What to Do When Flowers Get Pests? A Few Effective Control Methods to Teach You

In the hot summer season, ornamental plants are very susceptible to pests and diseases. If not discovered in time, the flowers may be destroyed by insects. So what should you do when flowers get pests?

1. Aphids

Aphids may be the most common pest problem in home gardening. The damage aphids do to plants is terrifying. They suck all the sap from the leaves, disrupt the plant's growth, and can even trigger other pathogen infections. They reproduce one generation per week, so prevention and control must be done as early as possible. If you notice the leaves starting to turn mottled yellow, curl up, the flowers becoming deformed, or white flakes appearing, then there may be aphids.

Solution: You can use a cotton swab to dab them off or pinch them off with your fingers. Next is spraying pesticides, insecticides, or soapy water, which you can make yourself, or you can soak cigarette butts in water and spray that. If the infestation is severe, use chemicals, such as: Huahushen, imidacloprid, yashijing, etc.

2. Whiteflies

Whiteflies, also known as small white moths, cause relatively great harm to plants. They may cause a marked drop in some of the plant's nutrient elements and may also affect the plant's growth. If you notice the leaves fading green, turning yellow, and wilting, then there may be whiteflies.

Solution: Isolate it from other plants that have no pests. If the scope is not large, cut off the leaves that have already been affected or use a fan to blow the whiteflies away. In severe cases, spray chemicals for control, such as jishijing, acetamiprid, thiamethoxam, nitenpyram, juma emulsifiable concentrate, cypermethrin zinc emulsifiable concentrate, mieshaoli, fenpropathrin, or tianwangxing, etc.

3. Red spider mites

In the process of cultivating ornamental plants, red spider mites are common destroyers. Because red spider mites are extremely small, they are not easily discovered when cultivating ornamental plants. This pest causes damage by piercing its mouthparts into the leaves to suck the sap, damaging chlorophyll, causing the leaves to show grayish-yellow spots or patches, turn orange-yellow, fall off, and even become completely bare.

Solution: When individual leaves are found to be affected, brush them off with soapy water or remove the infested leaves. When more leaves are affected, spraying should be done early for control. Commonly used pesticides include propargite, dicofol, dimethoate, and fenvalerate, etc.

The common pest problems of ornamental plants are the three above. The specific solution should be chosen according to the actual situation.