Do you know what these bugs are?

Discussion in 'Plant Pests, Diseases and Weeds' started by poodledoodlemom, Aug 31, 2014.

  1. poodledoodlemom

    poodledoodlemom Seedling

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2014
    Messages:
    165
    Likes Received:
    45
    Location:
    Georgetown, TX
    I have a ton of fire ants in my garden and I recently noticed these things on my jalapeño plant and that the ants are all over my jalapeño plant too. Anyone know what they are or what to do about them and the ants?

    [​IMG]
    ( photo / image / picture from poodledoodlemom's Garden )
     
  2. Loading...


  3. carolyn

    carolyn Strong Ash

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2011
    Messages:
    9,332
    Likes Received:
    4,855
    Those are aphids.
     
  4. poodledoodlemom

    poodledoodlemom Seedling

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2014
    Messages:
    165
    Likes Received:
    45
    Location:
    Georgetown, TX
    What gets rid of them? Does Neem oil work? Thank you!! =)
     
  5. carolyn

    carolyn Strong Ash

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2011
    Messages:
    9,332
    Likes Received:
    4,855
    Actually, Neem will not get rid of them immediately. Neem interferes with their reproduction, so you will still see them hanging out on the peppers, but in time less and less of them because they can't reproduce, but are still sucking the life out of your plants. The ants will "milk" them for the sweet secretions they make which is called "honeydew". The ants will attack you to protect their "farm". So, the first thing to start with is a strong spray of water from the garden hose. then go to soapy water and if that still isn't as effective as you would like, use and insecticide of your choice labeled for peppers for immediate knockdown, but the neem won't hurt in any way to use it. Just don't mix it with a detergent to save time in trying to get rid of the aphids. You can mix neem with insecticidal soap, though. But it must be insecticidal soap, which you can buy in most garden departments. I mixed it (neem) with a teeny bit of detergent this Spring (I just didn't empty the sprayer when I used it for spraying and there was just a teeny bit of non sudsy water in there) and it ruined the tomatoes I sprayed with the neem oil/mix and don't spray in the heat of the day. Aim for evening hours, but with enough time that the leaf can dry before dark.
     
    Frank and Cayuga Morning like this.



    Advertisement
  6. poodledoodlemom

    poodledoodlemom Seedling

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2014
    Messages:
    165
    Likes Received:
    45
    Location:
    Georgetown, TX
    Crap! I found a recipe for water, oil, 4 drops of dish soap (I used blue Dawn), and a dash of cayenne pepper. I hope I didn't kill all my plants now!!!!!!
     
  7. carolyn

    carolyn Strong Ash

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2011
    Messages:
    9,332
    Likes Received:
    4,855
    As long as you didn't mix it with the neem oil you won't hurt the plants. The neem and the dawn together are a bad combination.
     
  8. poodledoodlemom

    poodledoodlemom Seedling

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2014
    Messages:
    165
    Likes Received:
    45
    Location:
    Georgetown, TX
    The joys of gardening! Lol! I might have gotten Neem oil on it when I sprayed other plants with it.

    On a good note....I've gotten 6 cherry tomatoes so far.
     
  9. cherylad

    cherylad Countess of Cute-ification Plants Contributor

    Joined:
    May 5, 2009
    Messages:
    11,679
    Likes Received:
    3,099
    Location:
    S. Liberty County - Texas (8B)
    Wonder why Neem and dishsoap combo isn't good? And is it just disastrous for tomatoes or veggies? What about on flowers?
    I'm just curious because those are the two main things I keep on hand for fighting insects on the flowers.
    I may have even mixed them before... don't recall any damage.
     
  10. carolyn

    carolyn Strong Ash

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2011
    Messages:
    9,332
    Likes Received:
    4,855
    The mixture can cause phytotoxicity. The leaves of the two tomato varieties I sprayed mutated into balls of foliage. I threw most of those plants out since I wasnt comfortable selling them and I planted a couple just to see what they would do. The ones I planted out eventually developed those "leaf-balls" into leather-like leaves. They grew, but haven't really produced fruit and are still growing the "new" leaves out as leaf-balls before developing into leaves.
     

Share This Page