How do I handle this insect invasion?

[Jooooel]

This bush was overrun by little bugs during the rainy months. But, since it's been hot and dry, the bugs died off.

I thought I'd have to cut it down, but the bugs are gone and parts are growing back.

What can I do to save it?

[Marlingardener]

It is likely your bush will recover if it is showing growth. You can lightly scratch the trunk and a few limbs with your thumbnail, and if you see green underneath, the bush itself is still alive but has defoliated.
If growth is starting, and you are in the hot/dry months, gentle, deep watering once a week wouldn't hurt. If you'll be having cold weather/frost within six weeks , water every two weeks--you don't want to stimulate a lot of new growth for the first frost to nip.
Good luck with it, and if the little bugs reappear, post a photo on the Pests forum and we'll try to identify them and give you repellent/insecticide ideas.

[Jooooel]

This pest has ruined a bush. It has completely covered the leaves and bark.

I figure that I need to remove the bush. There are a couple of healthy growths with little invasion.

How do I clean this up and salvage the last remaining growths on the bush?

[BirdLover]

I'm guessing, but those little bugs might be aphids.

[ElizabethB]

Hi Jooooel,

Warm welcome to the forum.

Your shrub does look pitiful. DITTO Marlingardener. If your plant is showing new growth and has green stems then it is still viable. Start at the outer most points doing a scratch test. Trim off any portions that are brown and dried.

I am shocked by the complete defoliation of your shrub. You either had a massive insect infestation or something else is going on.

What kind of soil is it planted in? Do you know what it is?

You said you have come out of a rainy season. It is possible that:

a. Your shrub is not suitable for your region
b. Your soil is heavy and retains too much water.

I am so sorry I can not give you a better answer.

Stay in touch.

Good luck

[Jooooel]

Hey, thanks for the replies.

The bush was doing amazing. It was one of the best looking bushes in our yard. But, at the end of spring it rained real heavy for about a week straight. And, before the rain I had noticed a couple of branches dying but I didn't think anything of it. But after the rain they started spreading a lot more. And on closer inspection I realized that it was a pest or insect invasion of some kind. They completely coated the stems, bark, and the leaves. It seemed that the rain help them to multiply dramatically.

I'm not an experienced Gardner, So I didn't catch it before it became a problem.

I thought they were all gone, but I just noticed that they have come back. They're not on the healthy growths so I'll take your advice and see if I can't save those healthy growths.

Thanks for your help

[Jooooel]

Oh, and I reposted in the pest and disease control forum. Thanks for that suggestion.

There's a close-up photo of the past in that forum post if you're interested.

viewtopic.php?f=39&t=65160

[ElizabethB]

Hi Jooooel,

Warm welcome to the forum.

Your shrub does look pitiful. DITTO Marlingardener - if your shrub is showing new growth and has green stems then it is still viable.

Start at the outer most tips of the stems and do a scratch test every 6". If the stems are green from the tip then stop. If you encounter brown, dry stems continue scratching until you reach green wood. Snip off the brown stem just above a leaf node in green wood.

I am shocked by the total defoliation of your shrub. That was either an ENORMOUS insect infestation or something else is going on.

9 out of 10 times this kind of damage is soil related.

A few questions for you.

- do you know what plant it is?
- does it bloom?
- do you have pictures from when it was healthy?
- what is your soil like? Is it loose and loamy with good drainage or is it heavy clay that does not drain?

This is the impression from an Amateur Plant Detective.

Clues:

You have just come out of a rainy season.
The insects and the damage occurred during the rainy season.

The weather has dried up.
The plant is showing new growth

Conclusion:

The insects are a secondary issue.
Your soil is heavy clay and does not drain well.
Your shrub is suffering from root rot as a result of too much water.



Depending on the amount of damage to the root system you may or may not be able to salvage your plant. I really wish I knew what it is.

You can dig it up with a HUGE root ball. Expand the hole by 3 or 4 X's. Seriously - back breaking digging. Use a garden fork to punch holes in the walls and base of the hole. Amend the soil with lots of compost and very course mason sand. Inspect the roots of your shrub. It is OK to wash some of the soil off of the roots. If you find mushy or tightly wrapped roots trim them off. Replant your shrub. Give it a gentle soaking every other day for a week. Then 3 times per week for 2 weeks. After that 1" of water per week should be sufficient.

Best of luck to you. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

[Jooooel]

There are millions of these little guys on the bush. I don't see any other bigger insects near or around then just these tiny little guys.

[rainbowgardener]

I don't know. Those don't look like aphids to me ( but aphids come in many different varieties and colors). And aphids are plant juice suckers. They would not strip a bush of leaves like that. Did you see what the leaves looked like before they were gone? Did they have holes, look chewed? Were they yellowing? A bad aphid infestation, the leaves might get yellow and even eventually drop off, but they would not have spots, holes, look chewed.

It would help if you could tell us where you are located and what kind of bush it is....

[applestar]

The bush looks like Euonymus to me.

There were a couple of "obligatory" euonymus bushes along one side of the house when we moved in. One of them got COVERED in scale insects, and after finding out that they were SUPER scales that had already been doused with stronger insecticides than I would ever want to use and survived, I told DH I wasn't going to deal with them and had him cut down BOTH bushes.

[applestar]

This discussion may look disjointed now because I found duplicate topics in two different forums, and I've merged them together (in the Organic Insect and Plant Disease Control Forum where the 2nd thread was located, assuming this is the method the Joooel would like to use).

The Subject line of each post depicts the thread where the post came from.

[Jooooel]

I think it's an Euonymus golden.

I'm in Arkansas (southern USA )

It doesn't have holes in the leaves. They just dry up and turn white or light brown. They drop off the bush.

[Jooooel]

I don't think it's root rot

(A) it's been over a month since we had heavy rain and this on a slope
(B) this thing is totally covered in the little dudes. Except for the healthy growths at the bottom

I think you're right apple star.

I have read that these pests are very resistant to insecticides. But I'm wondering once I cut down all the dead parts of the Bush if there's anything I should do to the ground around it to keep them from resurging.

[ElizabethB]

Applestar - possibly Euonymus. To me the structure of the canes does not look like Euonymus. Could certainly be wrong.

Regardless of the plant I think it is a soil issue.

Heavy clay resulting in root rot.

The insects are a secondary problem - thriving on an ailing plant.

Close up pictures of the insects would be helpful.

Baffled!