Bugs ...

[Terry Coombs]

OK , today I found a small black bug on my decimated eggplants . About maybe 3mm long , and several on most leaves - except the one where the spider has set up shop . Also found a Colorado potato beetle on an eggplant yesterday . Something is eating the leaves on my peach tree , not sure what but they're havin' a time of it . Found a small green caterpillar on one of the apple trees , a few leaves have been munched . Found a small bug , cylindrical and about 5-6mm long with orange spots on either side of it's "neck" and long antennae , not sure if it's a predator or pest .

My plan for right now is to dust the affected plants with some DE , should stop most pests . I surely don't want to get into using insecticides now , as I have a bee hive coming later this month . In fact , I'm not so sure I should continue the DE after the bees arrive . I just know I need to get a handle on this before it gets out of control .

[George Shirley]

Depends on where you live Terry as to what sort of bugs you've got. I think maybe the small, cylindrical one with the orange spots may be a lady bug, they predate on all the smaller bad bugs so leave that one alone. Lots of good pictures on the web with descriptions of the bug and what they predate on. I lost two peach trees to peach borers so now I have garlic and onion chives growing in a ring around all my fruit trees, just in case. Haven't had a borer yet since they were installed. Potato beetles of any kind can ruin your day, I pick them off by hand and drop them in an old jar with a half inch of kerosene or motor oil in it, motor oil generally as kerosene is hard to get around here.

George

[Steve Peek]

The small black bugs on the eggplant are most likely flea beetles. They will attack eggplant seedlings as soon as they are planted. I usually follow planting with a spray of pyrethrum and every 10 days or so after that until blooming.

Steve

[Terry Coombs]

We're in the Ozarks in north central Arkansas . I did ID the potato bug on the web , haven't had time to research the others . I do know that DE is non-toxic and will go away with the next rain ... I really do want to avoid pesticides and herbicides completely , but may have to bend a little if it means losing the whole crop of . I am not , however , above scattering a little triple 13 around ... but not much and not often .

[songbird]

George Shirley wrote: ...

soapy water (just enough soap to break the surface tension of the water) works very well.

songbird

[Terry Coombs]

Turns out the one that's been eating my eggplants is Colorado potato beetles . Found and smeared several egg clusters this morning on the undersides of the leaves . Might be the same one eating my bok choy , similar damage patterns - but it might be flea beetles , I'll know when I catch something munching . New crops this year , and new pests to learn how to control . Ya-freakin'-hooo .