Basil and Mint getting eaten

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Wormboy Ronkonkoma, NY(Zone 6b) Jul 24, 2006

Something is eating my basil and mint. Don't see any critters on the leaves, or signs of them. It has to be a bug or slug because no rabbits or deer get into the garden? Any ideas?

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bbinnj West Orange, NJ(Zone 6a) Jul 24, 2006

Oh boy, I thought mint was bug-resistant! Sure it's not a suqirrel or something? A cat?

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phuggins Fairmont, WV(Zone 6a) Jul 25, 2006

Japanese beetles have been munching my basil, although I don't see them all the time.

pam

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Zeppy Shenandoah Valley, VA(Zone 6b) Jul 25, 2006

Is it eating the leaves clean off, or making holes?

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Wormboy Ronkonkoma, NY(Zone 6b) Jul 25, 2006

clean off, leaves the stems

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Zeppy Shenandoah Valley, VA(Zone 6b) Jul 25, 2006

That's not J. Beetles, methinks.

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Night_Bloom Griffin, GA(Zone 8a) Jul 25, 2006

Yup that sounds like a bigger something. Do you have any grasshoppers around?

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Wormboy Ronkonkoma, NY(Zone 6b) Jul 26, 2006

I have never seen a grasshoper in the garden. I am still having a problem with these little caterpillar/worms though. They are green, usually about a quater inch in diameter or smaller, and they are stripped lengthwise. They always crawl into the tip/new growth ball of the brusselsprouts and they chew holes in the tender leaves as they grow. My new ritual is every week I go out and powder all my plants at this growth tip with this low-toxicity garden dust (garden safe I think it is). It seems to work for a while, but sure enough they come back and do it again. Its making me nuts. Perhaps these little creeps are also eating the mint. Though I haven't seen any. I saw one in the corn yesterday. I wish I had an effective way to get rid of them.

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jozeeben Acton, TN(Zone 7a) Jul 26, 2006

Dipel / (BT - Bacillus Theringus which is a naturally occuring bacteria) works great for all catepillars and isn't harmful to the other good bugs. It's usually applied as a dust. Gardener Alive has a similar product made from fermenting a different bacteria in a liquid version called Bulls-eye - http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=8756&ss=bulls-eye . Dipel should be available at Lowe's & the Co-op.

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