Question
i live in southern ontario, canada, and i have a pink geranium in a hanging basket hanging in our covered porch. i started finding what looked like little white dots that were bugs all over the whole plant. the lower leaves of the plant have numerous light brown spots on them. i tryed spraying rose and flower spray on the plant but that did not work. i was wondering if you could tell me what i could do to get rid of the bugs and the spots.
thanks, nicole!

Answer
snip off a small section of a branch with bad stuff on it, seal it in a plastic bag, and take it to your local garden center for ID. if they aren't sure what it is go to another garden center that does. it's not wise to just spray when you see bugs on ornamental plants. horticulture people are learning that our best hope to control most bug pest is by utilizing beneficial bugs and let nature do its' work. integrated pest management(IPM) is the big buzz-word in pest control in the new millenium. 1st you have to ID the problem pest so you know how to best get rid of it. chemical pesticides are necessary sometimes, but sometimes they do more harm than good. usually it is not good to indiscriminately spray all bug infestations. many bugs(over 99%) are actually beneficial. ID the problem pest 1st.
hope this helps.

good luck
rick