Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘pests’ Category

>Asp / Puss Caterpillar

Posted in pests on October 11, 2009| 2 Comments »

>

I found this crazy guy on the knockout roses yesterday. I knew I had seen it in the “Texas Bug Book” and luckily didn’t touch him before finding out what he was. He has sharp spines hiding under the soft fluffy fur that are apparently pretty painful and full of poison.

I found another one stuck to the front door this morning.

Read Full Post »

>Soldier Bug Update

Posted in pests, stink bug on October 8, 2009| 1 Comment »

>Today I looked closer at what I thought were “Spined Solder Bugs”, which are beneficial insects. I found three of them sucking from a tomato. Well, I was thinking that it didn’t seem like a very beneficial thing to do so I took another look at the Texas Bug Book and found that they are stink bugs. So I now have the trifecta on my cherry tomato plants, Tomato Horn Worms, Leaf-Footed Bugs and Stink Bugs. I will try and get a picture tomorrow while I am removing them.

I like the Texas Bug Book but wish it was organized a little differently. It would be nice if there was an index that was organized by the type of plant the bug was found on. I find that I usually have to look through the entire book a few times before narrowing down the culprit.

Read Full Post »

>One of those Days

Posted in cutworm, okra, pests, recipes on October 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

>


Today I got home from work early enough to spend a few minutes in the garden. I wandered around only to find two new pests. It’s one of those days where you wonder why you even bother. Why don’t I just leave it to the professionals?

Here is where the cutworm laughed at my attempts to block him. I caught him in the act, stretching as far as possible to bite just above the straws I put in yesterday. I found a second one, but destroyed them both before taking pictures.

Here are the next culprits. I don’t know what they are, but would appreciate any help. I couldn’t find them in the Texas Bug Book. These little critters eat through the stems on the tomato plants. You can see the droopy end, completely cut off from nutrients. I may have to resort to some organic pesticides on these guys.
Why do I bother? Well … I just finished eating some sauteed okra. Simple olive oil, salt, pepper and whole okra. I also mixed in some zucchini and mushrooms. Mmmm! I agree with a friend of mine that plain old sauteed okra is just as good as fried, as long as you can handle a little slime.

Read Full Post »

>Tomato Pests

Posted in pests on October 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »

>



I’ve been so busy with my new veggies and flowers that I’ve been neglecting the tomatoes. This weekend I gave them a little attention and found that both leaf-footed bugs and tomato horn worms. Argh!

I found both the adults and nymphs of the leaf-footed bugs. I killed about 20, but at least that many escaped. I’m worried it’s only a matter of time before I have to rip out the plants. There are some really nice looking cherries that should be ripening soon, so I’m hoping to fight them off long enough to get a few.
I found two tomato horned worms. I looked them up in the Texas Bug Book and found that the adults only lay a few eggs, since a single larvae can do so much damage. Last year there were four of five on the plants, so I’m hoping there aren’t too many more. Also last year I only found these guys in the fall. Has anyone found them in their spring/summer crop?
These guys can be hard to spot, but I’ve discovered another way to detect them. Their droppings seem to be pretty distinct, especially with the relatively large size.
Green droppings, after he’s been eating leaves
Orange droppings, after he’s been eating my precious tomatoes
I did find a few friends in the garden today, which was nice after fighting off the others all morning. Here is an Anole I found in the Basil. I didn’t get a picture, but I did find some Soldier Bugs too.

Read Full Post »

>Bug Battles

Posted in leaf-footed bug, pests, squash-vine borer on June 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

>

This weekend I’ve been battling two bugs, the leaf-footed bug and the dreaded squash-vine borer. The squash vine borer took out half of my zucchini several weeks ago, but had not been near the pumpkin. I read that they prefer other squash to pumpkins, so I was hoping mine would go untouched. Unfortunately, no such luck. I did have SVBs take out pumpkins in the same bed last year, so there is always the chance that these came from an overwintering pupae. Just in case, I plan on avoiding pumpkins next year, since I only have one spot to plant 30 sq ft 🙂 

We’re still getting tons of zucchini, so I’m happy with my little survivers. I check for SVB eggs several times a week and still find one or two each time. I’m just waiting for the day that they get past me and I lose another plant. In the meantime I’m just eating, sharing and attempting the zucchini world record. (completely by accident of course).
I’ve found the leaf-footed bugs on both my tomatoes an the pumpkins. They seem to prefer the romas. I believe it is because they have more places to hide. I killed about 10 yesterday. I kept a watchful eye for several hours, waiting for them to emerge. I even discovered two mating, which I put a quick stop to. The ones on the pumpkins are a lot easier to see. 
Leaf-Footed Bug Nymph
I’m not to the point where I can squash a nasty bug w/ my bare hands, so here’s my weapon of choice. I grab the bug with the tongs, throw it on the ground and smash it with my shoe. 

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »