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acowells

insect damage pics (help the newbie!)

acowells
17 years ago

I'm a semi-newbie, especially when it comes to the organic way of doing things. Some sort of bug is eating my annuals and seedlings. I figured spider mites or aphids, but when I googled pics of damage caused by those critters, the pics didn't seem to match my situation. So I'm going to try posting some pics here and hopefully some of you can identify the cause and suggest natural treatments. It seems that I can only post one pic at a time, so I'll either link to my flickr account or perhaps post the other pics in replies to this first post.

Image link: {{!gwi}}

Comments (13)

  • acowells
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Okay, so it looks like I can't simply add more photos by replying to my original post, so I'll try adding a link to flickr and y'all should be able to see the photos there.
    Thanks for your help,
    Andrew

    Here is a link that might be useful: Photos of insect damage

  • vera_eastern_wa
    17 years ago

    If your not seeing the pest feeding during the day then I would suggest going out this evening with a flashlight and jar and you might just find your pest. Please post and let us know/see what you find :)

    Reminds me of earwig damage....

    Vera

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    17 years ago

    Earwig damage and slug damage can look very similiar....except for those tell-tale slime trails! I think that Vera might have hit the nail on the head. But follow her advice and check out your plants after dark. Look under the leaves, too.

  • buttercupia
    17 years ago

    Absolutely looks like earwig damage.. they can tear up and skeletonize leaves and sometimes flowers too. Did a job on some of my beans as well as the Hollyhock leaves and centers of daisies etc.. Go outside at night and look at the plants and flowers in your garden with a flashlight. It can be a startling experience!

  • vera_eastern_wa
    17 years ago

    I've had plenty a leaf look like swiss cheese, but I was even more devestated when they started eating my Datura flowers from the base up last year! ARGHHHHHHHHHH. Last week I had to change the string in my weed eater (a week after using last) and guess what fell out when I took the cap off? Out fell a whole lotta earwig nymphs and I was doing the mexican hat dance on their poor little heads LOL!
    Here are those damaged flowers before opening:

    Vera

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago

    why thank you, vera, for that traumatizing experience. :)

    *shivers* and i don't get icked out easily. have you seen the ones about to lose their old skin for the new? they are white. blah!

  • acowells
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Yup, it's earwigs. I was dubious because I hadn't noticed any, but I went out last night and found the plants covered. So I did a quick GW search, and subsequently put out some beer traps. But I think they needed to be closer to ground-level at the top; I was disappointed with how few I found drowned this AM. But I'll re-work them and see what happens tonight.

    Thanks for the help!
    Andrew

  • janetr
    17 years ago

    Andrew, beer works better for slugs. Use a combination of soya sauce and cooking oil instead.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Fighting Earwigs

  • donn_
    17 years ago

    "Use a combination of soya sauce and cooking oil.."

    And how long do you stir-fry them? ;>)

    I use insecticidal soap in a 2-gallon sprayer. This is the worst year I've had for them, but the soap spray seems to be getting the upper hand. I don my full-body mosquito attire, grab my flashlight, and attack. I've also set some old boards in the pathways near their favorite plants. A quick flip during the day, and I can spray hundreds of them, along with a few slugs, and a few thousand sow bugs.

  • acowells
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Last night was the second battle in this war, and thanks to Janet's link I made far more progress than the night before.
    1) The dish soap/water combo in a spray bottle is great. Many of the buggers die within a couple minutes. I wonder if the soapy film protects the plants for the rest of the night? Maybe I'll get up really early and check sometime...
    2) Janet was also right that soy & oil works far better than beer (yippee for me! The negro modelo stays inside tonight). I put out four little dishes, two with soy & corn oil and two with beer. The beer traps only had one earwig; the others had 40 or so.

  • janetr
    17 years ago

    Eww, Donn! The images that conjures up are hard on the stomach! I just dump them down the toilet.

    Acowells, the soap spray is a contact poison, so I'm afraid anything left on the leaves is not going to kill them.

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    17 years ago

    JUST in case you all missed this from an earlier post, here's Donn in his full-body mosquito garb. ;-)

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1164305}}

  • donn_
    17 years ago

    Semper Paratus!