The quince was in the garage for a few days because weather dropped from 70F/15C to 22F/-5C. It came back up to warm Sunday. The first thing I noticed was these bugs all over new leaves, new stems, and flower buds. I sprayed with alcohol and they appeared to die. They came back. I have found large numbers three or four times a day, sprayed each time, and they die and then come back. Yesterday I put the pot in a pan of water blocking ants from crawling up. Later last night they were there agiain; I sprayed, and they returned this morning.

Alcohol isn't the answer. Isolating in a pan of water isn't the answer. What else?

A soap/alcohol mixture would kill them normally. If they return, you did not kill them.

I used a 50% rubbing alcohol mixture, but I didn't know about soap. I pretty much soaked the flower buds and stems where the bugs are. Would you think the entire plant? What kind of soap?

I would take a spoon full of dishwashing soap, a good shot of rubbing alcohol in a 1 litre spray container. Cover the soil (e.g., with toilet paper) and drench the whole tree.

Let's see if I can screw up another metric conversion.

Thanks

a litre is about a quarter gallon

The addition of soap will work as Leatherback suggested. Insects have small pores in their exoskeleton but there is a thin coating of oil of the outside that keeps water from entering/passing through these pores. Using a soap (not a detergent) removes this oily coating and allows water in, essentially drowning the bugs.

It looks like you have aphids that probably came out of their larval state due to an increase in temperature. (Most insects' life cycles are triggered by temperature changes.) I try to apply a systemic insecticide aphids are susceptible to before they emerge in the spring, and throughout the growing season - they seem to be especially fond of my fruiting trees. Also, ants literally farm aphids. I forget the complexity of their symbiotic relationship, but this is why I apply insecticide throughout the season. You think you conquered the aphids and 4 days later the ants are carrying them back up to the tender young growth.

simple solution. Add garlic powder to your pots in spring. The garlic taken up in the plant and will deter aphids and the ants will stop bringing them.

Rats. I was foiled in my plan to miscalculate metric volume. They printed the volume on the side of the bottle.

Sprayed, etc. Five minutes later is started to rain. Sigh.

Garlic it is.

Just remember.. You SMEEL the stuff for 2 weeks in your garden.

i blame the neighbours.