Aphids and mealy bugs?
by
Diana
Last spring we bought several truck loads of soil from a local soil and stone company for my new raised garden beds. My brother bought the same. He started his peppers in this soil and had an infestation of it looked like the grey mealy?(not sure of spelling) bugs on his baby pepper plants. Over the summer I noticed an infestation of aphids and the grey mealy type bugs on my kale (then throughout the gardens) like I have never seen before. I'm thinking they were in the soil we bought. Is that possible? If so can they over winter in the soil in Denver? How can I get rid of them? I do like to stay organic and use ladybugs for the few aphids I've had in the past but this was and is scary! Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks Diana
2 answers
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check out but I think spraying with soapy water helps kill aphids Good luck
Anna Neilson
on Jan 12, 2015
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Mealy bugs can certainly be found in the soil. I'm afraid I can't speak to their ability to overwinter in Colorado and would recommend you check with your local extension office. If your beds are not covered with snow now, you might cover them with plastic. As temperatures warm up in spring, the plastic should help "solarize" the soil, essentially cooking anything bad in it. See: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/crops/00505.html
Douglas Hunt
on Jan 12, 2015
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