Question
I recently purchased starter plants at my local nursery.  I got mostly impatiens, brought them home.  We planted five in containers for home, three in small pots to send to school as gifts for teachers, and four in the small garden bed I have in the yard.  I am in Pine Mountain, GA.  The ones in the yard are fine, but the ones in containers have two types of bugs on them.  The petals have white, or clear spots on them like they are being chewed on, not moldy.  The bugs look like small balck knats, VERY small, and the others look so strange, with a curved saddle-shaped body, light in color.  I cant seem to find a picture anywhere that even looks similar to either bug.  I was wondering what to treat with or how to get rid of these insects/problems.  The ones I have in the pots look like they have small brown dots on the stems as well.  Any help you could give would be appreciated!


Answer
Ann, these are probably mites. You can treat them with one of several organic controls. These include insecticidal soaps, summer oils, pyrethrum, and rotenone. Any of these control mites and aphids very effectively, and all are non-toxic to humans and pets.

I have attached a web site, "Gardens Alive", which carries all of these products as well as several others. They even have a pest glossary with associated controls.

http://www.gardensalive.com  

One gardening tip I learned years ago is to plant garlic and marigolds randomly around my plants. The smell from these plants repels aphids and is also an effective deterrent against white flies and mites. I started this routine three years ago and have had no insect problems since.  

I hope this helps. Please write again if you have any other questions.  

Regards,  

Mike