I have no idea what is doing this - but I have a full grown in the ground and about four brugs in pots. Each one has leaves that have been chewed up. Its so depressing. I was spraying Sevin, but it was not really helping - or maybe I wasnt applying enough. I just went out and purchased Insect Soap, Fungicide, and Oil. I plan on starting that this weekend.
What on earth likes brug leaves so much? None of my other plants are being eaten. Only the really gorgeous plants :(
Sherri
Something is eating my Brug Leaves
Check under the leaves for caterpillars...Thats what eats mine. Is it still really warm there? Could be grasshoppers? But the cats are good at hiding so I'd bet that it is them. they are hungry little devils....LOL
I will check - do you think the Insect Soap, Fungicide, and Oil will kill them? I sure hope so.
You can try that but it is usually easier and better to find them and pick them off and kill them! There is another thread just started a day or two ago about some special cat killer. I will try to find it and post a link
This is it
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/681641/
I've been seeing slugs recently... seems like there is a whole new army of them this year! I saw one like 4' off the ground slithering up Rosamond!! They hide during the day, and eat eat eat at night.. Snails will devour a huge brug in one night..
YUCK YUCK YUCK. How dare they !!! I am on a mission - If I have to spend the night outside with a flashlight - I will :)
Thanks
~Sherri~
ROTF.
You know I read this thread a few days ago ,
Just skimmed through
anyhow when I got to the part about " cats"
I thought you really meant C-a-t-s... as in meow.
LOL
I'm cracking up right now.
I was thinking to myself I though the plants were poisonous
Honestly - when I first started researching what could be eating my brugs - I did see alot of mention of cats - and I thought they really meant a cat. I thought I must be insane. A little time went by and more of my leaves were getting eaten - so I had to ask myself. I am glad I did, cause now I know what "cats" really means. Caterpillars. LOL
~Sherri~
This is too funny to me!!!! If you thought they were the furry type cats that go meow....what did you think about this: "But the cats are good at hiding so I'd bet that it is them. they are hungry little devils..."
You must have thought we were terrible to want to kill them with "Insect Soap, Fungicide, and Oil"
.....and this sounds very cruel:
"it is usually easier and better to find them and pick them off and kill them! There is another thread just started a day or two ago about some special cat killer." ROTFLOL
Carol
This message was edited Jan 7, 2007 5:19 PM
That is Too funny about the cats.. LOL
So did you find what's eating your brugs Jazmine?
You dont want to know what I was thinking when I read that stuff !!!!
I havent had the chance yet to see what's been eating the leaves - the wind has been blowing so hard its useless to check. As soon as the wind calms down - I will go check it out - now that I know I am looking for skinny green things instead of furry cute things :)
As soon as I do I will post it. Who knows - maybe it has been the neighbors cats.
~Sherri~
caterpillars, earwigs and slugs eat mine; I saw them in action!
Handpicking is my favorite action, I consider us all children of the earth. They may live, but not on my Brugs!
This message was edited Jan 8, 2007 3:39 PM
mrs_colla - what a gorgeous garden you have. I am so envious.
I guess I will have to go out tonight it the wind, cold with a flashlight and go catch them in action :)
Good luck, Jazmine. Usually if it is cats you see little poo dots on the leaves and if snails/slugs they leave their slime trail. I know some cats make beautiful butterflies and others don't. I wish I knew which was which. Sweet Donna on here is so good to her wildlife she guilted me into picking a brug that they can eat and then I put all I find on that brug. But they eat so fast. LOL. And I always feel terrible for my brug being eaten alive!
Thank you Kell. Looking closely at that photo - I am almost 100% sure I have cats.
I wish there was a way to know which turn into butterflies too. I would build a home for them so they can grow and turn into butterflies - I just wouldnt feed them brug leaves :)
Oh shoot, I made my picture too small so it is hard to see my oh so fat cat. He is kind of cute.
He is very cute. I get scared when I see the cats from tomatoe plants - with the spikes. But yours is very cute.
I use Bt too, Jazmine. Sometimes they just go nuts on a brug. They usually love the vareigated ones. LOL. I sure know of a couple of brugs we could feed to the cats. I try to be good but sometimes I am bad and I spray Bt.
Also there are tiny green ones that I just hate. I do not think they turn into butterflies. And if they do, well I bet they are those nasty little white moths. LOL I stomp on those. Splat.
I have my biggest problem with snails and slugs. Right now they are having tons of babies as I type and I can almost hear them munching.
You have me giggling kell. I needed that :)
that photo is disgusting. Now I am afraid to find out whats out there eating mine. I would jump out of my skin screaming if I saw that ......
I hate those little white moths too...annoying.
