Wiskey
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Help! Bugs! (with pictures)

Hello all,

I am new here, and new to gardening although I've kept planted fish tanks for about 15 years the air plants seem to have a whole different set of problems.

I bought 3 Cigar Plants, and just a week later they are covered in bugs. I have tried poison, and I have tried spraying them with soap but neither has made a difference.

Can you help me identify these creatures and help me with a way to eradicate them?

These guys are really tiny, the pictures were taken with a special Macro lens. With the naked eye they look like specs.

(click on the picture to make it bigger)

ImageBugs1 by Wiskey2727, on Flickr

ImageBugs2 by Wiskey2727, on Flickr

ImageCloseUp1 by Wiskey2727, on Flickr

ImageCloseUP2 by Wiskey2727, on Flickr

Thank you!
Whiskey

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Hmm... I'm not familiar with these... But usually white skinny bug infestations that I'm not familiar with turn out to be thrips, so these might be thrips. :?

To me, those black flattened bugs look like they could be predators eating the white ones. If this is the case, spraying them with soap etc. could kill the predators that are cleaning up the pests for you. Some bugs are beneficial.

Hopefully someone else with direct experience with these same bugs will comment and confirm or correct.

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

They are nymphs of something mites and thrips are the most common when they are that small. They don't have the typical thrip shape so mites are more likely. Plants that are stressed get infestations more than those that are healthy and happy.

What kind of plant is it?

The easiest way to get rid of the bugs is to make sure your plant is healthy.

I would just blast them off with water. Make sure the plant has good air circulation and is not being over watered.

Wiskey
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It is a Cigar Plant, Cuphea ignea, Link: https://www.floridata.com/ref/c/cuph_ign.cfm

I have the plants setup on a drip system, it waters for 5 min 3 times per week. Do you think that is too much?

Here in Escondido CA we are still seeing temperatures of 80 deg during the day, and 60's at night. The plants are mostly shaded with some sun during brief periods - maybe 1-2 hours of sun per day.

The other problem is that there is a dog that keeps peeing on them, but I don't think that is a problem is it?

Thank you,
Whiskey

Whiskey

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

I have cuphea hyssophila (false heather) and my friend grows cuphea ignea (cigar plant) for leis. They are pretty carefree plants. They aren't bothered much by pests and I do very little with them. They attract pests but also attract beneficial insects so usually as long as you lay off the pesticides nature will keep everything in balance. I don't have to water my plants that much but they are well established and used to being neglected. All I really have to do is cut them back and replace the ones that get too woody. It is not cold hardy so it is an annual where it snows, but for me it is a perennial.

Wiskey
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So I shouldn't worry about the bugs so much? I just freak out because during the summer I lost all my watermelon and zucchini to spider mites in about 2 weeks.

I figured out what they were after it was too late.

I turned the watering back to twice per week, I'll keep an eye on it and hose the plants off if the bugs get too bad. So far I don't see damage so I'll try not to freak unless that starts.

Whiskey

Wiskey
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How do I know if I'm watering too much?

Thank you,
Whiskey

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Cuphea are pretty resilient, as long as they are healthy the bugs don't don't seem to do a lot of damage to them and the predators will keep the bad bugs under control better than any chemical intervention.

Wiskey
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Cool deal. I'll keep the dripper off for a little while and hose the plants down to knock off the bugs.

I won't worry too much unless I start to see damage.

Thank you for the help!
Whiskey



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