small green beetle with black stripes

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leisurlee East Barre, VT(Zone 4a) Jul 13, 2004

I've been infested with this bug. The green is the color of the green VW beetle (no pun intended) and it's got 4 black stripes. I think have tentatively ID'd it by my Rodale pests, weeds and diseases book, and an encyclopedia I have as a beetle that has toxic saliva and causes the leaves to show small brown dots all over it, but mostly at the tips of new leaves.

I can't find an organic spray in any of the literature I've got. I mixed up a solution of canola oil, liquid soap and water, which worked great on my cucumber beetles. I am going to try this tonight when I get home, but I'm wondering if anyone has any magic bullets out there?

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Dravencat Edgewater, MD(Zone 7a) Jul 16, 2004

Let us know how it works, I havnt seen any beetles that look like this but I would like to try and be prepared anyway.

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leisurlee East Barre, VT(Zone 4a) Jul 19, 2004

It seems to work if the infestation was not bad to begin with. On plants that are heavily infested, I've sprayed 2 or 3 times with little success. Of course the minute I spray, it rains, so I'm guessing it washes away whatever good the spray was supposed to do. I'll keep at it. I work too hard on my flowers to let the D*#n bugs have their way!

Post #958928
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kneff Dearborn, MI(Zone 5b) Jul 20, 2004

Those are 4-lined plant bugs. If you hit them directly with insecticidal soap they'll die, but they've already done damage when you see them. We seem to have just one crop of them each year. They make a mess of things for about two weeks, and then are gone. The plants continue to grow, and the damage is less evident. When I'm really mad at them, I pick them by hand and squish them. The juveniles are smaller and red. Good luck!

Post #959424
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leisurlee East Barre, VT(Zone 4a) Jul 20, 2004

Kneff, thanks for saving me the trouble of trying to identify the smaller red bugs I've been noticing. Boy, I've been gardening for 10 years and I've never seen this bug before. It's become a daily routine to go out with the soap spray! But you're right, the plants keep growing and the damage is less noticeable. I just wish they didn't like basil!

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