yesterday I noticed some small white bugs in the soil of my dragon fruit plants. At first I thought they were spring tails since I had them before but these didn't jump. At any given time I could see at least 10-15 crawling on the surface, after spraying with h2o2/water/dish soap I'm lucky if I see 1. After doing some intense googling, I think they might be soil mites but who knows. I don't particularly care what they are as long as they are harming the plants. The majority of my plants are in an inorganic mix so I don't normally see a ton of bugs. I also have some strawberry seedlings in a similar mix as the dragon fruit and I've noticed same bugs but all of the strawberries seem to be thriving (minus 2 that were got burned, I don't think this is related).

I wouldn't treat unless you see more of a problem or signs of plant stress. Prophylactic use of pesticides, antibiotics etc is what has gotten us into trouble with resistance.