Psyllids on Tomato Plants

13 years ago

Anyone else have psyllids on their tomato plants? Took me a bit to figure out what they were, as they look a bit like aphids, but are more flat and secrete tiny waxy beads. From what I've read, they don't do a ton of damage to established plants this late, so they're not as bad as aphids. I sprayed some store bought insecticidal soap on them, and since then have been spraying a homemade dish soap mixture about once a week. Seems to keep them in check but definitely doesn't get rid of them. Was going to try buying some ladybugs but it sounds like that doesn't help much anyway.

Just wondered if anyone else has them, as this is the first time I've had them, and if there are any tips. They're not nearly as destructive as aphids or spider mites thankfully, and the plants still seem fine.

Comments (4)

Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
13 years ago
Oh, yeah. I get 'em. I knock them down (never out) either with insecticidal soap or neem. I notice the yellowjackets and some predatory wasps prowl for them as well. My tomatillos have been spared ever since I moved them away from the toms and into pots.

Dan
jeremywildcat
Original Author
13 years ago
Interesting - seems like I have a lot of wasps in my back yard, so hopefully they are keeping them in check. It would be quite a buffet for them.
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jeremywildcat
Original Author
13 years ago
Bought a bag of ladybugs yesterday and unleashed them on the plants. We'll see if they do any good, or for that matter how many are left after one day. The leaves are starting to droop a bit so the psyllids seem to be starting to harm them.
jmil
13 years ago
YES. EVERYWHERE.

I garden in a community garden in Denver and I *literally* just discovered them. All of the tomatoes in the garden (about 30 to 40 plots) have been doing terribly all summer. Everyone has been perplexed, and we all wrote off the year as an inexplicably bad season.

But then I stumbled upon an article, checked plants around the garden, and realized the psyllids are to blame. If only we had figured this out sooner!!

Next year. Next year I'll be on top of this, for sure.