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jakesgrandmother

Bugs in mp seed pods

jakesgrandmother
18 years ago

I am trying to collect seed pods on my hardy hiniscus and I notice that some of my seed pods have bugs in them and have even eaten some of the seed. How do I go about killing the bugs but not hurt the seeds?

Comments (3)

  • bruggirl100
    18 years ago

    The best thing to do is to prevent the bugs from getting into the pods. You can do this by using a systemic insecticide, or spraying weekly with insecticidal soap.

    What happens is that they lay their eggs in the seed pods. and the larvae eat out the inside of the seeds and hatch out of them.

    All you can do after the fact is soak them in water and see which ones float and which don't. If they float, they're no good.

  • gardeniarose
    17 years ago

    Was just reading through old posts....this one is getting up there! Anyway, I just wanted to add that even "floaters" can sprout. I have 2 seedlings right now that started out as floating seeds. I plant every seed.

  • solstice98
    17 years ago

    Sevin dust is very effective against the bugs and shouldn't harm the seeds at all.

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