All About Pests
Well, it's true... I don't know much about bugs and pests that suck the life out of your beautiful violets. I am a firm believer of preventatives and all my violets get pre-treated. So far, so good.
I am not proficient at identifying and treating for bugs because I've never had to deal with them on my violets. All I know is what I've read because, "I hate bugs!" I am really afraid of them. I panic when I see them. Inside, I'm running and screaming the whole time I'm seeing them. I don't know why I have this unreasonable fear.
The only bugs I've ever had to deal with on my violets are thrips. I can't help but bring them in from my garden. I am not going to decontaminate several times a day. Luckily, they are pretty easy to kill. I treat all my violets with preventatives that include Imidacloprid and dust them regularly with diatomaceous earth. My babies get a light spray of fungicide, miticide and insecticide with a 3 in 1 treatment. I've also been known to use sulfur treatments on them and neem oil consistently when needed. I try to provide good air circulation and steady temperatures. I'm pretty regular about it. I've never had a whole collection of plants wiped out by any disease or fungus because I don't let it get in! I've had an occasional plant just die no matter what I did but I guarantee it wasn't infested with bugs... I don't know a lot about how bug infested violets look because I haven't had to deal with them.
So if you ever ask me a question about bugs, I will tell you how to kill them... all of them. I know there are good bugs that eat bad bugs but I'm really scared of all of them. I like praying mantis from a distance or through glass. I won't kill them but they look like they are from outer space so at least they are interesting. It would not be a good thing if one of them ever landed on me. Thankfully, they are just as afraid of me as I am of them!
I can catch lightning bugs but - the whole time (and I don't care how much you tell me) I'm thinking they are going to bite me anyway. I used to catch ladybugs because they are cute and don't bite but now we've had an Asian Lady Beetle invasion and they are the kind that do bite. At least you can tell them apart. The Asian kind are more of a tomato red with spots that run together. That's good to know.
My heart is pounding even on the occasional time I've ever had a butterfly land on me or a dragonfly land near me. I can't even bring myself to touch a worm. I know... it doesn't make sense as much as I love to garden! It's like a fireman afraid of water! I have a green thumb but the fastest way to get me out of the garden is for a bug to come at me.
And, I am not a screamer but if my face accidentally runs into a spider web (which will happen if you garden long enough) I turn into a man on fire. Screaming and flailing my arms while running at lightning speed to get as far away as I can before the spider appears. My neighbors must think I'm nuts.
I left the garden for the rest of the summer a few years ago one July when I was pulling weeds and looked up to see a garden spider two inches from my face. Yeah, the big black and yellow kind that make zig zag webs! I didn't know I could go in reverse that fast. Didn't go back out there until the following year and then only with a broom in hand.
God help me if a spider should ever crawl on my shoulder. It would be all over.
I am not proficient at identifying and treating for bugs because I've never had to deal with them on my violets. All I know is what I've read because, "I hate bugs!" I am really afraid of them. I panic when I see them. Inside, I'm running and screaming the whole time I'm seeing them. I don't know why I have this unreasonable fear.
The only bugs I've ever had to deal with on my violets are thrips. I can't help but bring them in from my garden. I am not going to decontaminate several times a day. Luckily, they are pretty easy to kill. I treat all my violets with preventatives that include Imidacloprid and dust them regularly with diatomaceous earth. My babies get a light spray of fungicide, miticide and insecticide with a 3 in 1 treatment. I've also been known to use sulfur treatments on them and neem oil consistently when needed. I try to provide good air circulation and steady temperatures. I'm pretty regular about it. I've never had a whole collection of plants wiped out by any disease or fungus because I don't let it get in! I've had an occasional plant just die no matter what I did but I guarantee it wasn't infested with bugs... I don't know a lot about how bug infested violets look because I haven't had to deal with them.
So if you ever ask me a question about bugs, I will tell you how to kill them... all of them. I know there are good bugs that eat bad bugs but I'm really scared of all of them. I like praying mantis from a distance or through glass. I won't kill them but they look like they are from outer space so at least they are interesting. It would not be a good thing if one of them ever landed on me. Thankfully, they are just as afraid of me as I am of them!
I can catch lightning bugs but - the whole time (and I don't care how much you tell me) I'm thinking they are going to bite me anyway. I used to catch ladybugs because they are cute and don't bite but now we've had an Asian Lady Beetle invasion and they are the kind that do bite. At least you can tell them apart. The Asian kind are more of a tomato red with spots that run together. That's good to know.
My heart is pounding even on the occasional time I've ever had a butterfly land on me or a dragonfly land near me. I can't even bring myself to touch a worm. I know... it doesn't make sense as much as I love to garden! It's like a fireman afraid of water! I have a green thumb but the fastest way to get me out of the garden is for a bug to come at me.
And, I am not a screamer but if my face accidentally runs into a spider web (which will happen if you garden long enough) I turn into a man on fire. Screaming and flailing my arms while running at lightning speed to get as far away as I can before the spider appears. My neighbors must think I'm nuts.
I left the garden for the rest of the summer a few years ago one July when I was pulling weeds and looked up to see a garden spider two inches from my face. Yeah, the big black and yellow kind that make zig zag webs! I didn't know I could go in reverse that fast. Didn't go back out there until the following year and then only with a broom in hand.
God help me if a spider should ever crawl on my shoulder. It would be all over.
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