What are these teeny tiny things eating my spinach, and how can I keep them under control?

[Guest]

First pests in my new greenhouse.

[Heidi]

Greenhouses are artificial environments like fish aquariums and terrariums. There is no natural rain to wash plants. There is no balance of natural predators to keep pests at manageable (room for everyone) population numbers. There is no wind to keep pests moving and air circulation to avoid mildews. One has to WASH greenhouse plants. When watering use your house to clean the plant(s). Get in crevices and under leaves too. Make sure your hose water is not freezing cold or scalding hot! Some plants enjoy the extra water. Some can take higher water pressure. Some in pits need to be carried to a sink and gently washed. Some like tomatoes and plants with fuzzy or hairy leaves don’t like to get wet. Keep plants well-spaced apart in greenhouses too… avoids cross contamination and allows for good air circulation. In short, greenhouses must be kept very clean… plants, shelves, tools, floor….

[Ashley]

Once a month I water my garden, greenhouse and houseplants with 2 c. Milk to one gallon water. Soft bodied insects can’t digest it and die, it kills powder mildew and feeds the good microbes in the soil.

[Frank]

They look like aphids to me. If you want to avoid pesticides, you can try spraying with mildly soapy water. There are a lot of websites with recipes for organic treatments.

[Curtis]

Use insectical soap. It’s organic, and made for that purpose. If you want to mix your own, at least use real soap like Dr Bronner’s. Dish wahing liquid is not recommended to be sprayed on plants as it is actually a harsh detergent, not soap and can harm some plants.

[Barbara]

Aphids. I’d wash them off with dr Bronners soap if you have it and add warm neem oil. Mainly the underside of the leaves daily for at least a week. Dawn soap works too. Or wash them with water and a beneficial insect. Lots of options!

[Charles]

Couple drops dishsoap in spray bottle and soak plants really good, won't hurt your plants.

[Cathy]

Building a greenhouse is providing the perfect environment for insects and then adding a buffet. Constant monitoring and quick action is needed, aphids multiply quickly. Be quick with washing off, soap is good, then keep up the daily monitoring.

[Mary]

Look into what causes them, too much water or too much nitrogen perhaps. You could hose off with water getting underneath every other day.

[Jan]

The minute I see anything, I place them in the sink and clean every leaf on top and bottom with dawn soap and water. Sit them away from other plants or outside. So far it has been working well. Also all new plants need to be checked before you sit them next to any other plants.