The leaf footed bugs have set up housekeeping in my jalapenos! They love tomatoes, peppers and some fruits. They were the only pest I had last year, but didn't show up until September. Is this a sign of a strange fall/winter to come? My jalapenos are covered with the larve & adults, busily sucking at the plants.
Adult Leaf - Footed Bug
Larvae - look like red ants but huge and bright
This won't work for me this year since my sunflowers are all done, but here's a tip that worked like a charm last year, lol!
Plant a stand of Mammoth Sunflowers (need to be huge and visible!) across the yard from your tomatoes & peppers. When leaf-footed bugs show up, hit them with a spray of H20 from hose and they will all fly up and seek the sunflowers for refuge (they like those, too!). Then, when sunflower faces are covered with Leaf Bugs, hit them with Sevin or something like that. Yes, it's strong stuff, but it works and at least you aren't spraying the tomatoes or other veggies with it! Hmmm, wish I would have planted those sunflowers again this year...
Well, that takes care of your too-many-jalapenos problem!
ReplyDeleteP.S. That's scary about the September-in-July theory!
What a great tip! Thanks Erin! :)
ReplyDeleteNow I'm confused. I don't happen to have that species of bug, but it looks like an Assassin Bug, which is supposed to be a beneficial insect that kills the bad guys. Whichever, I'd be out there with a shotgun if anything tried to harm my peppers! And I'm going to have at least a hundred Jalapenos, too...you're not alone. All my friends will be receiving Hot Pepper Jelly for Christmas this year! Jalapeno peanut brittle is delicious, too. I might have to try my hand at making some of that.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely NOT and assasin bug! I, too, thought that last year for a split second until I saw the grasshopper-like legs folded under it, and it flies! And eats not just leaves, but the vegetable too! Be glad you don't have them. Apparently they were concentrated mainly in FL out east but have migrated northward in recent years. I wish I only had a hundred jalapenos, lol...I am getting about 90-100 every 7 days...starting to look like another country out here :)
ReplyDeleteGranny, that's not an assassin bug. I have both this leaf bug and the assassin bugs. If you cross your eyes, they look similar, but this one has white stripping. These guys love my tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteErin, we'll have to let Ribbit know I woke up with my eyes crossed this morning, 'cause it was her assassin bugs I was looking at ;-) From what I read, they are in the same family...it's odd that one is a good guy and the other a bad one. I just hope you guys keep them down south (shudder).
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