Help! A friend has visitors at night that leave behind only the skeletonal remains of a leaf. Any one have any idea what does this. Hasn't been able to catch the culprit.
Mary P
Skeletonized brug leaves
I am having the same problem, I thought earwigs...
check out this link where we have been discussing this issue
http://davesgarden.com/showthread/281271.html
I think we need a systemic, I did some research on the "bayer" line mentioned in the other post, and it looks good.
I guess I didnt realise what a systemic was, the way I undersstand it, it is a substance that you feed your plant with, then when a bug eats that plant it dies. pretty clever...
i used 'Bayer's' systemic fertilizer on brugs i grow, yet still get the same skeletonize leaves. i could not see what has been eating leaves either :(.
MaVie, I bought it and had no difference in the brugs I used it on and the others. waste of money in my opinion.
same here :(. why are u still here? i thought u are on the way to the roundup in TN? be careful and drive safe. have a wonderful time.
Poppysue, has she gone out at night with a flashlight? That is what I do. Snails make a quick dinner of brug leaves and they even will eat the bark. I caught the spotted cucumber beetle chomping the other night but I would think you would need an army of them to eat leaves to nothing. Here is something I found online that tells the eating habits of certain insects. It says Armyworms, grasshoppers, Hornworms, Bagworm and Sawfly larvae eat leaves almost completely; stems nearly stripped.
http://www.bayeradvanced.com/g/g_ps_d.html
are Mealybugs the same thing as those little grey things that roll up into a ball?
tiG, I thought you could not find Bayer Tree and Shrub?
From my recent research I have learned that it takes up to 1 month after application to start to work for the plant must drink it up in large enough quantities to all the leaves to be effective. It is best applied BEFORE you have a severe problem, and will last a year. From what I have read, you should apply it in the spring or fall BEFORE the problem starts on plants you know always get infestations for it to work the best however it will still work with an infestation but if you have a bad one you should use a foliar fast acting on contact killer spray to get the severe infestation under control fast and then use the Bayer systemic to keep from re-infesting for the entire year. It does not work on mites or caterpillars. As I far as I know only bacillus thuringiensis products kill caterpillars (I have used on my petunias with great results).
Sorry, but Dave's won't let me post these all together........maybe the site is telling me something! LOL
MaVieRose, which Bayer product did you try? They have alot and I do believe they do not all have the same active ingredient. I cannot attest to the 1 year systemic that has imidacloprid that I am trying, but I have high hopes about it against the scale I have. I have heard from others that it is great if used correctly and against the correct pests.
I will let you know if it has worked for me in about a month!!!
Pebble.....no they are not the same. Mealybugs look like cotton on your plants. If the infestation is small, I have had luck in taking the hose and spraying the bugs while I gently rub my fingers on the areas on the plant, smooshing all. Here is a link that may help you
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/mealybug.html
ok - thanks, when I looked at one of your earlier links, it had a picture of a mealybug that to me resembled those grey ones that roll up. do the rolly pollys eat leaves?
gee, Pebble, I am not a rolly polly expert. I have them but only see them when I move a pot and 1000 of them run around and I stomp on them as fast as I can! I have never seen them on my leaves, only on the ground. The plants they are under have no damage. I wonder if they eat rotting greens in which case I probably should not be killing them! Now I am curious also! I will do research if when I get home from work some other more informed poster has not enlightened us! Have a great day, IT IS FRIDAY!!!
Kell, thanks. I'm going to be in Dublin next week...is that anywhere near you? visiting my step son for the 4th.
Kell... i used Bayer's Advanced Garden 2-in-1 Rose & Flower Care [12-18-6], which i applied late April. i think by now, it should be working. NOT!!!!
Pebble i used straight 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol on mealy bugs. i do not have any on any of my plants, but one of the trades i got has heavy infestation of mealy bug. i filled an empty container of 409 bottle with alcohol [this empty bottles got good sprayer.] sprayed the buggers thoroughly w/alcohol. Kills 'em dead [they turn to red, then becomes black speck, like dust.]... gone capot. no more signs of mealy bug around ever. an hour after spraying alcohol on buggers, i rinse off the plant thoroughly with water. hope that helps.
My guess would be hornworms. Did she see any little black pellets on any of the remaining leaves or on the ground? The hormworms skeletonize the leaves of my tomatoes at times and I have found them also on the brugs. They blend in and are difficult to see...the tell-tell sign are those little black droppings.
Jean
no, not hornworms on mine. i do not know what they are called, but they are pin size green worm less than an inch long. they are difficult to find though. once i see one, i squeeze them off the plant. no tell tale signs either. one just see the leaves eaten away... on all sizes of leaves- from the old leaf to the newer ones. very disheartening :(!
MaVie, I have found those tiny green worms you are talking about on my hibisus but not on the brugs...yet. I have no idea what they are, but they or some other bug makes the hibiscus leaves look like lace. I'm ready to wage war on them! ;)
Jean
Jean, good luck to all of us in solving this mystery. so far, the hibiscus i grow are not affected, as yet! i hope not. i have tried DE, an insect spray that contained Thiodan , supposed to keep spider mites in control. nothing doing. also tried liquid Sevin and Safer soap >>> all waste of money, i think. the only plants being attack are the brugs and datura.
I just got back from Walmart and bought a bag of ORTHO - BUG B GONE, which contains 0.25% permethrin, so I am going to dust in on the brugs. I thought it was a good buy a 4 pound bag for 2.97....We;ll see if it works.
