Pests and unwanted guests
 

Are there certain plants one should avoid growing .? Ones that might attract bad bugs to my tomatoes. :) jimbo

I don't know what insects you get in CA but good airflow is key. Crowded plants get more foliage disease but more bugs too since they are so close together. That makes it easy for certain bugs to jump from one plant to another.

I just looked up stink bugs. Their favorite plant is all of them - especially trees. The taller - the more they like it. So maybe not plant corn or okra beside tomatoes? Aphids love okra which invites ants.

Harlequin bugs really like spinach, and squash bugs like squash, melons, pumpkins. I have not noticed either squash bugs or harlequin bugs on tomato plants.

It is an interesting question - one to think about.

Thrips are often in weeds and grass. Removing and keeping grasses and weeds mowed short near gardens will help remove the host plants.
Attracting beneficial insects is likely an easier goal. Many herbs, particularly if allowed to flower such as fennel, dill, basil and mint along with flowers like marigold and cosmos attract an army of beneficial pollinators and predators to help keep pests in check.
Intercropping or scattering some of these plants in the garden or grow a border of herbs and flowers around the perimeter can be a benefit. Bonus, you get to eat them too.
KarenO

Last year I saw a lot of leaf hoppers on my tomato plants. I have seen them for years on the apple tree, roses and this winter, after the snow melted one time, they were on some low plant that was still green. I think their population went up in 2015 during a very long hot summer. I am hoping that this unusually cold winter here will thin them out again. It is possible that they helped spread powdery mildew around the tomatoes last year. If I see them again this year I will try DE.

The only thing I'm really afraid of (aside from ants, which are the ultimate enemies) are whiteflies, because of TYLCV. So I prefer to grow less or none of the things attracts them, the plants I find they like most are: morning glory family (ie. sweet potato), nightshades (pepper, tomato, potato, eggplants, goji), avocado, sugar apple.

They like brassica too, but it's never as big of a problem compared to morning glory and nightshades, and it's easy to use a garden hose to clean off brassica leaves.

I have seen with my own eyes whiteflies landing on rosemary, so they are not afraid of anything, although I still feel growing in polyculture may be better. Also plenty of airflow helps.

This year I have about 4 out of 60+ plants that are infected with yellow leaf curl so far, that's pretty good, considering it's so hot, but that's scary because if it's in the high 80s in Feb, I can imagine there be will lots of them for the rest of the year.

[QUOTE=KarenO;622196]Thrips are often in weeds and grass. Removing and keeping grasses and weeds mowed short near gardens will help remove the host plants.
Attracting beneficial insects is likely an easier goal. Many herbs, particularly if allowed to flower such as fennel, dill, basil and mint along with flowers like marigold and cosmos attract an army of beneficial pollinators and predators to help keep pests in check.
Intercropping or scattering some of these plants in the garden or grow a border of herbs and flowers around the perimeter can be a benefit. Bonus, you get to eat them too.
KarenO[/QUOTE]

Great info KarenO. Thanks. I did plant a small mint along the back fence 3 months ago and now it, and the pink geraniums and calla lilies are taking over the whole area. The geranium was a small cutting and I had cut the calla Lilly even with the ground.:lol:. Their all within a few feet of my new raised beds. Max mentioned whiteflies. I had some swarming my compost pile last summer so I covered it with plastic. I have an area where I could plant some more of those beneficial plants you mentioned. :)

Found this guy tonight, I must have dislodged him from the grass when I was taking things to the compost pile. He was in the bowl before I walked in the door. Good guy, or bad guy? I'm leaning on BAD GUY! :?!?:

[URL]http://bugguide.net/node/view/4729[/URL]

[QUOTE=Rockporter;630537]Found this guy tonight, I must have dislodged him from the grass when I was taking things to the compost pile. He was in the bowl before I walked in the door. Good guy, or bad guy? I'm leaning on BAD GUY! :?!?:

[URL]http://bugguide.net/node/view/4729[/URL][/QUOTE]

Stinking stink bug.

Worth

[QUOTE=Worth1;630538]Stinking stink bug.

Worth[/QUOTE]

Thought so, I'll be spraying tomorrow morning then. :evil: