A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Plant pests and problems unidentified pest on my shasta daisies!!! Help...

I'm pretty new to gardening and I'm learning something new all the time. When I first saw snails in my gardens I thought they were cute. soon learned they are not my friends. so I put bait out where I saw them and next day found a dead one(assuming the bait worked)

BUT now I'm finding little round black hard things on the lower leaves of my daisies and I don't know what they are! I'm sure it's not good. I originally was having trouble with the buds not ever opening. they would discolor, sorta blackish, and dry up. I called a local nursery and was told it could be aphids(checked and no), overwatering, or the snails. So I let the bed dry out a bit and put down the snail bait. But now I see those weird little blck egg like things. Any suggestions??? thanks so much in advance.

Could you post a photo? I'm stumped.

Also-- what makes you think they are not aphids? They may not be, but I'm curious to know how you ruled this out.

Aphids are soft-bodied (and come in a lot of colors), so if you can smush them between your thumb and forefinger (with leaf in between), then my guess is they are aphids. If memory serves, I had an infestation on my shastas earlier this spring and the aphids were black. In any case, you might try spraying an insecticidal soap (e.g., Safer Insect Soap) on them and see what happens. You can make your own soap-- see the thread on the main page for a couple of easy recipes.

mine get these little long black bugs, they cover anything white that time of the year, my shastas have bloomed and gone