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Help me, LJ gardeners!
Jun. 19th, 2008 09:01 pmWe're having an insect problem in our garden.
I had been noticing that when I brushed against the parsley or melon plants, a cloud of tiny pale insects flew away. Gradually the parsley grew discolored with pale yellowish spots on the leaves; the melon, too, to a lesser extent. (The parsley and melon are right next to each other.) The parsley appeared to just have a little cosmetic damage for a long time. Abruptly, now, it looks damn near dead.
The insects are perhaps an eighth of an inch long and green. There appear to be more clinging to the undersides of leaves and the stems of the affected plants. I'm pretty sure these are aphids. (I was previously misled by some of them flying when the leaves were disturbed, because I didn't know aphids flew.)
What's the best response? I'm shocked at how quickly the parsley went. I'll be so sad if the melon dies from bug damage, after we finally got it to grow vigorously. I've seen recommendations for washing the plants with soapy water - does that really work? Or do we need to go straight to insecticide?
I had been noticing that when I brushed against the parsley or melon plants, a cloud of tiny pale insects flew away. Gradually the parsley grew discolored with pale yellowish spots on the leaves; the melon, too, to a lesser extent. (The parsley and melon are right next to each other.) The parsley appeared to just have a little cosmetic damage for a long time. Abruptly, now, it looks damn near dead.
The insects are perhaps an eighth of an inch long and green. There appear to be more clinging to the undersides of leaves and the stems of the affected plants. I'm pretty sure these are aphids. (I was previously misled by some of them flying when the leaves were disturbed, because I didn't know aphids flew.)
What's the best response? I'm shocked at how quickly the parsley went. I'll be so sad if the melon dies from bug damage, after we finally got it to grow vigorously. I've seen recommendations for washing the plants with soapy water - does that really work? Or do we need to go straight to insecticide?
