What are these tiny bugs?
July 13, 2023 12:22 PM
We just moved into a new house, and the tree in our back yard is covered in these tiny white bugs. What are they and how do I get rid of them? Are they harmful to my tree?
More information:
- They seem to be attracting wasps and ladybugs.
- The leaves are kind of sticky with a residue and some of them have holes as if they’ve been eaten.
- We have tried spraying the tree with a hose which temporarily reduced the amount of them, but it wasn’t completely effective. The tiny bugs come back and we can’t reach all parts of the tree with water.
More information:
- They seem to be attracting wasps and ladybugs.
- The leaves are kind of sticky with a residue and some of them have holes as if they’ve been eaten.
- We have tried spraying the tree with a hose which temporarily reduced the amount of them, but it wasn’t completely effective. The tiny bugs come back and we can’t reach all parts of the tree with water.
They are almost certainly whiteflies. Whiteflies and their sticky "honeydew" produced from feeding can stop leaves from photosynthesizing properly, causing yellow leaves, stunted growth, and potentially plant death. Spraying with high pressure hose water can help, if you can spray with a combo of dish soap and water that will work better than plain water. So will insecticide especially if the infestation is bad. Reflective mulch might help. If you want to introduce natural pest control, look into getting some lacewing eggs.
posted by twelve cent archie at 12:42 PM on July 13, 2023
posted by twelve cent archie at 12:42 PM on July 13, 2023
This thread has a similar picture - maybe an answer there matches.
They seem to be attracting wasps and ladybugs.
They're probably eating the bugs, which is good. (Some people buy ladybugs for this purpose, like with the lacewings suggested above.) On the other hand, if what you're seeing turns out to be aphid exoskeletons as suggested in that thread, make sure there aren't also ants doing aphid farming.
posted by trig at 1:01 PM on July 13, 2023
They seem to be attracting wasps and ladybugs.
They're probably eating the bugs, which is good. (Some people buy ladybugs for this purpose, like with the lacewings suggested above.) On the other hand, if what you're seeing turns out to be aphid exoskeletons as suggested in that thread, make sure there aren't also ants doing aphid farming.
posted by trig at 1:01 PM on July 13, 2023
At a glance these appear to be arachnids, not insects. So not aphids or whiteflies. Possibly a spider mite of some kind? But spider mites are tiny, tiny, tiny. It would be useful to have some scale. How big across are those leaves?
posted by mr_roboto at 1:30 PM on July 13, 2023
posted by mr_roboto at 1:30 PM on July 13, 2023
Tiny bugs like that make the leaves leak sap, which weakens the plant. They also secrete tiny droplets of sugary liquid, which makes things sticky, which is probably what the wasps are there to eat. On a house plant you can give it a shower, spray with mild soap, or wipe with alcohol. For a full size tree, I guess hosing it down liberally would help knock off the bugs, and also rinse away the sugar for fewer wasps.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:53 PM on July 13, 2023
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:53 PM on July 13, 2023
At a glance these appear to be arachnids, not insects. So not aphids or whiteflies. Possibly a spider mite of some kind? But spider mites are tiny, tiny, tiny. It would be useful to have some scale. How big across are those leaves?They are quite small. This photo is the closest look I’ve gotten at em! The leaves are an inch or an inch and a half across
posted by azarbayejani at 5:47 PM on July 13, 2023
They might be baby spiders, maybe? Do they look to be changing over time?
posted by derrinyet at 6:12 PM on July 13, 2023
posted by derrinyet at 6:12 PM on July 13, 2023
They don't look like the whiteflies I've seen, which under a magnifier show the wings prominently, these guys are very leg-forward. With six legs where I can count them, saying insect.
I think aphid exoskeletons is a pretty good match if you can see aphids, in which case search on aphids.
Whatever they are, they probably are a burden on the tree, but on the other hand they're probably not new and the tree is still here. Spraying them off helps even if not completely.
posted by away for regrooving at 12:45 AM on July 14, 2023
I think aphid exoskeletons is a pretty good match if you can see aphids, in which case search on aphids.
Whatever they are, they probably are a burden on the tree, but on the other hand they're probably not new and the tree is still here. Spraying them off helps even if not completely.
posted by away for regrooving at 12:45 AM on July 14, 2023
Cut off a leaf or two, put it in a plastic baggie , and take it to your favorite local nursery (or agricultural extension if you have one). They can probably ID it and point you to the right solution.
posted by bluesky78987 at 6:51 AM on July 14, 2023
posted by bluesky78987 at 6:51 AM on July 14, 2023
Aphid sheds.
I'd do whatever I could to keep blasting them off with water, since you have predators already. Even if you can't reach the top of the tree it helps overall. Not seeing a lot of living aphids in your photo so that's a good thing.
Avoid fertilizing the tree, or any vegetable beds or lawns near the tree with high nitrogen fertilizer- if this is something you must do in the future, use only organic fertilizer; or better yet, good compost. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers are extremely attractive to pests and pathogens. Nitrogen boosts growth, and fast growing plants and plant parts have soft cell walls and aphids can easily feast. A proper soil test will tell you if your soil is missing or has in excess nutrients and what you should do to balance them.
Avoid any pruning right now because fresh new growth also attracts pests and pathogens.
Minute pirate bugs are a great aphid (and other pest) predator.
Holes are from something else- aphids are sucking insects, not chewing. It may be that whatever chewed the leaves has moved on/turned into a flying insect/been eaten.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:11 PM on July 14, 2023
I'd do whatever I could to keep blasting them off with water, since you have predators already. Even if you can't reach the top of the tree it helps overall. Not seeing a lot of living aphids in your photo so that's a good thing.
Avoid fertilizing the tree, or any vegetable beds or lawns near the tree with high nitrogen fertilizer- if this is something you must do in the future, use only organic fertilizer; or better yet, good compost. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers are extremely attractive to pests and pathogens. Nitrogen boosts growth, and fast growing plants and plant parts have soft cell walls and aphids can easily feast. A proper soil test will tell you if your soil is missing or has in excess nutrients and what you should do to balance them.
Avoid any pruning right now because fresh new growth also attracts pests and pathogens.
Minute pirate bugs are a great aphid (and other pest) predator.
Holes are from something else- aphids are sucking insects, not chewing. It may be that whatever chewed the leaves has moved on/turned into a flying insect/been eaten.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:11 PM on July 14, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Juniper Toast at 12:35 PM on July 13, 2023