What is this bug?
July 28, 2020 11:20 AM Subscribe
I just want them gone.
Picture of the bugs on my spider plant. They're juveniles of something, and are about 1mm. I'm in Toronto.
These were originally attacking my basil plants, and now they've spread to my other plants. I can't seem to find anything about them on the internet. They are not aphids (at least I don't think they are) or spider mites or fungus gnat larvae (I have a bit of an issue with fungus gnats too). I started spraying them with isopropyl alcohol yesterday; I have no idea if that's helping.
Any idea what these are? And what I can do to get rid of them?
Picture of the bugs on my spider plant. They're juveniles of something, and are about 1mm. I'm in Toronto.
These were originally attacking my basil plants, and now they've spread to my other plants. I can't seem to find anything about them on the internet. They are not aphids (at least I don't think they are) or spider mites or fungus gnat larvae (I have a bit of an issue with fungus gnats too). I started spraying them with isopropyl alcohol yesterday; I have no idea if that's helping.
Any idea what these are? And what I can do to get rid of them?
If they turn out NOT to be beneficial, this might help. But you may want to leave them there, I'll leave that to other posters.
"DIY SPRAYS Still, there are times when the gardener just wants an infestation to be gone. Ed Lawrence, the CBC Radio gardening guru, recommends soap and water as effective on aphids and spider mites - 40 parts water to 1 part liquid soap (not detergent), which converts to 1 tablespoon or half an ounce of soap in a 20-ounce spray bottle. Add 8 parts rubbing alcohol to penetrate the waxy protection of mealy bug or scale. A friend has a pungent concoction, aimed at encouraging pests to dine elsewhere: Boil a few chopped garlic cloves, three or four hot peppers and a dash of vegetable oil in two quarts of water. Strain into a spray bottle. Spray the mixture on the affected foliage, being careful to coat the underside." From here. Spray from the top down and then bottom up. I've heard Ed recommend that this be rinsed off after 10 minutes, although it's not part of this article. Repeat three times within 10 days.
posted by kate4914 at 12:47 PM on July 28, 2020
"DIY SPRAYS Still, there are times when the gardener just wants an infestation to be gone. Ed Lawrence, the CBC Radio gardening guru, recommends soap and water as effective on aphids and spider mites - 40 parts water to 1 part liquid soap (not detergent), which converts to 1 tablespoon or half an ounce of soap in a 20-ounce spray bottle. Add 8 parts rubbing alcohol to penetrate the waxy protection of mealy bug or scale. A friend has a pungent concoction, aimed at encouraging pests to dine elsewhere: Boil a few chopped garlic cloves, three or four hot peppers and a dash of vegetable oil in two quarts of water. Strain into a spray bottle. Spray the mixture on the affected foliage, being careful to coat the underside." From here. Spray from the top down and then bottom up. I've heard Ed recommend that this be rinsed off after 10 minutes, although it's not part of this article. Repeat three times within 10 days.
posted by kate4914 at 12:47 PM on July 28, 2020
Please try not to spray anything unnecessarily. If you spray the beneficial predators, the insects they prey on will soon have a population bloom. It takes longer for a predator animal to reproduce itself, than it takes a prey animal. Hence, the overabundance of things like deer, once the mountain lion is killed. Nature has checks and balances that work really well when people aren't running around spaying all the Checks with dish soap and vinegar. I take issue with gardeners "just wanting things gone." We all want things, I want two geese of my very own, but that doesn't mean we should always get what we want. Especially when nothing less than the existence of all life on Earth is at stake. If the insect population collapses, they're taking everyone else along with them. So, we all just need to work on changing the mindset that automatically says "SPRAY ALL THE CRAWLING THINGS!"
I appreciate that the OP was trying to identify the insect before taking any action and I commend them for acting responsibly, but I think it might be that we're going to need a better picture before anyone's gonna be able to tell you what those are.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 1:30 PM on July 28, 2020
I appreciate that the OP was trying to identify the insect before taking any action and I commend them for acting responsibly, but I think it might be that we're going to need a better picture before anyone's gonna be able to tell you what those are.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 1:30 PM on July 28, 2020
Response by poster: I'm certain that these aren't beneficial because the majority of my basil was destroyed as a result. There's nothing else (that I can see) causing the destruction on the plant. Once I removed the bugs, the unaffected leaves were ok. Unfortunately that's the best photo I can get with my camera phone and these bugs are tiny.
I checked google images for aphid lions and ladybug nymphs; these are not it. These bugs are completely black and aphid lions and ladybug nymphs are not.
posted by foxjacket at 1:42 PM on July 28, 2020
I checked google images for aphid lions and ladybug nymphs; these are not it. These bugs are completely black and aphid lions and ladybug nymphs are not.
posted by foxjacket at 1:42 PM on July 28, 2020
Have you tried uploading a picture to iNaturalist to get an ID?
posted by srboisvert at 1:49 PM on July 28, 2020
posted by srboisvert at 1:49 PM on July 28, 2020
Could be thrips; could be a lot of things. Here's a page that offers some control options.
FYI color is a nearly useless trait for identifying bugs, both for positive and negative IDs.
posted by SaltySalticid at 2:52 PM on July 28, 2020
FYI color is a nearly useless trait for identifying bugs, both for positive and negative IDs.
posted by SaltySalticid at 2:52 PM on July 28, 2020
Thrips was my first thought on seeing the shape/size, but yeah, lots of possibilities given the lack of detail.
Do you have photos of the damaged plant portions?
posted by bethnull at 4:29 PM on July 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Do you have photos of the damaged plant portions?
posted by bethnull at 4:29 PM on July 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
My first thought was also thrips, but it'd be a pretty low-confidence guess.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 8:28 PM on July 28, 2020
posted by Spathe Cadet at 8:28 PM on July 28, 2020
Oh, don't spray isopropyl on plants. Bugs like that, you either crush by hand or blast them off with the hose.
I am not going to Google this too far at work, but potentially, just casting the net, these have profiles very similar to the - ahem - female labia minor earwig.
posted by turbid dahlia at 9:24 PM on July 28, 2020
I am not going to Google this too far at work, but potentially, just casting the net, these have profiles very similar to the - ahem - female labia minor earwig.
posted by turbid dahlia at 9:24 PM on July 28, 2020
No idea what they are, but the first step to getting rid of pests is physical removal by blasting them off with the hose. If repeated sprayings don't work then move on to soap and water, and then neem oil if necessary. In the meantime cut back on nitrogen fertilizer if you're using it (excess nitrogen attracts pests), and if youre-pot do not use soil with added fertilizer.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:33 PM on July 28, 2020
posted by oneirodynia at 11:33 PM on July 28, 2020
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posted by sjswitzer at 12:42 PM on July 28, 2020