This Bug is very destructive to tomatos and seed heads. The nasty boogers fly straight at you. How can I rid myself of them and what are they. I know they love poppies and Sunflowers and really made a mess of my tomatos. There are so many of them... Brandy
ID SOLVED!!! Still looking for a definate cure.
This message was edited Jul 31, 2008 9:38 PM
This appears to be Leptoglossus phyllopus, a leaf-footed bug (Hemiptera/Heteroptera: Coreidae). They can be quite damaging to many garden plants; see http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/318/ and http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/orn/leaffooted_bug.htm for detailed information including control recommendations.
Thanks I am going nuts with these. They love fresh seed heads and completly destroy them and have killed my tomatos. Any organic advice would be helpful. If not organic than just something to kill them... Thanks again.
if you're not at the point where you can crush them in a gloved hand, you will be soon. i used to grab them with tongs but now i just squish them. they stink when you crush them. they especially love the new red growth on roses and anything else they can get their little leaf-footed mitts on. i should have added that i try to be mostly organic and neem does deter them but nothing kills them but pyrethrin products (of the products i've tried).
This message was edited Jul 31, 2008 5:20 PM
I am at the point of trying anything. They have really killed over 50 tomato plants and all my Zinna seed heads, Poppy seed heads and Sunflowers. SO far thats been there preference. @ least I know what Im dealing with. The little monsters...
i've found that while they are active all day, they are most active in the morning. i've gotten really good at spotting them from a distance (especially when i see a wilted leaf tip). if you come up behind them slowly, you can usually catch them, but squish before you check to see because if you open your fingers, they fly off. i don't have them nearly as bad as last year because i am diligent about checking for them. since you have them on edible plants, you can't use pyrethrins. the neem smell (if not the neem itself) seems to deter them enough to get by, but there again, you can't spray when it's really hot out or you'll burn your plants. last year i think what really drew them to my garden in the first place was the tomatoes. they LOVE them, as you know. i keep my tomatoes well away now and don't put so many plants in. i love tomatoes but i love my roses more. if you don't have a lot of rain constantly, you might try garden grade diatomateous earth. you just kind of "fairy dust" it all over the plants. it's perfectly harmless to people and pets but it cuts bugs to pieces (not bees), crawling types of insects. the rain will wash it away but you can always apply more. i get it at lowes or any good garden center.
edited again to add this link: page down and you'll see a really good picture of the bug in many different stages of growth. http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1341/
This message was edited Jul 31, 2008 10:09 PM
