Pests- Aphids

Identifying: Aphids have tiny, pear-shaped bodies with long antennae; the nymphs look similar to adults. Most species have two short tubes projecting from their hind end. Various species can appear to be white, black, brown, gray, yellow or light green. Adults may or may not have wings.

Damage: Nymphs and adults feed on plant juices. They attack leaves, stems, buds, flowers, fruit, and/or roots, depending on the species. Look for misshapen, curling, stunted, or yellowing leaves and new buds that are deformed. Be sure to check the undersides of leaves; aphids love to hide there. If the leaves or stems are covered with a sticky substance, that is a sign that aphids may have been sipping sap.

Control:
Water- Wash them off under running water, monitor the plant and repeat if necessary.

Biological control- Chrysopa carnea, Aphidius colemani- natural enmey of aphids.

Ethanol spray- Make a spray mixture (75 percent of alcohol (ethanol 40%) and 25 percent of water).

Neem oil - It inhibits insect nutrition and fertility, therefore life cycle will be disturbed. Follow package instructions for diluting the oil in water and spray the affected areas, repeat if necessary. Although neem oil is of natural origin, wait a few days after spraying before eating your plants.

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Today I found small bugs and their eggs/larvae on my plants. This is my second batch of plants in my device. I grow ruccola, basil and cilantro together. The first batch had no issues and was great. Today while harvesting my second ruccola (40 days old) I noticed small bugs and eggs on the leaves. The whole plant is covered but the plant is healthy. Then I noticed that my basil (26 days old) is suffering, with dead sprouts.

Nothing has changed in terms of position, temperature compared to my first batch of plants. I will have to throw out the current pods but how do I stop this from happening again?

Any help would be appreciated! I attach a photo of the bugs for reference.

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Hi @Brent_Ellis, welcome to the community!

Those pests are aphids. It is totally feasible to get rid of aphids if you follow the suggestions above by @Maret

Hi! I was wondering if someone could help me identify what is growing on my plants. Unfortunately I think all of my pods have been wasted and I will have to throw them away.

Thanks,

Jeff

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Hi @Swainjs, welcome to the community!

Unfortunately, your garden is infested with aphids. They are not the worst pests to have, so if you follow the instructions above, you may just get rid of them, and prevent them coming back.
Good luck!

Hi,

It seems I just discovered both my cilantro and dille were full of green bugs. I immediately threw them away but seems all plants have a tiny amount of these very very small green bugs. I assume it’s fair to assume to best start over, but what are these called and how can I prevent it from happening again?

Thanks,
Laura

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Hi @LauraR, unfortunately, you have an aphid problem. But the good news is that you can get rid of them without throwing your tomato pods out. Just follow the instructions above and locate all colonies, also on your house plants, if you have any.
Also, consider thinning tomato pod and leave just one seedling to grow per pod, you can find instructions on how to do that on the app or check out this video on youtube.

Hello and thank you for being here!
My entire 9 pod garden became infested with bugs. It started on one tomato plant with little eggs and I saw the leaves curling at the tips. I panicked and threw it all out but got a photo of the bugs. Any idea what they are?

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They look like aphids! I’m not entirely sure the best way to get rid of them, but spraying your plants with a 50/50 mix of 70% alcohol and water can kill them and their eggs. I’ve sprayed potted vines in the past and they were fine, but you might want to double check that the alcohol is ok for whatever plants you’re growing before you try that!

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Thank you! I’m very grateful for your help.

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Thank you for directing me to this information Maret.:pray:

Hi! I had bought a Click and Grow for my home, the plants have been growing at a slow speed but what is bothering me the most is that they have started getting ants, white powdery substance on them. I had bought three peri peri chillies along with it.
Please help.
Here are the pictures of the plant -

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Hi @Manisha

thanks for adding all of these pictures. Unfortunately, your plants are infected by aphids. And, yes aphids may also attract ants, as they emit sweet sugary sap that ants just love.

Please follow the guidelines above, added by Maret, on how to treat your plants against aphids. Start by washing them off under running water and please see, what kind of sprays it is feasible for you to use.

Hi guys. I’m relatively new to using my click and grow and have had success with my recent lavender and peppermint grows. However my chilli peppers are baffling me. I appeared to have an aphid infestation so followed instructions to wash the leaves etc in warm soapy water. That seemed to do the trick for a while and then I noticed a few more appear and used a homemade citrus spray (orange rind and water mix)

Now my lovely plants seem to have completely wilted and I’m
Not sure if the infestation may have killed the plant? It was at a great place where little green chillis had appeared

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Hi @PinnieB , welcome to the community!

You did the right thing by washing aphids off, it also seems you did it at the right time and already saved your chili pod harvest.

Aphids can establish a new colony even if there is only one aphid left after treatment, that is just how it is. They are wild breeders.

Also, as your chili pod is maturing, I would encourage you to take some weight off the plant and remove some of the largest outer leaves that seem damaged. This way the inner part of the plant gets more light and you get a better idea of where the aphids are hiding. Also, at this stage the pod may be rootbound, so better don’t take it out of the cup while washing off aphids, to avoid that roots and wick could lose good firm contact and will not stop providing water for the plant.

Also, yes, continue removing aphids, by washing them off or if they are single numbered- just crush them flat as soon as you find any. This also prevents them from moving onto other plants you may have growing nearby, which includes houseplants in pots.

Good luck!

Thanks so much @Mirjam I’ll remove the larger weighted leaves and keep an eye on the aphid situation! Last night I had my first pepper then a beautiful red so glad I caught the initial infestation in time

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Hello! Help, please. New Basil growing well, but one plant has bugs - what to do…?

Hi @Tonyspags

So sorry, but your garden is heavily infested by Aphids. Please read the guide above on how to treat aphid infestation.

As it is quite a heavy infestation and basil plants are quite fragile, it would make sense to discard all plants, clean everything carefully, check other indoor plants and then start again.

Also…if re-podding I would definitely soapy wash all areas. Pesky Aphid eggs are long lasting. Clean all…change water…also…clean surrounding surface areas. DONE. :slight_smile:

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My chive plant is 46 days old and it has one sprout which hasn’t been growing well. There is white (mold) on the pod. There hasn’t been anything to harvest.

Any suggestions?

Thank you
Jan

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