Leaffooted Bugs
 

The ones in our gardens are called [I]Leptoglossus clypealis[/I]

This site isn't that long and explains anything you would want to know about them. [URL]http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74168.html[/URL]

They like tomatoes, and cited from the above site "They are closely related to other sucking insects, such as stink bugs (family Pentatomidae) that can also suck juices from plants."

They showed up yesterday, and they will fly at your head. They also like to hang out in groups...maybe they should have named them 'Teenager Bugs'. :lol: Don't let the ugly tomato plant scare you.

They especially like the sweet ones--cherries like Sungold, Esterina, etc, etc. They don't like Bifenthrin sprays.

Permethrin and soapy water will kill then also. I have been vigilant this year in killing off the small hatches of the juveniles with a hand sprayer when I see them. They are easiest to kill at that stage of life because they will stay together like a small herd of little orange or red bugs with long black legs and they are sitting ducks. Once they get mature they are much harder to get rid of and they are laying eggs everywhere to make matters worse.

Bill

In a week's time, the leaffooted bugs got REAL bad! They would fly at you as you walked by. Early this morning, I sprayed the plants down with a gallon of [B]Triazicide[/B] mix. It is three hours later and I don't see a single one that isn't dead. Triazicide [URL]http://www.homedepot.com/p/Spectracide-Triazicide-32-fl-oz-Concentrate-Lawn-Insect-Killer-HG-95829-2/100034451[/URL] it's on sale. The bottle says 'For Lawns and Landscapes', but the instructions includes vegetables.

Next weekend, I'll spay with "Worry Free® Brand products contain pyrethrins derived from chrysanthemum flowers." [URL]http://www.worryfreebrand.com/All-Products/worry-free-brand-concentrate/overview/[/URL]

It looks like you have them pretty bad so there are going to be more. If you have that many adults they will lay eggs all over the place. They also like to hang out on cucumbers and bell peppers. They will mess up your fruit on both bells and tomatoes just like stink bugs. You did the right thing hitting them hard because they are not easy to control when there are a lot of them.

Bill

[QUOTE=AlittleSalt;647769]In a week's time, the leaffooted bugs got REAL bad! They would fly at you as you walked by. Early this morning, I sprayed the plants down with a gallon of [B]Triazicide[/B] mix. It is three hours later and I don't see a single one that isn't dead. Triazicide [URL]http://www.homedepot.com/p/Spectracide-Triazicide-32-fl-oz-Concentrate-Lawn-Insect-Killer-HG-95829-2/100034451[/URL] it's on sale. The bottle says 'For Lawns and Landscapes', but the instructions includes vegetables.

Next weekend, I'll spay with "Worry Free® Brand products contain pyrethrins derived from chrysanthemum flowers." [URL]http://www.worryfreebrand.com/All-Products/worry-free-brand-concentrate/overview/[/URL][/QUOTE]

That says it's not safe for edibles in the information Product Overview Details at Home Depot site.

[B]Details[/B]


Application Type
Sprayer Application
Pest Type
Ants,Aphids,Beetles,Chinch Bugs,Fleas,Grubs,Japanese Beetles,Mites,Mole Crickets,Mosquitos,Sod Webworms,Ticks,Whiteflies
Concentrated or Ready to Use
Concentrated
Returnable
90-Day
Indoor/Outdoor
Outdoor
Safe for Edibles
No
Organic
No
Safe for Pets
Yes

I'm not familiar with that poison but if it says it isn't safe for edibles then you probably should wait a week before eating anything you sprayed with it and wash them first. If it is safe for pets then it probably isn't too bad; but you might want to read up on it some. I like to stick with the tried and true Permethrin or the natural Pyrethrin for things I am going to be eating. If I get really desperate I will resort to Malathion or Sevin but then I have to wait a while before consuming. I haven't had to resort to anything more potent than Permethrin in quite a few years. Knock on wood; this year the pests are coming on strong.

Bill

I picked all the ripe and blushing tomatoes yesterday. Most got thrown into the burning pile - the others I'm using for extra juice to save seeds with. The leaffooted bugs ruined the ripe tomatoes just like stink bugs do. That's why I used Nukacide...Triazicide.

You can get the same results with Permethrin, food grade DE and soapy water without having to wait long to eat the produce. I have been using that mix when I want to go nuclear because it will kill just about all the insects in the garden and the DE keeps on working for a long while unless it is washed off.

Bill

Bill, where do you get food grade DE? I saw a 25 lb. bag of DE at the local Feed and Seed. I didn't have my glasses on at the time, so I didn't read the bag.

[QUOTE=AlittleSalt;647968]Bill, where do you get food grade DE? I saw a 25 lb. bag of DE at the local Feed and Seed. I didn't have my glasses on at the time, so I didn't read the bag.[/QUOTE]

Well, I'm not Bill but that would be food grade if you are buying at the feed and Seed. They give it to the animals and use it in other areas around the pens.

Thanks Rockporter. If I remember correctly it was only $23.99 for 25 pounds.

[QUOTE=AlittleSalt;647983]Thanks Rockporter. If I remember correctly it was only $23.99 for 25 pounds.[/QUOTE]

That's about right. It will last a very long time. Wear a mask and eye protection when using that stuff.

[QUOTE=Rockporter;647988]That's about right. It will last a very long time. Wear a mask and eye protection when using that stuff.[/QUOTE]

From what I have heard you will find food grade DE used in stored grains to help keep out insects and thus it is also in your flour. I don't know if they add it to the flour when milling or not but when I was a kid my mother almost always had to sift flour to get weevils out and now they seem to have disappeared from flour. We keep it dusted under our sink and in the lower cabinets and whenever we see a roach he is dying or dead. It is also a good product for flea powder and to use in dog bedding and dog houses to keep the fleas under control.

