Pest ID - Soil pests

[DCD]

Hiyas,

The Bonsai hasn't been growing any leaves lately and I thought it was the weather but after looking at the soil for a few minutes I noticed tiny little white/grey bugs in the soil.
They are smaller than the size of a flea and when I uncover some sand, they quickly dig back into the soil.

Sorry about the vague details but I'm very new to this.
Any idea what they are and what I can do to eradicate them ?

Thanks,
DCD.

[Jamie]

quick fix would be to plunge the bonsai into a container of water and leave it in there for half hour to an hour, this should kill whatever is in there. but really it would be best to determine what bugs they are so pictures are a must, this may be hard being that they are very small.

[DCD]

I've got a good camera.. but no macro lens.
At a guess, they are almost half the size of fleas... so without a macro, it'd almost be useless.

[Amanda]

could be flea larvae which resemble small worms.

I soaked my fig for a few hours and couldn't believe what I saw come out. many curl grub, slater pill bug, worms

[DCD]

Just started soaking it.. I'll see what arises in an hour.

[Amanda]

I popped a squirt of dish wash liquid in the bath, watch the trunk cos they'll scamper up it in a bid to survive.

[DCD]

That safe ?

[Jester]

Hi DCD. Mate, lets look at a slightly different strategy before you dive into the deep end. Let's be more methodical and above all........ DON'T PANIC !!!!

1. What kind of tree is it. ? If you can't get a photo of the bug, give us a photo of the tree. This can help us establish what bugs typically attack that species. For example, if it were a fig or Lilly Pilly, then it's a good bet you may have Psyllids.

2. Give us a better desription of the bug. 4 Legs? 6 Legs? How many? Is it an infestation? Do you have much leaf litter and debris on top of the soil?

Let's look at this first before you start dipping your tree into detergents, dishwashing liquids, Domestos and the like. Unless you have say, a plague of locusts, one or two more days is'nt going to make a big difference irrespective of the bug. Sounds to me , as a really rough guess that you may have Springtails (Collembola). If so, mate, they are harmless. (Refer attched word document)

Looking forward to some photos!!

regards

John

[Mojo Moyogi]

could be flea larvae which resemble small worms.

I soaked my fig for a few hours and couldn't believe what I saw come out. many curl grub, slater pill bug, worms

Hi Anja, sounds like your figs soil had become a zoo! You don't have your trees lying on the ground do you?

Cheers,
Mojo Moyogi

[DCD]

Hi Jester,

Let me see, the plant is a trident maple.
The little pests are so small I can't tell how many legs they have. They are tiny and quickly jump into more soil when I move the soil around.
Leaf litter ? Err, no.. no leaves at all.

What I do want to ask (all members) is, I want to replant it into a larger pot to let it grow more. If I take it out of the pot, clean it from all the bugs (in the soil), put it in new soil and larger pot, could it fix the problem ?
As for photo, I'll see if I can take one later on if I have time.

Thanks.

Hi DCD. Mate, lets look at a slightly different strategy before you dive into the deep end. Let's be more methodical and above all........ DON'T PANIC !!!!

1. What kind of tree is it. ? If you can't get a photo of the bug, give us a photo of the tree. This can help us establish what bugs typically attack that species. For example, if it were a fig or Lilly Pilly, then it's a good bet you may have Psyllids.

2. Give us a better desription of the bug. 4 Legs? 6 Legs? How many? Is it an infestation? Do you have much leaf litter and debris on top of the soil?

Let's look at this first before you start dipping your tree into detergents, dishwashing liquids, Domestos and the like. Unless you have say, a plague of locusts, one or two more days is'nt going to make a big difference irrespective of the bug. Sounds to me , as a really rough guess that you may have Springtails (Collembola). If so, mate, they are harmless. (Refer attched word document)

Looking forward to some photos!!

regards

John

[Amanda]

could be flea larvae which resemble small worms.

I soaked my fig for a few hours and couldn't believe what I saw come out. many curl grub, slater pill bug, worms

Hi Anja, sounds like your figs soil had become a zoo! You don't have your trees lying on the ground do you?

Cheers,
Mojo Moyogi

May have been, Mojo Moyogi. It was a new purchase and not looking too happy. Consider how long it had been since it was repot the curl grubs had done a bit of damage because it lift out easily. Perky fig now

[Jester]

Well the bugs may be harmless for a start. Not all bugs do damage to your tree. You want to put it in a larger pot so it can grow more? Maybe the tree has enough soil where it is. How large is the pot it's in? How big is the tree in relation to the pot?

Will re-potting the tree solve the bug problem? Maybe not. If we don't know what the bug is, how can we tell?? Maybe there are eggs dispersed throughout the soil so in the long run it may not make any difference.

[DCD]

I'll go take a photo to allay these questions.

Well the bugs may be harmless for a start. Not all bugs do damage to your tree. You want to put it in a larger pot so it can grow more? Maybe the tree has enough soil where it is. How large is the pot it's in? How big is the tree in relation to the pot?

Will re-potting the tree solve the bug problem? Maybe not. If we don't know what the bug is, how can we tell?? Maybe there are eggs dispersed throughout the soil so in the long run it may not make any difference.

[DCD]

The tree looks average and thin, hence me wanting to move it into a larger pot to grow some more.. then put it back once it's thicker ?

[Jester]

Hi DCD, if you want to take the tree out of the pot and place the tree into a larger pot, when you take the tree out of the existing pot, check how far the roots have travelled. If there are many roots extending towards the edges of the root ball, this might be a good idea. All in all, it certainly would'nt do it any harm. The other option would be to plant it in open ground if you have any especially if you are getting a little impatient with the speed of it's growth. As far as the leaves go, I would expect to see any this time of the year so that's completely normal as the tree is deciduous.