Hi, friends! I’ve been so MIA lately, I’m sorry! Been fig...
Hi, friends! I’ve been so MIA lately, I’m sorry! Been fighting thrips off, heavy casualties, mostly succulents 😭😭😭 but it’s finally starting to work and I haven’t seen a thrip in many days now. Going to continue treatment for three more weeks per instructions to make sure they are ALL GONE. Hate them so much! Silver lining: they killed so many of my plants that I now have a large deficit and that means I get to go plant shopping when this is all over, right?? 🤞🏻🛍️🪴 Anyway here are some recent pics. New leaves on albo syngo and philodendron billitiae, 🐞 friend on my green unicorn alocasia and my VSOH is getting SO LONG!! It was touching the floor when it was hanging in the window, so I put it in my skylight to give it more room to grow. 🌿💛 #HappyPlants #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantAddict #NewGrowth #SucculentLove #SucculentSquad #VariegatedStringOfHearts #variegatedplants #AlboSyngonium #Syngonium #SyngoniumSquad #TrailingPlants bugs">#Beneficialbugs #Philodendron #PhiloFlock #babevila #ArrowheadPlant
4ft to light, indirect
4” pot with drainage
Last watered 4 months ago
28
Best Answer
@BabeVila @Stall54Jo
The first line on defense for outside should always be ladybugs for aphids. You can find them in any garden center. Lowe's, Home Depot. They are really cheap and those little containers usually have around 500 in them. I bought mine on Amazon which also works. You definitely need to treat them, that a lot of aphids and they will go indoors accidentally on your clothes etc. Each ladybug will eat 50 aphids a day. That's a lot of aphids so I would buy a couple thousand of them.
The trick to ladybugs is to put the open container on the ground at the base of the plant at night. Ladybugs don't fly at night and during the night they will crawl up as they eat. They don't crawl down only really up. They will get rid of most in a night.
Then repeat releasing for a couple of weeks. If you buy a large amount sprinkle them on the ground around the plant in intervals of around every 4 days at night.
So at first release 1/3 then add some more in a few days, then again, then again.
They will fly away as soon as they eat then to look for more food. So don't worry you won't be swarmed by ladybugs you will never even know you released any after the first couple of days.
To keep them alive put the container in the fridge to induce dormancy. Then they will stay alive for the while treatment. This time of year they can be stored for 2 months in fridge. That way you don't have to purchase more.
Any sprays I try to avoid outdoors, it's so likely to burn and damage already weak plants.
You can spray as a last resort but you should have great results with the ladybugs. 🐞
This is the brand I bought online and they were literally all alive. The brand choice makes a difference you don't want dead ladybugs on arrival!
Link
https://a.co/d/8EhzCWl
And Shannon I'm so glad you are seeing results. It really works as long as the whole process is completed. You will never see one again, unless you buy a new plant with them unknowingly. 😢
And woot woot 3 more weeks to go!!! Almost there 🩷
The first line on defense for outside should always be ladybugs for aphids. You can find them in any garden center. Lowe's, Home Depot. They are really cheap and those little containers usually have around 500 in them. I bought mine on Amazon which also works. You definitely need to treat them, that a lot of aphids and they will go indoors accidentally on your clothes etc. Each ladybug will eat 50 aphids a day. That's a lot of aphids so I would buy a couple thousand of them.
The trick to ladybugs is to put the open container on the ground at the base of the plant at night. Ladybugs don't fly at night and during the night they will crawl up as they eat. They don't crawl down only really up. They will get rid of most in a night.
Then repeat releasing for a couple of weeks. If you buy a large amount sprinkle them on the ground around the plant in intervals of around every 4 days at night.
So at first release 1/3 then add some more in a few days, then again, then again.
They will fly away as soon as they eat then to look for more food. So don't worry you won't be swarmed by ladybugs you will never even know you released any after the first couple of days.
To keep them alive put the container in the fridge to induce dormancy. Then they will stay alive for the while treatment. This time of year they can be stored for 2 months in fridge. That way you don't have to purchase more.
Any sprays I try to avoid outdoors, it's so likely to burn and damage already weak plants.
