Seedling Safety?

14 years ago

There is one large, warm, sunny bay windowsill in the house that I use to put my flats for starting the vegetables I needed to indoors. However, this past year, the houseplants I keep there for the rest of the year had a bad scale infestation, which I had just treated and seem to be doing better. How long would you recommend, if at all, that I take the plants off the windowsill to allow it to "debug", if it can at all. I'm pretty sure that if the scale got at emerging seedlings, they'd be done for, although I do not see why these bugs would remain there If I took away their food source, and don't know how long they could remain for without one. There is one other spot in the house that I had in mind that isn't as sunny or warm, but I guess I could work with if need be. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

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Comments (11)

heirloomjunkie
14 years ago
I'd maybe just disinfect the spot? That way you can be sure there's nothing hanging around...

I can remember I had a similar bout with spider mites. Seemed like the whole area was cursed.

Kim
tn_veggie_gardner
14 years ago
Nooooo...she said the sm word...lol. I hate the pi** out of spider mites. Wiped out my whole crop of peppers 2 years ago....grrrrrrrr. I told myself, after spending well over $50 trying to fix the issue with 20 different methods, that the next time I see one, i'm going straight to the internet & ordering 1500 ladybugs cuz nothing frickin else works...lol.
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heirloomjunkie
14 years ago
Oh, I can relate to that. Last year, I didn't notice the aphids on my tomatoes until it was too late. They were everywhere. I went to the garden store, and they gave me an "organic" spray. I read the label - it's toxic to anything that breathes basically. So I skipped that. I tried garlic spray, pinching them off, spraying water, poison made from the tomato leaves... everything. I finally just had to give up and use what I could. So sad.
heirloomjunkie
14 years ago
Here's a shirt I found that I just loved...

Here is a link that might be useful: Aphids Suck
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
14 years ago
Sorry to say that ladybugs probably won't be too interested in spider mites. Too small of a morsel. And they tend to fly away as soon as they are released.

rht123, I good washing with mild soap and water should get rid of any potential scale problems. Be sure that you don't inadvertently move the insects around on your hands, clothes, and tools.
keriann_lakegeneva
14 years ago
I do have a sign on my potting bench that says...

'I got my aphids from a dirty hoe'.

Makes me giggle every time :)

Keriann~
heirloomjunkie
14 years ago
hahaha. that's hilarious!
doninalaska
14 years ago
Don't know about scale or spider mites, but I am resolved to wash my peppers with mild soap and water every week all season long. The aphids can be a real problem in the hoophouse in the summer. I've tried lady bugs, lacewings, etc., but nothing works but soap and water. Plain dishwashing soap and detergent seem to work every bit as well as Safer's and are a LOT cheaper over the long haul.
sleepy33
14 years ago
Has anyone tried those yellow sticky traps that are supposed to attract aphids, etc? Any success?
sarahbarah27
14 years ago
When I was in college we used them in our greenhouses and they seemed to work pretty well. We mostly used them to control fungus gnats, but many insects are attracted to yellow (aphids, thrips, whiteflys, etc). The cards probably won't rid you of a infestation, but may put a dent in it!
gabrielmelvoin
14 years ago
is it possible to use organic pesticides that won't harm the plant or do these not work that well?