Make sure your plants are clean!
After speaking to another group member he suggested that you take some of these tips into consideration.
Primarily make sure to quarantine the material that was collected until you are sure they are clean for introduction to your collection. If you see any ants keep an eye on them to make sure that they aren’t harvesting any Aphids or other infestation. Some parasites may be dormant at this time of year and the warm weather may ignite a real mess later.
Also make sure to give your plants a good looking over for egg pouches even if you don’t plan to do any trimming for a few months as they try to heal.
You may want to apply some preventative insecticides for good measure like Sevin or another product.
Here is some information on Sevin:
