Moving Plants Inside

[burz]

I'm Curious to know what everyone,s regiments are for moving plants back inside for the winter to avoid bringing in critters from spending the summer outside. I'm in bark mix and plants are off of the ground and I have not seen anything in the potting mix or on the plants but I really don't want to bring in eggs or anything inside to spread pests to the rest of my indoor garden. I currently have two Cyms and an Acacallis Cyanea on my porch. Please share what you do before you bring your chids inside. Thank you!

[HighSeas]

I routinely flush out my plants really well....and the little critters, if they exist, don't like that and run away. I also routinely spray for insects with various insecticidal agents. I keep my plants in fresh medium and repot when I should as well by keeping a tag in each pot that tells me when it was last repotted. So far it's worked out well for me except for the occasional baby lizard I find strolling around.

[chilover]

I also live in Michigan and I spray with Bayor rose and garden spray before I bring them in. Haven't had any problems except sometimes for spiders. The biggest problem I have is squirrels, not bugs.

Cathy

[RosieC]

I soak each one in half strength coffee for about half an hour, in the dark.

The critters crawl out onto the plant to get away from the coffee and helped by the dark. The coffee also kills stuff in the pot I believe. You can pick off the critters that have crawled out onto the leaves.

Seems to have worked pretty well so far.

[Orchid126]

I agree with Cathy. About three weeks before the plants are due in I start spraying with Bayer Rose and Flower systemic. I spray them once a week for three weeks, also drenching the soil at the same time to kill any critters or eggs hiding there, and then flush them thoroughly with lots of water and then bring them in. I like to bring them in when the temps inside and outside are pretty much the same, before the heat goes on.

[burz]

Thank you for all the feedback its much appreciated.