I will try and be brave tonight. I will try.
Hey you survived the Brug Forum, so I am sure you will do just fine, Jazmine!
Just take pictures so we can all gasp in horror at what you find! LOL
Kell,
What do you do to kill the snails? They are taking over my flower beds! I cant seem to get rid of them.
Mary
Oh Mary, don't you hate them? They totally destroy abutilons too. The little babies just eat them till they are so ugly you want to toss them all. But my hummers love them so I keep fighting!
I do spread slug poison but mostly I go out at night with a flashlight. I get the best catch when I water foliage late in the day and then go out at about 9 PM and again at midnight to catch the teenagers. If I do this for about 3 nights in a row, I am amazed at how much better things are. Though if you do not wear disposable gloves you will need Ajax to deslime your fingers.
They love paper too so you can make some traps with your papertowel and TP innards, wet the inside and put them around your snail spots. Then pick them up the next day and toss them. I have never tried this but it sounded good. LOL
Thanks Kell. Yes, they are horrid little monsters! Every time I pull back the mulch to check the soil moisture, BAM, there are tons of them every where. Oh, they make me sick! Ive tried snail pellets, but I think there are just to many of them. Most of them are the little snails, with the little shells, but I squished one the other day that was big and fat and OOOHHH so slimy, with no shell. Yuck!
Thanks for the tips. I cant wait to try out the PT and TP trick. I'm gonna try it tomorrow night and let ya know.
Mary
Salt kills them...
Ive been very tempted to use salt. I'm just scared I'll go over board and end up killing my little green beauties too!
Any tips on using salt and not killing off the plants?
Mary
I am afraid of that too. I use it on big slugs though because I hate picking them up. So slimy! But maybe just a little wouldn't hurt?
I have those little ones now too. Winter must be when the babies are born. I did order Escar-Go!® last summer but haven't tried it. A couple Davers raved about it. I should really try it now before those babies get bigger.
http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=2111&bhcd2=1168311408
to keep the slugs away, you can wrap copper wire a few times around the base of the plant, or the pots they are living in,
Slugs get an electric shock when they cross the wire, and they will get away from it, without you having to kill them.
(I hate killing bugs, I catch my snails and let them free in an open field where there are Robins; they love a juicy slug, and the ecosystem keeps running!)
I chickened out last night Kell......I checked for creatures when I first got home from work - around 6ish and I didnt see anything. But I only checked my new cuttings. One of the new cuttings leaves are coming back and they look good - so far. The others are still missing their leaves and there a very small leaf buds showing. My larger brug is where I chickened out. Its in the far corner of my yard. It doesnt look well. It has been thrashed around from all the wind. I knew I should go check it but where I live there are no street lights and I dont have a bright porch light.
I will try again tonight.
~Sherri~
So how did you do, Sherri? Any luck finding the culprits?
Gosh Ms Colla, it would take me days to use copper wire around this junlge but you know I may try that on few favorite plants. Thanks
I know Kell, if you have a lot of plants it may not be for you... I only use it on a few immature Brugmansias, the ones that have leaves close to the ground. On my older plants, I plant something under it they like, like violas or something. They will eat all they want on those, and not climd up for anything else. And on violas you don't notice snail or slug bites.
This message was edited Jan 11, 2007 10:15 AM
I have not been able to go outside at night this week - work has me going crazy and I am nursing a sick kitty and a broken toe on one of my Greyhounds......I will have better luck this weekend. I am still skiddish about doing it - but I need to in order for it to stop.
WIll keep you posted :)
~Sherri~
Okay Jazmine, you have better things to do than trying to save the slugs! Fill up a spray bottle with luke warm water, dissolve some good old salt in it, and when you see a sluggo, spray away! You won't have to touch it, and the job gets done quickly.
Good luck with your babies, I wish them well soon!!!
These are 2 of my babies; Oliver and Sparkie
mrs_colla - precious precious kitties.
You make it sound so easy. A salt and water spray bottle - sheesh - now I dont have ANY excuse LOL. I can do that.
I have been having animal complications since Thanksgiving. One with a broken toe, one had to get de-barked because my neighbors kept complaining to the city (long story), and then my poor kitty. They think she has a heart problem - she keeps filling up with fluid. There are no other symptoms except that every couple weeks, she looks super bloated and I have to take her in. It is depressing and stressful. I cant tell you how much money has flown out the door these past few months. But as long as she eats with gumption and purrs when I cuddle with her - then I am happy.
Thank You
~Sherri~
PS - my kitties name is Jazmine. So if you were wondering where I got my user ID name from - thats how!!
This message was edited Jan 11, 2007 12:22 PM
This message was edited Jan 11, 2007 12:23 PM