You can spray as a last resort but you should have great results with the ladybugs. 🐞
This is the brand I bought online and they were literally all alive. The brand choice makes a difference you don't want dead ladybugs on arrival!
Link
https://a.co/d/8EhzCWl
And Shannon I'm so glad you are seeing results. It really works as long as the whole process is completed. You will never see one again, unless you buy a new plant with them unknowingly. 😢
And woot woot 3 more weeks to go!!! Almost there 🩷
Hello @BabeVila. Sorry to hear of your battle. I am worried I may be in for one as well. I have been bombarded outside with oleander aphids. I am so afraid they will get in the house. What did you use in your battle?
@Stall54Jo I used neem but I’m not sure what to recommend for outdoors! I would be afraid to harm pollinators! Though I suppose if you sprayed with neem at night it might be safe for bees and such by morning? I’m not sure to be honest. I’ll tag someone who will probably know!
@BeamingKawaka50 I bought some last year when aphids were attacking my outdoor plants, but this one just got into my house somehow. I am not squeamish with bugs so I let ladybugs and spiders be (since they eat pests) and I put other crawlies back outside where they belong lol. But you can buy ladybugs on Amazon for pretty cheap!
@SuperbRaspfern would you have any advice for @Stall54Jo ? By the way, THANK YOU for all your help! The tide is finally turning! 🥳 3 more weeks to go! 💗
@SuperbRaspfern wow thank you for the Info! I screenshot in case I need to get ladybugs again! I knew you’d know what to do! 😊
@BabeVila @Stall54Jo
I forgot this tip I just popped into my head.
Chill them in the fridge for a couple of hours before placement too. It chills them out and they rest when cold that way they don't climb out of the container and all over you. It's like bees with smoke and they go really quiet and still until they are warmed back up. It REALLY helps!
If you store them in the fridge give them a misting every now and then. Once a week works good of a gentle mist. Also mist before you release them they get thirsty and appreciate a drop of water!
Sort of like my rolly pollies I keep for terrarium that I have had for years. I mist them once a week and they get fed too. But since ladybugs go dormant no food just water you want them to have an appetite when released! 🐞
I forgot this tip I just popped into my head.
Chill them in the fridge for a couple of hours before placement too. It chills them out and they rest when cold that way they don't climb out of the container and all over you. It's like bees with smoke and they go really quiet and still until they are warmed back up. It REALLY helps!
If you store them in the fridge give them a misting every now and then. Once a week works good of a gentle mist. Also mist before you release them they get thirsty and appreciate a drop of water!
Sort of like my rolly pollies I keep for terrarium that I have had for years. I mist them once a week and they get fed too. But since ladybugs go dormant no food just water you want them to have an appetite when released! 🐞
@SuperbRaspfern I just 💚 your help replies. You provide so much IRL experience mixed with knowledge 😍 What other outdoor common pests can ladybugs assist with? What eats ladybugs?
@DesertGreen Praying Mantis and birds will eat them and wasps and frogs. Did you know ladybugs have a defense where they spray stinky stuff out to try to avoid being eaten.
They will eat spider mites and almost all pests that have soft bodies. So that would include scale, mealy bugs and whiteflies. But aphids are their favorite. It's like they know instinctively that they are nutrient rich. They unfortunately won't eat ants because they have hard external bodies. But they will eat small spiders. 🕷️
The really amazing thing I love about them is they also feed on pollen and nectar of flowers so they actually are pollinaters.
I'm just fascinated by bugs! Ladybugs have always been one of my favorite! 🐞
I was the kid who made Lego houses for lizards. And would sit at the dinner table with one perched on my shoulder. Daddy long legs were my besties. Rolly Pollies, grasshoppers all of them! Even though I have a huge grasshopper in my yard feasting away on my sunflower leaves, I let it be. Because it's his world too. Now if it will kill my plants that's a different story! But outdoors, they are welcome!
