Bugs in Flowers

[MJDale]

I have some sweet peas in the garden that I like to cut and bring into the house. Unfortunately this also brings in a lot of small black bugs (about the size of ladybirds) that come out at night. Is there anything I can do to encourage the bugs out of the flowers before they are brought into the house?

[quattro]

Try to experiment with an insect trap i don't know what type of Insect it could be but if you fill a jar with some sweet liqiud and hang that near the bloom you are going to bring in it might see them off . Or the unorganic way is to spray the lot with some insectiside for a few days before you cut the blooms

[woofgang]

Put the flowers head down into a clear plastic bag, wrap the bag around the stems, hold the bunch of stems tightly and give the bunch a really good shake before you bring them into the house. The plastic bag is to stop you geting covered in whatever you shake off (bitter experience)

[ipek]

Also, these bugs may be Vine Weevils (see this link for ID) http://www.vine.weevil.org.uk/info/lifecycle.shtml and if so, they could lay their eggs around any houseplants you have. As they then munch their way through the roots as grubs - even more reason not to bring 'em in..!!!

[MJDale]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I have tried hanging a jar of something sweet near the plant but that only attracted a few passing insects. I have tried the shaking into a plastic bag solution and have found that I need to shake the flowers to a point near virtual inialation - and even then a few of the critters are still on the stems!!! Thanks for the link to the vine weevil - thankfully they are not these. Any more suggestions will be welcome.

[SJmacleod]

Plunge the sweet peas into a bucket of cold water for half an hour, then hang up to drain. Alternatively, use washing up liquid in warm water, and spray the flowers well to get rid of the bugs a few hours before picking. Then use the plastic bag method.