this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2024
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Nature and Gardening

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parasites on chili plant, help needed (beehaw.org)
submitted 3 weeks ago by sleepybisexual@beehaw.org to c/greenspace@beehaw.org
24 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

My chili has parasites, the soft white blob ones, how do I remove them

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[–] Vodulas@beehaw.org 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Showed this to my very green thumbed partner. She said sounds like mealy bugs, but the solution is the same as aphids.

Water/alcohol/drop of soap solution

70% isopropal alcohol - 1 part alcohol to 7 parts water, one drop of soap

90% isopropal alcohol - 1 part alcohol to 9 parts water, one drop of soap

Spray a cloth with the solution, then manually wipe down the plant. Spray the plant, but DO NOT put it under a light or in the sun until it is dry as the leaves will burn. Let it dry, then do manual removal of the bugs by wiping it down with the solution every day or every other day. It might take several weeks. Her exact words is that "It takes vigilance."

[–] sleepybisexual@beehaw.org 1 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Can't, its a young plant, that would probably make leaves come off, also too heavy to move to shade

[–] Jake_Farm@sopuli.xyz 4 points 3 weeks ago

Probably means you should wait for sun down.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 3 points 3 weeks ago

Unfortunately, you need to decide whether you want the plant to try to survive mealy bugs or try to survive alcohol on the leaves.

I don't think spraying a cloth with a bit of alcohol+water (I have had success without the soap) is too great a threat, but that's your call.

[–] Faydaikin@beehaw.org 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Aphids? I had those.

I ended up washing the plants down with water regularly.

It's either that or poison. I think ladybugs are also a solution.

Someone suggested to spraying the plants with soapy water, but that damaged the leaves as much as the aphids without killing them or keeping them off.

[–] sleepybisexual@beehaw.org 1 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Where do I get ladybugs from? I need predators and spiders would be nice too. Nowhere to gather them tho. Last nice insect I found in my area was a fucked up beetle

[–] Vodulas@beehaw.org 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

You can get ladybugs from most garden or even some hardware stores. If all else fails, https://www.naturesgoodguys.com/ is a great option

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

My experience is that most garden centers do not sell these, but occasionally they do. More reliable to find online.

[–] Vodulas@beehaw.org 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Must be a location thing. All the garden places around here (Seattle) have them most of the time, and my local hardware store has them a lot of the time.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I also live in Seattle. We must frequent different shops.

[–] Vodulas@beehaw.org 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Molbak's (RIP) had them, McLendon hardware has them, Swanson's has them. I mean garden shops (and probably nurseries now that I think about it), not usually indoor plant shops.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I believe you that Swanson's has them because they're huge, but I go there pretty often and have never actually seen them.

[–] Vodulas@beehaw.org 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

They were up by the registers last time I was there.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 1 points 2 weeks ago

Guess my timing is off.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 1 points 3 weeks ago

Lowe's sells them, but only at an appropriate time of year, which this is not. You can also get them on Amazon and from a few smaller company websites.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Sounds like mealy bugs, if they're very tiny. Not parasites, by the way.

[–] sleepybisexual@beehaw.org 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

They are soft and stuck and immobile, they are like blobs

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Hmmm. Do you have a photo? How large is an individual insect? Mealy bugs can be so tiny that it's hard to even see them moving.

[–] sleepybisexual@beehaw.org 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Can't send a pic, but they are 1-2 mm long and no more than .5 mm wide

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Sounds like mealy bugs. Good luck. It is possible to get rid of them. I spent, like, 2 hours carefully applying mild rubbing alcohol to every single leaf surface on my wasabi plant and it did recover! I had thought it was done for, the infestation was so bad.

[–] sleepybisexual@beehaw.org 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

When crushed they have small amount of blood. Are they the things? Also a spider is in the plant, can that take care of it?

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

A single spider will not be enough to take care of mealy bugs. Sorry, but you really need to use alcohol to kill off an infestation.

[–] sleepybisexual@beehaw.org 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Ok, will do that at night for the non webbed plants

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 1 points 2 weeks ago

Best of luck.