How to Get Rid of Little Black Flying Bugs on a Violet?

Check the plant for signs of aphids and thrips. Make sure to look under the leaves as well. Look for a sticky, honeydew residue that aphids leave behind. Notice any scaring on leaves and streaking on flower petals. These are signs of the presence of thrips. Take a sheet of paper and gently shake a leaf on the plant. Watch for any thrips to fall onto the paper.

Take the violet plant into the kitchen. Turn on the water. Pick up a handheld sprayer and wash the plant’s leaves. Apply the jets of water to the leaves to knock the pests off the plant. Continue to wash the leaves to remove the honeydew that aphids produce. Let the plant dry in the sun. Repeat this process in a couple of days.

Purchase some ladybugs through a commercial seller. Introduce these natural enemies of aphids onto the violet to keep the pest population down. Buy predatory thrips from a commercial seller. Place the predatory thrips on the African violet to control the damaging thrips.

Spray all the violet’s leaves with insecticidal soap. Make sure to coat the undersides of the leaves as well. Apply a second treatment five to 10 days later to kill any newly hatched or emerging adult thrips. Repeat the application of insecticidal soaps for aphids as well. Only aphids present at the time of the spraying die since insecticidal soaps leave behind no toxic residue.