As a gardener, few things are more frustrating than discovering tiny orange bugs crawling all over your treasured outdoor plants. While some small orange insects are harmless or even beneficial, others can wreak havoc on your garden if left unchecked.
Over the years, I’ve had to fight my fair share of tiny orange pests. I’ve learned through trial and error how to spot common pests and the safest, most natural ways to get rid of them without hurting the rest of my garden. Here’s what I’ve discovered about these pesky invaders:
What Are These Tiny Orange Bugs?
They are called aphids, and the oleander aphid (Aphis nerii) is the type of orange bug that you most often see on plants. These insects feed on plant sap and have orange bodies that look like pears. They can attack many types of plants, both ornamental and edible.
Spider mites, which are almost microscopic pests that cause leaf stippling, are another possibility. Thrips are thin-winged bugs that eat flowers and can spread viruses. Asian lady beetles and boxelder bugs also sometimes get into gardens looking for food or a place to stay, though they are not as common.
Accurately identifying the species is important, as management tactics can vary. Examining their size, shape, and behavior under a magnifying glass and referencing insect field guides can help pinpoint the culprits.
Problems Caused by Infestations
Left uncontrolled, tiny orange bugs can weaken and damage prized garden plants in several ways:
- Sucking the sap from leaves, shoots, and flowers
- Causing yellowed, curled, or wilted foliage
- Transmitting harmful plant viruses and diseases
- Promoting mold growth by excreting sticky honeydew
- Ruining the appearance of ornamental blooms
Heavy infestations can even kill young seedlings, annuals, and stressed plants. Keeping populations in check is crucial for maintaining a vibrant, productive garden.
Organic Ways to Control Them
You don’t have to spray your garden with harsh synthetic pesticides to get rid of tiny orange bugs. Here are some of my top organic solutions:
Encourage Beneficial Predators
Ladybugs, lacewings, parasitic wasps, and predatory mites all feast on small pest insects. Creating a diverse garden with plenty of pollen and nectar sources will attract these hungry hunters. You can also purchase some predators to release if infestations are severe.
Use Horticultural Oils and Insecticidal Soaps
These organic treatments smother and kill soft-bodied insects on contact while safely breaking down after application. Target the undersides of leaves and stems for best results.
Apply Neem Oil
Extracted from the neem tree, this botanical oil disrupts the growth and reproduction of many plant pests when sprayed on foliage. It also repels and deters future infestations.
Remove Heavily Infested Plant Parts
Pruning off badly affected leaves and stems can eliminate a source of reinfestation. Just be sure to discard the trimmings in sealed bags.
Use Row Covers
Floating fabric row covers act as a physical barrier to keep invasive bugs off plants without chemicals. Just be sure to allow pollinators access for fruit and vegetable crops.
Control Ants and Remove Honeydew Buildup
Ants often “farm” aphids for their sweet honeydew secretion. Limiting ant access by sticky barriers or traps can indirectly reduce aphid numbers. Also, wash off accumulated honeydew frequently to prevent sooty mold.
Prevention Is Key
While dealing with tiny orange bugs requires diligence and patience, preventing infestations in the first place is more effective. Here are some of my top tips:
-
Inspect new plants closely before bringing them home from the nursery.
-
Quarantine gift plants away from the main garden for a few weeks.
-
Remove and destroy severely infested plants to eliminate breeding grounds.
-
Promote plant health with proper watering, fertility, and adequate sunlight to avoid stressed, vulnerable plants.
-
Clean up fallen leaves and debris where pests may lurk.
-
Use row covers over seedlings and vegetable crops early in the season.
By taking a proactive, organic approach focused on prevention, you’ll keep those tiny orange bugs from taking over your garden. Careful inspection, early intervention, and maintaining optimal growing conditions are your best defenses against these common horticultural headaches. With persistence and the right techniques, you can keep your landscape vibrant and pest-free.
How do you get rid of orange bugs?
To get rid of orange bugs in potted indoor or outdoor plants, use a naturally based insecticide containing natural components such as Pyrethrum. Furthermore, you can remove large nymphs and adult bugs as soon as you spot them. Finally, you can drop any bugs you come across into a bucket of soapy water to drown them.
Controlling Orange Bugs Physically!
Always consider natural methods as your first line of defense. You can use natural methods to get rid of harmful orange bugs, also known as oleander aphids if they have already contaminated your garden plants.
To begin, you should make an effort to remove them by merely rubbing the plant’s leaves and branches. When you are doing this, don’t forget to wear gloves. It is essential to keep your hands covered at all times when handling certain plants since they may have sharp thorns.
In case you want to be extra careful or don’t want to get too close to the bugs, you can wash them off with water. You can create pressure by using a hose, but you should be careful not to apply too much pressure because it could cause harm to the leaves or branches.
Eliminating oleander aphids with rubbing alcohol, which can be found in most households, is another option. However, this technique has the drawback of removing butterflies and other beneficial insects along with the harmful orange bugs.
As a result, you should only employ this method if the infestation is severe. Additionally, following the application of rubbing alcohol to oleander aphids, you need to wash the plant thoroughly with water to remove any excess alcohol.
Tiny Orange Spiders on My Plants
FAQ
How to get rid of little orange bugs on plants?
Squirt – use water from a hose or strong spray bottle to blast the aphids off the stem (can be combined with the previous option). Spray – spray aphid colonies with either horticultural soap or oil, both break down quickly but the soap is more likely to burn foliage.
What are these tiny orange bugs outside?
-
Reddit · r/greenvillehttps://www.reddit.comWhat are these tiny reddish-orange mites on my patios that are biting …May 19, 2023 — If they are biting you they are larval chiggers. Adult chiggers do not bite and clover mites do not bite. Clover mites eat plant material. Larval ch…
-
Hawx Pest Controlhttps://hawxpestcontrol.comWhat Are These Tiny Orange Bugs in My House? – Hawx Pest ControlFeb 10, 2025 — The Most Likely Culprit – Chiggers Chiggers are the larvae of mites belonging to the Trombiculidae family. These pests are barely visible to the nak…
Are orange aphids bad?
By: Elizabeth Barnes. Aphids that are bright yellow or orange and cover a milkweed plant may look scary, but they usually aren’t a problem. Aug 24, 2021.
Are orange assassin bugs good or bad?
… may look frightening with its bright orange color and needle-like mouth parts, but this insect is an important predator of many household and garden pests.