You name the bug
- Thread starter John Kost
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Have you tried soap? Or garlic? Or pepper? Or even a combination of the three? Just don't use salt or vinegar because you could harm your plants.
Based on a Google search I'd say your bug is poecilocapsus lineatus.
Based on a Google search I'd say your bug is poecilocapsus lineatus.
. Does the soap go into the soil, or do I buy a pump sprayer and put soapy water in it??
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You can just get a plastic bottle from the dollar store. You want a clean one that hasn't held any kind of chemicals before. Put a few drops of liquid soap like Dr. Bronner's (or dish soap in a pinch) and a pinch of cayenne pepper, then fill it with water. Shake it a bit to mix up the ingredients and then spray the bugs directly.
I've done it with garlic and black pepper for these little black bugs I assume are aphids that gather on my hibiscus when it's about to flower. Recently I got frustrated with snails and made a spray with soap and a tiny bit of salt. Not enough salt to kill, just to irritate the heck out of them (I hope).
I've done it with garlic and black pepper for these little black bugs I assume are aphids that gather on my hibiscus when it's about to flower. Recently I got frustrated with snails and made a spray with soap and a tiny bit of salt. Not enough salt to kill, just to irritate the heck out of them (I hope).
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Dishsoap in the ratio of 1:10 has always worked for me. Spray it with a fine misting spray bottle.. it usually get these things to fly away. Repeat the process until you get rid of them. Usually one more round of spraying a week later would help get rid of newly hatched bugs if the bug had laid eggs on your plants. Garlic has not always worked for me.. I have never tried cayenne pepper.
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Maddie, my mom makes her soap spray with cayenne. I think the reason garlic may not always work has to do with it being food and some pests actually like to eat it. Pepper is an irritant, but the soap is what really gets them because (like oil) it affects their respiratory system.
My biggest pest problem is snails. They are on all my flowers and even my aloe! Grrrrr!
My biggest pest problem is snails. They are on all my flowers and even my aloe! Grrrrr!
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Channel use coffee grounds .. but dry them well before you add them to the soil. I use fine powdered eggs shell to prevent snail and slugs from getting to my plants. This has worked for me.. the snail die from the coarseness of the egg shells and the coffee grounds. Salt also works but salt also kills plants if they get too close to the roots.
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Wish I had known this sooner! I just set out coffee grinds on the blueberry and one of the begonias. I don't drink coffee everyday and I don't make it at home. I'll have to see who I can get grinds from... maybe I can get them to save the grinds for me this weekend at my friend's restaurant. I'm going to have to start asking for coffee grinds every time I go out someplace that serves coffee.