Bugs on my house plants

[myswtsins]

How do you transplant them? Order them? I always just leave them be and let nature learn how to handle it, they get really bad on our neon flash but plant never seems to suffer and the ladys come. The only pond plant they really attack hard for me in my pink butterfly plant (not bush). Every other bug likes my lilies though.

 

[OrionGirl]

When I find them on other plants, I carefully pick them up and move them to the lilies. For the adults, obviously they can fly away on their own if they want, but it means the larvae are there for the duration. I'm pondering putting chalk around the base of the tubs, to keep the ants away since they are part of the cycle as well. I've not noticed aphids impacting any of the other plants in the yard, but they will prevent lily buds from opening. Unacceptable!

I'm getting ready to break down the tubs and bring in the marginals that don't hibernate (dwarf papyrus, a little umbrella plant, a few others). I always had house plants until I moved to California and now PA. While there is a lot I like about this house, it is not setup for plants. Very limited southern exposure. I have succulent starters from my Mom, and I'm looking to get set up something to hold them and the marginals and hang lights over them...we have so many lying around spare, I figure it can't hurt!

 

[myswtsins]

Oh no, can't impact the lily blooms! Good to know, thanks.

Yup, that is one of my house plant problems, only have 2 quite small windows that get southern sun and both are not useable for plants. I have considered doing some sort of bin for my marginals with artificial lighting too! Good luck!

 

[Kannan Fodder]

Not sure if you found something yet, but being that they are herbs for food use, my method of bug removal is to mix up some dish soap and water in a container, then swish the plant around in it for a bit, rinse it off and repeat if necessary. I usually have to do this every few days, as you never seem to get the eggs with the first wash.

Soapy water kills a bunch of things, but some bugs are harder to kill, and usually have to be totally immersed for several minutes before the soap gets them. Earwigs are easy to kill, aphids and spider mites are harder - especially if you want to go food safe!

Clarification, I dunk the plant only, not the pot or soil, so it takes some finesse to keep everything from falling into the container of soapy water. Sometimes it helps to take the plant outside and use a spray bottle of water to blast off the bugs.

 

[Tifftastic]

I did find a spray meant for fruit and veg and it seems to have killed them. I just need to rinse the deads off! But the bottle says for food plants I can treat twice, every fourteen days and then just have to wait 14 days to eat anything from it.