Hey, Bug Rachel!

[telophase]

Bug Rachel, not Writer Rachel!

We've got something that looks like these on our tomatoes now, and have lost 2 tomatoes already. Suggestions? :) I did just go out there and squirt soapy water (the 1 tbsp hand soap/1 pint water ratio) on them just to feel like I'd done something.

I think the crape myrtle bark scale crisis is over--we ended up cutting off 3 of the worst-loking limbs and spraying soapy water all over the rest a few times, and we haven't noticed the white stuff spreading any.


(But yay...finally getting more tomatoes! There are several little green ones starting to grow, and we'd like to actually eat them! There's also 3 jalapenos hanging off the jalapeno plant...need to look up when to harvest them.)

Comments

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

You've got the western leaf-footed bug, Lestoglossus zonatus. About all you can do is manually remove them from the plants and squish them (wear gloves, they have stink glands just like stink bugs). They aren't affected much by soapy water or external products because they are actually feeding deep inside the tomatoes. Any kind of insecticide that would kill them at this point, you probably don't want on your 'maters.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Ah, well! Thanks! Now to plot how to make Toby take over bug-killing duty...