blownz281

I have brought a bunch of my nanners inside two months ago and I potted them up with soil I bought in bags. When I watered the ice cream I noticed these tiny little grey bugs came out of the soil. They are very tiny and kind jump. Well I have seen these things years ago in Ohio and you could find them walking around in window screens in the summer. They don't hurt the plants. But we have found some walking around on the plant shelf,and we want to get rid of them ASAP. Now I have used soap and water 50/50 on nanners before with fire ants and it worked. Any idea what these our and any household tricks anyone know of to rid them. They look like the dirt bugs that you touch and they roll up,but they are not them.

Thanks

Lagniappe

Do an image search for springtails. If this is your bug, they're great decomposers, and a great addition to containrs (except for the window sil part). These guys are super tiny though, so chances are slim that's what your dealing with. Worth a shot though.

Gabe15

Do they have lots of legs (more than 6), or are they too small to see that kind of feature?

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

blownz281

Nope they don't have very many legs that I can see. These things are tiny!! They might be what your talking about since they are only in the dirt.. Other people on the board have to run into the same problems or atleast some kind of bug,since I have seen alot of members here that bring potted plants inside.

Do you guys know of any safe household things I can do to rid these guys,even if they are good I don't want them walking around. Also they have feelers on there heads.

Okay will do a search and Thanks for the help guys!!

blownz281

Yes springtails!! DO you guys think some soap and water mixture will kill them? They are mainly in my Ice Creams soil.

sunfish

Had a potted passion vine infested with soil mealy bugs. I used a soil drench with Green Light fruit tree spray . You could also try a drench with neem oil.

blownz281

Sorry can you explain what your talking about. Thanks

sunfish

Either as a soil drench (simply mix the concentrated emulsion with water according to the label instructions and apply directly to the soil

blownz281

Where would I find this stuff? Thanks. You don't think soap and water would work. I also have some seven and that worked great on fire ants..

sunfish

I got the Green Light at Lowes.

blownz281

Okay,but we are on a budget so i think as of right now these are the best options. We live in NC zone 8 and we stay warmer then most because we live near a huge river and the ocean on the other side. So that means we stay 5* warmer then others outside of this area.

My ice cream is 4ft tall and have several others some what smaller. SO since it has gotten down in the low 40's high 30's. Wouldn't it kill my plants putting them outside into a storage closet we have connected to the house? This week its staying warmer,but I would hate to loose these plants!! My other nanners I can't fit in the house are sitting in pots inside this storage unit. Basjoo,orinoco,yellow banana,Velutina. Would my best bet be to just get all the plants out of the house and winter them to rid the bugs? What about the bugs that are not walking around in the pots when I spray?
I have all the nanners warpped up real good,are they still going to be okay sitting in pots? Sorry if your kinda confused just trying to figure out the best option to get rid of these bugs abd the cheapest. I really appreicate your time and anyone else giving input. Do all soils contain so kind of bugs do you know? Wish I had the money to replace all the soil in the pots,but the bugs could still be hiding somewhere. Its hard having plants in a apartment.

Thanks

sunfish