It doesn't look like he is doing any damage but there are about 20 of them hanging around my tomato plants. Anyone know what it is?
Thanks, Kirk
Friend or Foe?
I think it is a leaf footed bug I think the suck plant juices.
http://www.ladybug.uconn.edu/hotissues/leaffootedbug.htm
You are right, I hate this bug. They fly slow, almost arrogant, and then when you get close they hide behind other leaves. I sprayed some soap mix on them and they liked it.
KirkH
forget about the spray soap - just squeeze them to death ! They are really slow to move.
I am serious ... those Leaffotted bugs will suck the juice of your tomatoes and the fruit will taste really "stinky".
I found a few this year and squeezed them ... but I distracted with the Cardoon and the Sunflowers in the front of the house. They seem to like those better than the tomatoes.
Make sure you Google to find a picture of their babies. They are orange and they will multiply by the thousands.
They arrive by the beginning of June, as soon as it starts to get hot.
I also squish these pests but if there are a lot of them I take a container of old oil (that we used for frying french fries) and throw the varmits in the oil. They will drown. You can sometimes put the container of oil under the plant and shake it in such a way that the babies (nymps) will fall into the oil (they will think they are escaping to the ground to hide under something.) If your container has a lid you can put it on when you are finished collecting them that day and use the same container/oil the next day for the new bugs you find.
Mooonsters ... they like the Sunflowers better than tomatoes
One of the worst pests in my garden! They fly away if you're not quick enough to kill them. I do almost the same thing as Ladypearl except with soapy water; I catch them between the lid & the jar to knock them into the water. There was a hoard of these monsters on my tomatoes yesterday & I had to throw quite a few of my beauties into the compost pile because of the damage these bugs had done.
Is it just me or are there more "bad bugs" this year?
Here is how I have been killing them. I brought out my vacuum cleaner with the hose & 3 foot tube and suck them down. At first I was only catching 50% of them. They would run and hide then fly off once they got away from the vacuum. With a little practice I could get them almost every time. Several times I got two at once.
When I cannot see any more I go far from my garden, turn on the vac again and spray in a little raid flying insect killer into the tube. I assume that they die in the bag.
15 minutes later I go out and there are more of them, but not as many.
I am not sure if they have a preferred time of day to work on the tomatoes, but as of 10:15 this morning I have not seen a single one of those suckers. :-)
We have an old shop vac we use to vacuum up these little darlings. My huband attaches a piece of old pantyhose to the intake chute and when he's finished vacuuming, he ties it off then drowns them in some soapy water. Works well for stink bugs, too.
Great idea but I'll need a VERY long extension cord! Are you all seeing more of them this year?
No, I haven't seen any so far this year, but I do have a few assassin bugs, so maybe they're killing them.
I've only found one assassin bug so far this year. Hopefully, it has a mate!
It looks like I am in good shape now, I have not seen a single leaf foot all day. Thanks all for your help.