Bugs And How to Rid Your Plants Of Them

Upon thinking some more, I have decided to add a photo gallery to my site consisting of all plants.
The photos can eventually be purchased as prints if anyone likes them. Thus I won't be posting anymore because I will have the gallery.
The imformation about each plant will be posted with each photo as well as growing requirements.
Now onto the main topic of the day, I have added a list of bugs and a way to rid your plants of these pesky little things.


Bugs And How to Rid Your Plants Of Them

Fungus gnats are small black flies similar to fruit flies. Adults are mainly a nuisance, but the larvae can feed on roots and stunt plants.
If you see the adults flying, look for larvae when you water. If present in high numbers, they float. Because fungus gnats thrive in damp areas, control them by letting the soil dry out.

Because spider mites are probably the most common insect problem indoors, check for them first. They are too small to see easily, but their damage is distinct. You may notice yellow stippling or fine webbing between leaves and stems. They feed on the undersides of the leaves, but as populations rise, you find them all over. By the time damage is visible, it may be extensive.
Take a piece of white paper, hold it under a leaf, and tap the plant. If the specks that fall on the paper move, the plant has mites. If they don't move, then it's dust. Control spider mites with horticultural oil.

Whiteflies are flying insects that look like tiny white moths. If you shake the plant, they will fly up in a cloud and then settle back on the leaves. Their damage is similar to that of spider mites. The leaves will be stippled and new growth stunted. The larval stage must be controlled with insecticidal soap or oil. Adults can be trapped with yellow sticky traps. As I had posted earlier, the same way as the aphids.

Scale Looking like bumps on stems and leaves, scales are soft-bodied insects that suck sap from plants and then secrete a hard shell over themselves. A plant with scale will have sticky honeydew and perhaps a black sooty mold all over the leaves. Eggs develop under the hard shell, and later tiny crawlers hatch and move around the plant. At this stage, scales are vulnerable to insecticidal soap and oils. You also can control the adults with oil.

I have already posted on aphids twice now so if anyone is looking for information about this bug, it is roughly 4-5 posts ago.

I hope this is helpful and I will be back tomorrow with some more useful imformation.
Until then happy gardening!