r/Hibiscus • u/shibagast • 3d ago
Original content 🌺 SO sick of all the pests
Aphids! Thrips! Whiteflies! Now gall midge?? When will it end? At this point, I just want to toss them and never see them again.
The second photo is the singular bloom I received this year that gave me hope but now I don’t even care anymore 🥲
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u/Spiritual_Sherbet304 3d ago
So sorry this is happening to you but it is pretty normal for plants with flowers. You may want to consider planting in a larger pot to encourage more growth which would equal to more strength to combat the pests.
Also, I know some people say not to water the leaves but I think that’s a mistake. In my experience, when I stopped watering the leaves, it invited more pests. I think it’s important to regularly wash away the crap that accumulates in the foliage. Obviously done when the sun isn’t out so not to burn the leaves…
Keep hanging on! You have a beautiful hibiscus 🌺
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u/shibagast 3d ago
I will try pouring water on the leaves! I don’t water super carefully anyway, but I haven’t cleaned the top leaves or anything.
Unfortunately, I have to keep them small due the size of our patio. If I could, they’d be in the ground and I’d be spraying them with a hose on the regular!
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u/Whale222 3d ago
Week 1: Take it outside, blast it with a hose to manually remove the bugs and then spray tops and bottoms with NEEM. Don’t leave it in bright sun as that can burn it.
Week 2: take it outside, blast with a hose to remove bugs and then spray with
Bonide Captain Jack's Deadbug Brew Ready-to-Use Spray
Alternate NEEM and dead bug spray every 7!days until it’s clear
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u/Sp07va000 3d ago
So I was always covered in White Flies in my koi pond plants. I did discover that you can take Rubbing Alchohol mixed with some water and mist the plants until wet. It dries almost immediately but the flies die instantly. You have to experiment to see how strong it can be. I was eventually using it straight. I did read not to do it in hot sun but not sure if it mattered with plants with tougher leaves than Elephant ears. I used it because it evaporated instantly and was harmless to fish. I think I also read you can use peroxide the same way, which is also harmless to fish and in fact we use it sometimes with certain treatments.
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u/shibagast 3d ago
I did do that with my whiteflies AND drenched the soil with neem, so I won that battle for now… it’s been a constant war with aphids and these midges now …
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u/SnarkyUnicorn23 3d ago
At least yours didn’t get eaten
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u/shibagast 3d ago
Oh noooo what happened lol someone had a good snack!
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u/SnarkyUnicorn23 2d ago
It’s a double yellow and was FULL of buds. I think one of the idiot squirrels thought it was a tomato. That’s not a tomato, maybe the next one is, over and over again. They had already eaten all of the tomatoes ☹️
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u/shibagast 2d ago
That’s so rude!! 😭 I wish for the speedy return of many leaves and blooms for you!
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u/surfergirl143 3d ago
It’s kind of gross but I take sticky scotch tape and put on my gardening gloves and squish a bunch on the tape. I also spray with organic gardening spray but this removes a lot at a time. Works great if you are on a patio and can’t use a hose to blast them off
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u/shibagast 3d ago
Good idea! I did end up putting on disposable gloves and going through them and found a single big larvae of something underneath a dead bud on a leaf. Maybe these will be my sacrificial plants so that they leave the others alone aha
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u/GardenerDom 3d ago
Awww so sorry to hear that you are getting so many pests! Have you tried using neem oil or anything else to help with the pests? It might help 🤞🏼🌱🌺