They will eat spider mites and almost all pests that have soft bodies. So that would include scale, mealy bugs and whiteflies. But aphids are their favorite. It's like they know instinctively that they are nutrient rich. They unfortunately won't eat ants because they have hard external bodies. But they will eat small spiders. 🕷️
The really amazing thing I love about them is they also feed on pollen and nectar of flowers so they actually are pollinaters.
I'm just fascinated by bugs! Ladybugs have always been one of my favorite! 🐞
I was the kid who made Lego houses for lizards. And would sit at the dinner table with one perched on my shoulder. Daddy long legs were my besties. Rolly Pollies, grasshoppers all of them! Even though I have a huge grasshopper in my yard feasting away on my sunflower leaves, I let it be. Because it's his world too. Now if it will kill my plants that's a different story! But outdoors, they are welcome!
@SuperbRaspfern I feel the same way! At first I hated to kill plant pests but then they killed some of my plants and now I show no mercy lol (for regular indoor pests I mean). All outside bugs I let be, except I am looking for a humane way to get rid of red lily beetles that destroyed alllllllll the lilies in my moms garden two years in a row. I want to be ready for them next year so we can actually enjoy the lilies! But I digress. I love bugs, snails, slugs, snakes, all living creatures and critters. I feel a connection to them and want to protect them. I actually let spider mites kill like three plants before I was like, okay enough is enough 🤣🤣🤣🤣
😂 A few years ago I rehoused a tobacco hornworm to a park a few miles away. He was really big, but beautiful. But I had to move him to a new location once I realized he was eating literally 1/2 of my vine ripe tomatoes in one sitting!!! He ate sooo much! 🐛
We also had mice about 5 years ago and I bought those plastic humane traps and would bait them then the kids and I would drive into the county to set them free. The kids were so excited about that!!! 🐭 Those traps worked sooo good!
I am that weirdo with the net that runs outside at anything splashing in the pool to whisk it out and save it. My neighbors I'm sure think I'm nuts.
My last save was a bird that flew into my window and knocked itself unconscious. Of course I had to bring it inside and provide a cardboard box with a towel.
My family said, "What on earth are you doing now!" I'm like poor birds needs help, he's going to be eaten by a cat if I leave it there. Ten minutes later it miraculously came too, flew a couple circles around the room. And I had to run around turning off fans! Then it happily landed in my plants. I scooped him up and released him happy to save a life!! I think he knew it he didn't want to fly off of my hand, he was sooo cute! 🥰🐦⬛
Like you I adore them all, they are all so adorable❣️
We also had mice about 5 years ago and I bought those plastic humane traps and would bait them then the kids and I would drive into the county to set them free. The kids were so excited about that!!! 🐭 Those traps worked sooo good!
I am that weirdo with the net that runs outside at anything splashing in the pool to whisk it out and save it. My neighbors I'm sure think I'm nuts.
My last save was a bird that flew into my window and knocked itself unconscious. Of course I had to bring it inside and provide a cardboard box with a towel.
My family said, "What on earth are you doing now!" I'm like poor birds needs help, he's going to be eaten by a cat if I leave it there. Ten minutes later it miraculously came too, flew a couple circles around the room. And I had to run around turning off fans! Then it happily landed in my plants. I scooped him up and released him happy to save a life!! I think he knew it he didn't want to fly off of my hand, he was sooo cute! 🥰🐦⬛
Like you I adore them all, they are all so adorable❣️
@SuperbRaspfern awww thank goodness for people like you who save the critters! I wanted to ask you if you don’t mind, I have a string of turtles that I haven’t had long, the thrips seem to have left it alone for the most part, but of course I’m still treating it with the other plants. But it just loses leaves constantly, and it’s growing new ones, but I just feel like I’m not doing something right here. Greg tells me to water it every 3 days but I don’t water it until the soil is pretty dry. Should I be watering it more? I’m treating it like a succulent but I would love your advice for how to help it thrive, if you are willing to give it!
@SuperbRaspfern ps I bottom water it usually but have been top watering with the neem mixture… I put the rocks on top to keep the leaves from sitting in the wet soil. But that may have been a mistake. Lol
@BabeVila Noooo! Don't water it every 3 days Greg is way off on that one! I'm glad your not listening to Greg. It is a semi-succulent and stores water in its leaves. And when those leaves fill with too much water the cells burst causing damage and leaf drop.
