[CH] indoor bug control ; aphids & fungus gnats

peter g (peter.g@telus.net)
Mon, 29 Jan 2001 17:26:54 -0800 

hi folks ,
   the sole surviving Rocoto, ( seeds from Cameron, Thank You! )
of last year's crop , came back into my possession about 90 days ago .
seems that my friend Joe's wife was fed-up with the seemingly
endless supply of fungus gnats zooming around her kitchen ( they had
the potted rocoto spending most of its time indoors ).
so they decided to return the plant to me.    :)
despite my exhortations to put the rocoto into a BIG planter , they
had it growing in a mere 10" clay pot .
our Rocoto, was nonetheless more than 6 feet tall & growing !!
   back to the subject ... Rocoto also had a pretty good aphid
infestation
to go along with all those hundreds of fungus gnats inhabiting the pot .

( btw, this plant wasn't sufficiently "hardened-off" for an outdoor
  overwintering , so i decided to keep it indoors 'til spring )
   treatment went like this ... lopped-off the top 6"s of the main
growing
arms , heavily aphidized ; now into the bathtub for a tepid shower to
wash off many other aphids. allowed the soil to get dry between
waterings ( until leaves started to droop ) to start gnat larva control
.
parked my upright vacuum cleaner next to the planter & each
morning simply vacuumed-up all adult flies that i could see, using the
hand-held hose . dry soil for the larvae / Hoover Deluxe for the flies .

it's been ~ 2 weeks without seeing ANY gnats . mission accomplished !
   but aphids ... just a bit more difficult .
i've given the plant a shower on three occasions; and it is effective at

reducing aphid numbers. but it necessitates hauling the plant & pot
from one room to another, plastic wrapping the pot to keep the soil
intact , & hoping that i don't drop the entire unwieldy 15 lbs onto the
porcelain tub during the process . Safers soap helps but pretty soon the

room starts to smell like insecticidal soap ( all winter ? ) .
*and of course, the aphids return anyway.*
i could squish each aphid by hand ... but there had to be another way.
   back to the vacuum ... using the handheld hose & brush attachment
i can go over every leaf & stem on the plant in about the same time as
it takes to give the Rocoto a shower ... and i don't get water soaked in

the process . the vacuum may actually be more efficient at reducing
the number of aphids on the plant & has the added benefit that it vac's
up all the cast-off molts from the insects ( less dust/allergens ) .
one needs to be careful with larger leaves as they tend to get pulled
into shreds by the vacuum , but with some practice it's no problem .
*and of course, the aphids return anyway.*
   haven't yet eradicated the aphids but, as a pest management tool, the

vacuum seems to be a good alternative to pesticides for aphids & gnats.
FWIW

regards
peter g