When it comes to dangerous creepy crawlies , most types of emmet are n’t gamey on the list . They wo n’t kill your camellia plant . But that certainly does n’t mean we want them hanging around .
I do n’t know about you , but it seriously limits how much I can enjoy my flower when these bug are crawling all over them . And I ’m certainly not about to cut a few subdivision for a pretty showing to position in a vase in my house .
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On top of that , seeing emmet indicates that there is somethingelsegoing on with your plant life , because their front goes hand - in - paw with aphids . If you ’re encounter pismire on your camellia , hazard are high-pitched that aphids are feed on them , too .
Ants might be plaguey , but aphid can actually cause harm to your works . So , let ’s kill two birds with one stone and reject both of these pest at once .
To that end , here ’s what we ’ll be going over in this guidebook :
What You’ll Learn
It ’s upsetting when there ’s something incorrect with a plant you love , I get it . But do n’t worry , because your plants will be free of insects and count proficient again in no time . Off we go !
Why Do Ants Visit Camellias?
Ants do n’t eat camelia bloom . They ’re attracted to the sweet honeydew left behind bypests like aphidsandscale insectsthat suck the sap out of the flowers .
These pests practice their sucking mouthpart to draw the sap out of industrial plant and then they depart behind a sticky secretion .
This sugar - plenteous substance is a tasty , mellow - vigor treat for ants . In rejoinder , the ants protect the aphid from predators . Everybody ’s happy !
Well , except you , because you have bugs all over your camelia flowers . But the aphids and ants are palpate moderately good .
Getting Rid of Pests
While you could stress toaddress the pismire situationdirectly using lure traps , the best way to rid of them is to drive off the aphids . Once they ’re gone , the ants have no rationality to claver your shrubs and they ’ll head to stickier eatage .
Because aphids rarely make serious impairment to camellia , you do n’t need to go all out to rid your garden of them . The magnanimous endangerment here is that the aphids might propagate disease , or leave your plantssusceptible to diseaseby weaken them .
Spray your plant down with body of water once a workweek in the morning on a sunny day .
This knock the tiny gadfly loose and washes away some of the honeydew melon . It may not seem like it would , but a picayune spray of water can go a long way towards dissolve the spot .
you’re able to alsoprune off any brancheswhere the insect are cluster . Then , add some lacewing to your garden .
greenish lacewing fly cogitate many of the pests we want to keep out of our garden are delicious . you could buy packages of larvae to release these innate vulture onto your plants , and they ’ll munch away on all those baddies .
Green Lacewing Larvae
Grab a hex soma , a bottleful of 1,000 , a bag of 5,000 , or a bucket of 10,000 lacewingsat Arbico Organics .
These controls should be enough to keep your flowers free of these insects . But if you ’ve attempt everything and the job persist , you are n’t out of luck . you could spray the infested bush with insecticidal soap .
Bonide Insecticidal Soap
Bonide makes 12- and 32 - troy ounce ready - to - use container of this intersection , and the easy lay wo n’t persist in the surround , induce undesired consequences . pluck some upat Arbico Organics .
Spray your camelia once every 10 Clarence Shepard Day Jr. or so , taking fear to coat both the tops and bottoms of the leaves .
Aphid Prevention
It ’s possible to support your plant in a elbow room that discourages aphids from set up store in the first spot .
Spraying your plants down with a strong flow of H2O will rap all kinds of baddies off , and it creates a less appealing environment for the pests .
Do this once every week or two in the sunrise on a sunny sidereal day so the water has a chance to evaporate . You ’d be surprised how much good it can do .
You should also essay tokeep weeds out of your garden . I roll in the hay , easier aver than done . But weeds act as legion for all sort of bad bug . Many pests have sex groundless mustard and sow thistle , in particular .
On camellias , aphids tend to advert out chiefly on new growth . If you catch them there it ’s well-heeled to take them before their numbers grow . It never suffer to head out and just give your plant a once - over every now and then to appear for effect .
For more related tips , be indisputable to check out ourguide to distinguish and battle camelia pests .
Send Those Unwanted Visitors Packing
Ants are n’t harmful to camellias , but they indicate that aphids are setting up shop on your flowers , and some unwished disease could follow . Show both of these unwanted visitors the door for the wellness of your plants .
Have youbeen piece by the camellia bug ? If you need to get a line more about these beauties , we have a few more guide you might be interested in , begin with these :
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About
Kristine Lofgren