I water mine maybe once a week only when I'm absolutely positive the soil is totally dry.
It won't stop dropping leaves immediately because it will keep losing the damaged ones. With the thrip treatment every 3 days the misting is enough so you shouldn't have to water her at all! I bet you have some very plump turtles! 🐢
Your doing a great job treating it like a succulent is perfect. If you move it to terracotta it should help get her through the treatments easier because it will pull moisture away from the roots.
If the soil isn't drying out because of the treatment go to the dollar store and grab a box of cheap tampons stick one in the soil after every treatment to soak up the excess moisture. That should help with the leaf drop.
I'm always here for you I always like to work with people through the treatment process because things like this do come up. And teamwork really helps.
I water mine maybe once a week only when I'm absolutely positive the soil is totally dry.
It won't stop dropping leaves immediately because it will keep losing the damaged ones. With the thrip treatment every 3 days the misting is enough so you shouldn't have to water her at all! I bet you have some very plump turtles! 🐢
Your doing a great job treating it like a succulent is perfect. If you move it to terracotta it should help get her through the treatments easier because it will pull moisture away from the roots.
If the soil isn't drying out because of the treatment go to the dollar store and grab a box of cheap tampons stick one in the soil after every treatment to soak up the excess moisture. That should help with the leaf drop.
I'm always here for you I always like to work with people through the treatment process because things like this do come up. And teamwork really helps.
@BabeVila I usually don't recommend anything in the soil as a top covering. It does trap moisture. Do you have any perlite? If so remove the rocks and cover her with perlite to keep the leaves out of the soil. Perlite will alllow air through, even bark would work. I totally understand why you did it.
Also keep in mind the thickness of the pots make a difference. It's a beautiful pot but quite thick for a string of turtles. The thicker they are the longer they hold water. If you can change that pot for terracotta or a thinner one it would really help. If you can't I get it in that case be absolutely sure to use the tampons after each treatment. The pretty blue pot is perfect for any tropical plant!
And definitely keep top watering! That way you kill off the larvae on top of the soil. You can keep the rocks if you have to but use the tampons.
Also keep in mind the thickness of the pots make a difference. It's a beautiful pot but quite thick for a string of turtles. The thicker they are the longer they hold water. If you can change that pot for terracotta or a thinner one it would really help. If you can't I get it in that case be absolutely sure to use the tampons after each treatment. The pretty blue pot is perfect for any tropical plant!
And definitely keep top watering! That way you kill off the larvae on top of the soil. You can keep the rocks if you have to but use the tampons.
How to tell the difference between over and underwatering.
Overwatering:
Leaf drop
Plump leaves
Underwatering:
Faded leaves
Wrinkling
Leaf drop
Ooh! Just looked up your oasis you have Peperomias and Hoyas you want to treat the string of turtles just like them! That may help you out a bit more to understand them.
They are semi-succulent just like those so the care is like a succulent, but not quite, if that makes sense. A succulent can go longer without water but the semi-succulents like to go dry but not for too long. Hopefully that makes sense, if not let me know. 🩷
Overwatering:
Leaf drop
Plump leaves
Underwatering:
Faded leaves
Wrinkling
Leaf drop
Ooh! Just looked up your oasis you have Peperomias and Hoyas you want to treat the string of turtles just like them! That may help you out a bit more to understand them.
They are semi-succulent just like those so the care is like a succulent, but not quite, if that makes sense. A succulent can go longer without water but the semi-succulents like to go dry but not for too long. Hopefully that makes sense, if not let me know. 🩷
@SuperbRaspfern thank you so much! Yes, treating it like a Hoya totally makes sense! And I do have tons of pots on standby so I will switch to terracotta and I have orchid bark which I’ll use until I can grab some more perlite. Ahhh thank you so much. 😊
@SuperbRaspfern Friendly reminder to not buy those ladybugs online. I've heard and seen that those ladybugs, about 15% of them can be foreign ones, and might bring some harmful parasites that might hurt your plants.