I am growing indoor herbs. Parsley, basil, and sage. Today I noticed A LOT of tiny white bugs in the soil. My herbs don't look messed. I took the closest picture I could.
From research I think they're aphids maybe???
I tried a mix of garlic and cayenne pepper and sprayed. Is there any other way to get rid of these things???
Thanks in advance!
I didn't notice any jumping. There are quite a lot! And they don't seem to be on the plants just the soil. Even when I sprayed the mixture they didn't jump. They just crawl pretty fast.applestar wrote:It doesn't look like an aphid. Maybe a mite. But if small/tiny and white, springtails are the usual soil denizens. Do they swarm and jump around?
I looked up springtails and they seem too long. The bugs in my soil are more short bodied, like an oval.
Last edited by TatiEva on Fri May 06, 2016 10:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Lindsaylew82
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It is hard to tell but it could be a soil mite. Oribatid mites live in decaying soil matter. if you are usuing compost in your mix, it may be eating the decomposing stuff. Drop a few in a small container of alcohol to kill them and then use a hand lens to examine them. There are different species but mites are spiders so they have 8 legs. True bugs have six legs and a sucking mouth part.