BUGS!

HELP!! I am so EMBARRASSED...I sent Hibiscus seeds to another member. She received my seeds and threw them away, but not before taking pictures....I have checked all of my seeds.....It is ONLY the Hibiscus seeds who have these critters. Please help...does anyone know what these hitchikers are.....I didn't even notice them as they are pretty much the color of the seeds...I am trying to make up for this to the lady I sent these too!! I am so ashamed I didn't notice these hitchikers!!

PICTURE ATTACHED....Sent by my seed trader...OMG...

Bummer Lisa.

I think they are beetles that hatched. If you look real carefully at your seeds, you might notice that some of them have holes in them or look caved in. I think they burrow into immature seeds, lay their eggs and leave. I had hibiscus seed do that once.

X

Just a though since the seeds are in a plastic baggie. Their are flea collars out there for pets. Why don't you stick the seeds in a larger ziplock and add a flea collar. Make sure you activate the flea collar by stretching it or something- I think that's what the directions told me to do. I don't use flea collars on my cats because they are indoors only but I buy them to use for my plants from time to time. I too have received plants that had hitch hikers.

This is going to sound silly but I have been frustrated over getting infected plants lately so bought one little gardening kit for the sole purpose of being able to toss seed and little plants in it as a fumigation chamber. I'll go get a photo of it but I bought it at Menards for $10 and ditched the seeds that came with the kit..

Sorry, not the greatest photo. I added the little square pots so I could keep different seed separated while still having space in the center for a flea collar.

I've come to the conclusion that I need to treat every plant part coming through this door as if it is infected. I am doing my best to keep seed away from other seed and new plants separated from existing plants so that I can better contain an infestation and the other issue is that it's a lot less time consuming to treat 5 or 6 plants than it is to treat 100. Frustrating, yes but I'm sort of tiring of receiveing plants that have hitch hikers particularly from nurseries.

Not being able to see the whole critter, what I do see looks like diabrotica (sp) and I think it's also called cucumber beetle?? How they got there, good question.... where the original flowers light colored?? I get them usually only on my lighter colored dahlias - they seem to love them - and I kill them the minute I see one. Does the hibiscus flower make a pod, that maybe when you where opening the pod they were in there but you didn't notice them??

Hopefully your trader understands. - I know I would, because that's life and that's what we're playing in!! :o)

Good luck,

Sanna