Make sure you are getting the food grade because it is lower in the dangerous silica that can cause lung problems. I got mine over the internet and it was relatively cheap but the shipping wasn't since I got a fifty pound bag. I also use it as a dust on my cabbages to help with slugs but I'm not so sure it works on them like it does most insects. Next time I am in our local feed store I'll check and see if they have DE and if they do what grade it is.

Bill

[QUOTE=b54red;648117]From what I have heard you will find food grade DE used in stored grains to help keep out insects and thus it is also in your flour. I don't know if they add it to the flour when milling or not but when I was a kid my mother almost always had to sift flour to get weevils out and now they seem to have disappeared from flour. We keep it dusted under our sink and in the lower cabinets and whenever we see a roach he is dying or dead. It is also a good product for flea powder and to use in dog bedding and dog houses to keep the fleas under control.

Make sure you are getting the food grade because it is lower in the dangerous silica that can cause lung problems. I got mine over the internet and it was relatively cheap but the shipping wasn't since I got a fifty pound bag. I also use it as a dust on my cabbages to help with slugs but I'm not so sure it works on them like it does most insects. Next time I am in our local feed store I'll check and see if they have DE and if they do what grade it is.

Bill[/QUOTE]

It's good to dust behind appliances in the kitchen too. The feed stores would sell food grade because they feed to horses and cattle for worms as well.

After the overnight/morning thunderstorms - I'll have to spray again, but this time I'll use the Worry Free with pyrethrums and add some Ajax. I don't have the DE yet. Money's tight.

I don't add the DE to my spray mix unless the forecast is for at least a few days without rain. Heavy rain just washes so much of it off that I find it far more effective to wait until the weather cooperates. I would just use Dawn and Permethrin until the rains let up.

Bill

The Hatching
 

Look for eggs on tomatoes too - not just the plants. They hatched while these tomatoes were waiting to be seed saved. :evil:

Disgusting.:evil:

Worth

Waking up an older thread with a picture from today. Gardeners need to know about these horrible leaffooted bugs.

I inspected around 20 more thistle plants. The leaffooted bugs were only on the one plant pictured above. I cut off where the bugs were and put them in a mayo jar. Then I mowed the thistle plants. I'm going to spray with dishwashing liquid and Permethrin starting tonight after dinner.

I don't hate much but I HATE those things!!! The already showed up on my peach tree and blueberries.
I used garden safe insecticide on them. They dropped to the ground and haven't seen them in a week!

I REFUSE to let them get to my tomatoes! Lol

Greg

They are more disgusting even than aphids.

They are a lot like stinkbugs just way more aggressive and they reproduce so quickly. I didn't see one leaffooted bug in 2018. I had hoped they moved on or better yet - just died. Finding them today really caught my attention, and my heart sank a little.

Just dont mistake them for Wheel bug nymphs.

I wish they were Wheel bugs. Assassin bugs are useful, but I've heard they can bite you and it's like getting stung by a scorpion. I've never been bitten or stung by one.

My garden one year was covered in the critters.
One got in the house and one of my cats got bit by it on the lip.
His whole head was swollen up, he foamed at the mouth and squalled to beat all hell.

I had a lot of Assassin bugs in my garden one year and only one year and it was great because pest were all but non existent for one blessed season. The next year I thought they were coming back to help me again when I saw a host of juveniles everywhere. I didn't look closely at them until it was too late and I saw they were the dreaded leaf footed bugs. I only saw one Assassin bug that year and have only seen a few since then. I don't know what caused a bunch of them to show up out of the blue one year out of over 40 years of gardening. The other 40 years I have definitely had my share of leaf footed bugs.

I have found through trial and error, mostly error, that it is much easier to keep them under control if you start the season out searching for them and destroying them early so they don't have so much time to lay eggs and reproduce in great numbers. I keep my little hand sprayer bottle filled with my mix of Permethrin and Dawn on a table in the shade right next to my garden so it is handy. If I see any of the deadly three, stinkbugs, leaf footed bugs or squash bugs, I drop what I am doing and spray them immediately. I have been doing this for a few years and I haven't had any large scale infestations of any of them since I started doing this. I also haven't had nearly as many ruined tomatoes and peppers as I used to. If you give them and inch they'll take a mile.x---

Bill

The leaf footeds are just now showing up and they seem to love the tomatillos! So far that's the only place I've found them. There were eight pairs out there this morning doing the nasty but thanks to Bill's tip about the spray bottle, it'll be their last tango in the tomatillos. :lol:

I keep that spray bottle right there in the garden now.

I haven't had as many leaf footed bugs this year as I usually do but I'm sure they will get more plentiful as the year moves on. I have seen more stinkbugs this year than last and about even on squash bugs although they showed up late they came on strong this past week. My little spray bottle has had to be refilled once already. I must be staying somewhat on top of them as I haven't noticed any fruit from either peppers or tomatoes with those spots yet.

Bad news for the bees and everything else that gets on my tomatoes now because I found a rather heavy infestation of spider mites on a couple of tomato plants and light infestations on a lot of my other older plants. I knew they were coming with this intense heat and dry weather but it is always a shock when you realize they are here already. I prefer they wait til August or even September because they are so hard to control and they do so much damage. I sprayed all my tomatoes with Permethrin, Dawn and DE this morning as soon as I saw the spider mite damage. I hate to use it in the morning but waiting just makes the problem worse. It is amazing how much damage they can do from morning til evening.

Dawg you better check close for spider mites if you are having the same hot dry weather. It is only a matter of time unless we get a good bit of rain which seems to delay them. I don't remember having to spray for them last year maybe that is why it was such a terrific tomato season for me.

Bill