Bacillus thuringiensis is what I use on my tomatoes to keep the cats killed. Should work on brugs too. I don't know what it might do to open blooms though. Thanks Kell, I couldn't remember the name. Just used to calling it BT.
Brugie - I've used BT on the roses - I spray early and haven't had a problem with the blooms. I think it is one of the kinder sprays.
Thanks Liz, I might give it a shot on the brugs. There is a cat eating my suaveolens variegata and I can't find him to save my soul.
Sneaky little so and sos aren't they - they blend in beautifully.
Here I go sounding stupid again...............
but...
Brugie what are cats??? the tomato hornworms? I found one once on my tomatoes and I could not believe how beautiful he was. I could not kill him!
Liz and Shirley ...I thought BT only killed caterpillars? Who are you guys using it to kill?
Ma Vie Rose, I never have used the Bayer product you mentioned. I hope the Bayer Tree and Shrub one that I used that lasts a year works! I believe the one you tried is supposed to only last 6 weeks and I do not think it claims to kill little worms. Sounds like you have used an arsenal agaist these critters. Must be so frustrating. Is it just the little green worms that you are trying to kill? Have you tried Bacillus thuringiensis yet to kill the little green worms?
Does anyoone know of a systemic I can use to kill cumcumber beetles? I know I am going to end up spraying and I just hate to spray!!
Pebble I just did the search on rolly pollys........... I was right they do eat decaying green matter and are beneficial. Here is an interesting link on them. Now I feel badly that I kill them every chance I get.
http://www.pestcontrolcanada.com/sow_bugs.htm
Oh Pebble, I just saw your Dublin post! Yes I live fairly close though Dublin is hotter and more inland. I live on the coast. We have been having hot days and cold evenings so make sure you bring sweaters and long pants. This area is just beautiful so I know you have have great day trips. Enjoy!
Kell, Cats are caterpillars or any other worm that gets in my way. That is what the BT is for, not the four legged kind. As for the Tomato Hornworm, I don't find them pretty at all, especially when they munch on my tomato plants and also turn into the moth that pollinates the brugs. Would rather do that myself and have a choice with what pollinates what. As for the cucumber beetles, I've not found anything that really kills them. DE does slow them down some. Hand picking if you are quick is the best way for me to get them and believe me, I'm not very quick. They really mess up the brug blooms later on.
Oh Shirley I am laughing so hard............... talk about being slow............... if you knew how I tried to figure out what cats was............. LOL......... only God can help me now!
OK, I am going to go back and reread DE. I also scrunch those little buggers to death and then I leave their dead bodies on the flower hoping to give a message to all their family! DON'T MESS WITH ME!! So far they are not impressed.
Glory
Jun 29, 2002
Kelly,
You are sooooo funny...Thanks
Kell, you have nerve...I couldnt squish anything where I can feel or hear the crunch...
I had some burgs in 4" pots left over from last year that I left out, and pretty mucch had given up on....well, new growth (eaten of course) but new foliage nonetheless....so will transplant them, and dose them with that powder (ortho - bug be gone) and see what's what....
Kell, I'm looking forward to visiting that area, hope it's dry during the day, and sun would be nice....I can handle cool evenings.
Pebble, dry as in no humidity or no rain? We never have humidity (thank god for now that I am fat and 50 I make my own) and it should not rain. Up until a year or so ago, we never had rain past the beginning of May but would have alot in the winter. Things seem to be changing.
And Glory, I really do leave their little crushed bodies on the tops of the flowers as a warning. I take organic gardening to the extreme......... LOL
Pebble, you obviously have no snails where you are! The ultimate crunch!
God, I do sound like the hit man of the garden.
lol kell, dry as in no rain. It always rains on the 4th of july here, we watch fireworks huddled under an umbrella with a blanket around us... even thought we are wearing sweaters and a jacket. for once I want to sweat on the 4th.....
about the snails, it's the slug type we get that dont have the shell, and they go sqwwetthhh, and they stick to you when you dont even know it, I picked up a pot and then moved it, looked down on my arm and had 2-3 baby slugs on me...aarrgghhhhhh phewww icki ikci icki
LOL Pebble. It's a long weekend here - Canada Day (like your 4th) Rained yesterday, not sunny but not raining today. Typical long weekend in the PNW.
And the slugs?? It was so wet and dark yesterday they were out in the middle of the day.
Has anyone noticed that we have never heard from Poppytree again(the orignal poster)??? I wonder if we helped her friend out at all?
Pebbles, we have slugs here also.......... they are worse then snails. I hate being slimed when I kill them!
Nope, she says it isn't earwigs. I sent her the hyperlink that Kell provided so hopefully that will answer her question. I was just checking my brugs and darned if I don't have a leaf that is skeletonized on 1/2 of it now!
I'm not into chemicals so the plants will have to look after themselves (says she hopefully). Thanks for all the imput. Now I have to figure out what all the bugs you mentioned are. I know earwig, woodbug, and slugs. Guess I'll have to learn to id others. Hopefully we don't have them all in this region.
Thanks again
Mary P
hi kell, just got back. the one I used was the Bayer Rose stuff too. I've resorted to malathion
Well HI tiG!!! welcome back................. did you have the best time and come home with all sorts of goodies?
i got your package thanks............... came thru perfectly!