what are these little bugs on my sweet basil?

Hi all -

I moved to the SF Bay area after living for many many years in Manhattan (NYC). Beyond the occasional houseplant and hearing about my father's gardening woes (mostly trouble from deer and squirrels), I know next to nothing about gardening. This website has been a real help to me!! It has so much information.

Right now I am renting a place in the Oakland Hills, so have just been trying containers and a little kitchen garden - meyer lemon tree, valencia orange tree, roma tomatoes (they are growing like crazy!), and several herbs. I am planning on adding a bunch of leafy greens next. I am really enjoying this!

ANYWAY, my question - my sweet basil seem to be covered with some sort of tiny whitish bugs that feel like sand all over the leaf. I have sprayed with a little soapy water and they wash off, but it doesn't keep them off. I am not sure they are hurting the plant (no holes) and though I have lost some leaves and one plant, not sure I can blame the bugs (could have been some over-enthusiastic watering on my part). I don't know what the little things are and noticed they have started to move to the other basil plant - though not as enthusiastically as they spread all over the sweet version. I want to keep them off the other herbs and far away from my tomatoes.

Any ideas what they are and what (if anything) I should do? Thanks for any help!

NY2,
Well, I am a sprayer of pesticides that get RID of the problem once and for all, but thats just me. Thats the problem with the "soap" stuff, it works on a few, but they come back, and back, and back.

I had an UGLY infestation of aphids, (see attached pic), and I did not hesitate to use the strongest spray I could find. It wiped them out in ONE spray, and they have not been back. It will be several weeks before I have to worry about eating the peppers, and there were no peppers present when I sprayed, so I am not worried at all. But then, (as I often say), thats just me!! lol.

Best of luck on whatever YOU decide to do and what is BEST for you and your situation, IYHO.

NY2CA, I would need a picture to see what it was before I recommended anything, though I will warn you that I'm somewhat of the opposite spectrum from bluelytes. I don't spray much of anything. But then again, I am very lucky. I never have any major insect problems - except for squash vine borers, and you pretty much get them here in GA and live with it. The little buggers can't be killed it seems.

But my aphids never show up for long (something always eats them before I have to do anything more than spray them with a jet of water once or twice). The caterpillars get eaten for the most part. And the flea beetles don't do enough damage to justify a spray - the eggplants laugh at their chewing and grow me lovely eggplants anyway. I will brag and say that I didn't have to spray anything this year except one application of Bt - which didn't do much good anyway, because it was against the squash vine borers, and they almost always win. Though I did manage to save one zucchini and one yellow squash for now - no one else I know has any squash left. Even the whiteflies that tried to get on my gardenias went away. I blasted them with the hose and the spiders ate a bunch - somehow they disappeared - yay - no spraying for me this year. I feel very lucky.

But back to your question - if you have aphids - a good hose blast will do wonders, but if they are scales, it won't do anything. So a picture would be best.

I will have to get a digital camera and try later. The camera on my phone is pretty lousy on close up shots I'm afraid. Looks like I am seeing a bit more damage than realized - though that last spray definitely cut down on the population. I'm a little hesitant to spray anything 'serious' on something I eat - and I do eat the basil pretty regularly (once I've washed the bugs off, of course)

While I have you, silly question.....one of my herb containers seems to have a problem with mushrooms....I pulled one and then another and I was just looking this morning and we seem to have about 4 of them coming up now. With all the rain we had around here this past winter, I got rid of a lot of mushrooms growing around trees in the yard, but in my container? How in the world did they get in there? Any ideas?

NY2ca;
Did you use mushroom compost?? lol, hehehe. Prolly got there via your ones in the yard, from airborne spores. Or spores on bees, or other insects. There are a variety of ways.

Best;
bluelytes

Mushrooms come up everywhere. I'm growing veggies in a few straw bales and they really come up in those after a good watering.

Nightbloom, what do you think of the claims about beneficial nematodes working on squash borer grubs? I assume they can handle the overwintering grubs, but since the borer flies far to lay eggs, they can't do much about that. Gardens Alive recommends injecting the nematodes much like Bt into the vine.

Aphids and japanese beetles both like my basil. Water blasts the aphids off, and a little strip of row cover takes care of the beetles.

ha! bluelytes! I did look again at my potting soil contents though :-)

They are impressive spores - my deck is on third floor - those little suckers fly!

Zeppy (love that name) - thanks for info. I hate to show my ignorance, but what does row cover mean?


This message was edited Jul 18, 2006 10:48 AM

(xcuse this blank spot - still learning)

This message was edited Jul 18, 2006 10:49 AM

Row cover's just a gauzy fabric made to cover a row or bed of veggies. It lets in water and light, but keeps out bugs, if you tuck the ends under the soil or use ground staples to secure it. You can either just throw it over something strong like broccoli, or raise it with wire or PVC hoops, etc. Of course it will also keep birds off crops like strawberries, etc.

Ah, okay. Thanks again!