So one of the things I like best about living in the city is that there are very few bugs! I rarely have a mosquito bite (which I am allergic to), or an ant bite, or a spider or well, anything tiny with six to eight legs. It’s been nirvana for me. But when we moved apartments to our new place with the terrace, and filled it with plants—they have come. In droves. Like we’re beaming an insect bat signal or something.
Most recently we’ve been infested (okay I use we less than literally here—my plants) with aphid. I’ve fought aphids all my life. The most memorable being when we had crape myrtles that overhung our front door. On summer (thanks to a not so lucky plumber) we discovered that the trees were overrun with yellow jackets. (Another really despicable insect). It wasn’t a pretty picture (the plumber, God bless him, was bald) and we knew that we needed to get rid of the stinging buggers post haste. Unfortunately, it took a while to discover the cause of their attraction.
You guessed it—aphids. But in that case I sprayed once or maybe twice and the problem was solved. The aphids died and the yellow jackets moved on. But here—they attacked my roses and 
wouldn’t give up the battle. So much so that one of the roses succumbed (and I honestly didn’t know that aphids could kill a plant) and we had to “bury” it this weekend. The other is still healthy but the aphids keep coming back. And now they’ve moved to my pepper (and a columbine that also bit the dust ). Everything thing else on the terrace has fuzzy leaves to there is no attraction. But the rose and the pepper may yet see their doom. If the aphids don’t get them, the spray (and we use the healthy kind) will.
(In full disclosure I think the aphids only weakened the rose and a fungus attack got it, but people this is Manhattan and we don’t have that sort of thing…)
Anyway, as I mourn the loss of my beautiful rose bush, I continue to fight. It is a protracted battle and one which I fear I won’t win. Did I mention I hate BUGS?
How about you? Bug fan? Bug hater? Any particular ones you despise/love/etc? It’s summer—they’re everywhere.
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m a bug hater! I’m allergic to yellow jackets and all bee stings. Just one more reason I pray for an early fall every year. A facebook friend posted a pic yesterday of a snake covered in ticks. I’m still not right. Very disturbing photograph!
EW….
The only sure thing I have found to fight aphids on roses or daylillies is a good systemic fertilizer/insecticide.
I think you’re right LauraR and we waited too late. Next time.
Mosquitos, ack! We have them, lots of them, and I am also allergic. Not a big deal, my bites just blow up huge- huge! I do love lightning bugs, though, and we also have lots of those.
When summer is its warmest you get lightning bugs here but they are not the soft greeny yellow like you get in the states. These have a slightly more orangy hue to them. I have only seen them here once. When I was a kid we used to visit family in NC and there were sooooooooo many lightning bugs. I would fill a glass jar (with holes in the lid) every night and use them as a night light. I would let them go every morning. Great kid memory.
Love them too. Wonder if the color of the light has to do with what they eat?
I hate aphids. I have a beautiful lavender rose bush they keep attacking along with about 20 crape myrtles and I have tried the dawn & water and don’t want to use pesticides because of my cats and now a dog. My second hate is fleas. I stay busy from Mar till Dec checking to be sure there are not on any of my pets. I have put out flea killer and sprayed the yards but don’t want to do that since I now have a dog. Keeping him occupied until safe to get on grass is not easy since he is a puppy. lol Anyone want to adopt a beautiful pink nose pit/boxer who loves people and riding in car? Ears and tail not clipped and he is such a sweetie. I can’t really take care of him and will be having back surgery later this summer.
Am really allergic to fleas too so I feel your pain!
Oh, man, I feel your pain. Last year, we had no problem with bugs (of course, my plants were all pretty puny b/c of the drought). This year, my squash are doing terrible b/c of squash bugs. I am NOT a happy camper. Will try the Dawn in water thing. maybe that’ll work…..
Well the aphids won. They so weakened the roses that I had to put them to pasture so to speak…
Not a big fan of bugs at all. The one I hate most is ticks and they are bad this year in NJ.
Oh they worry me too–
Spray bottle, half teaspoon Dawn dish detergent (normal blue one or Fairy in the UK) and clean water. A daily spray will eventually get rid of them. Dawn is used by vets for kittens and puppies who are flea infested to wash them as well as when the oil spills happen they use it to clean the birds.
You can also find Dr Bronner’s Castile soap (the pepperminty one in the blue bottle) which is brilliant for cleaning EVERYTHING from shampoo and bath soap for you, wash your fruit, counters, fridge, everything. It will also combat the aphids. You will find Dr Bronner’s at any good health food store chain and online. We used it on the boat and when we had sunburns because it is so gentle (though it will tingle because of the peppermint!)
I hate to tell you scared-of-cricket people, because I have several types of lizards (leopard geckos and chameleons), we have several tubs of crickets and locusts (small grasshoppers) in my house. At least 50 plus at any given time. Brown ones are harmless but the black ones bite! We also have large mealworms as well which in some cultures are considered a delicacy (for humans). Remember Nim’s Island with the gorgeous Gerard Butler? They ate them.
I really would love to have an orchid praying mantis. If you ever encounter any, they really do look like an orchid. Gorgeous. Bugs do not bother me so much with one exception. Poisonous spiders. I was bit about 15 years ago whilst living at my moms when I was sleeping on the back of the leg by a brown widow. (Yep, brown. There are brown black and red widows.) I spent months going back and forth to the ER getting IV anti bios because it would keep returning. It felt like someone holding a branding iron on the back of my leg for days on end. It made a ring of bubbles inside a red ring. Luckily with the anti bios and steriods I now do not even have a scar.
In the Keys we had giant scorpions and just as big neon red millipedes. Hated them but they were not as toxic as the small ones you get in the deserts of Arizona.
Praying mantiises are cool! And I like stick bugs too. So I guess the field is larger than I thought. We had scorpions in Austin too. Yuck–they fell out of the AC vents from time to time. I’ve done all you’ve suggested for aphids. I’m a pro — but this is the worst infestation I’ve ever had. They just keep coming back. And then all the spraying even just the soap has weakened the plant. SIGH… roses are a pain. But I love them so.
My daughter had two stick bugs, both female. No boys. They laid eggs that hatched into more females that laid eggs and hatched into more females which amazed me because no boys were ever present!
Most websites you read say to wear dishwashing gloves, use the soap mixture and with it using your fingers run up and down squishing the insects as you go daily. I have done this in the past and where the infestation was worse I would trim them away. But it is a time consuming way that is not an overnight type of thing.
Other than contacting a good nursery and seeking their advice, I just don’t know what else to offer. Too bad you do not have lacewings there. We have a lattice wall with teeny tiny pink roses that are taller than me and they get covered by aphids until the ladybirds(bugs) and lacewings come in. We get so many ladybirds that sometimes it is almost solid red in areas. And they do wonders with our aphids.
Crickets, mosquitos, june bugs. Got ‘em all right now. The ONLY good thing about last year’s hideous drought was no bugs.
I did used to play with June bugs when I was a kid. Locusts too, but not so brave anymore.
crickets! hate them hate them hate them. And there were dozens in my pool this morning. Grrrroooooosssss
I remember the infestations of crickets in Austin. Sometimes the gutters in the streets were actually black with them.
Yes, crickets! I can’t stand them. Ick, ick, ick. I hate the way they jump. I’m not crazy about spiders, either. And really, does anyone like mosquitos? I don’t think so.
Basically, I hate bugs, except for butterflies, ladybugs and fireflies.
Ladybugs eat Aphids, as Ti said I think, so you could import some ladybugs and have a natural Aphid repellent.