small brown 'flies' killing my asters and zinnias

16 years ago

Can you help? I have masses of very small light brown fly-like bugs taking over my asters and zinnias in my butterfly garden. They don't seem to fly, just sit there but once they appear, the plants brown extremely fast. I'm not sure what these are and how to get rid of them. I have many caterpillars in my garden (monarch) so I need something safe to get rid of the "flies". I just ordered 1,500 ladybugs to get rid of some yellow aphids...could the ladybugs help me with these?

I have a picture I could share if anyone needs to see them...they are very small. MANY thanks for your help.

Comments (2)

Kimmsr
16 years ago
The lady beetles will help because they do dine on many small insects other than aphids. To help some you can use a sharp water spray to knock these wee buggers off the plants or you could, with due care, spray them with an insecticidal soap.
I'd suspect that these are also aphids which come in a wide variety of colors ranging from green to orange to brown somewhat depending on the plant.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
16 years ago
If they don't fly, why are they 'fly-like'? I'm trying to get a better idea of what they might be. How about a detailed description, if possible?
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small brown 'flies' killing my asters and zinnias

Comments (2)

Kimmsr

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

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