Bugs/slugs?

silverbug 6/22/2010, 12:52 pm

Is neem oil my best bet for mystery bugs eating my lettuce, sweet peas and broccoli at night? It's getting kind of bad. Normally I don't mind a little nibble here or there, but all my little lettuces are being eaten to the ground every night, and my broccoli, that was looking great two days ago, is getting devoured leaf by leaf. I read that you have to wash every plant thoroughly when you use the neem. I'm not down with that. I do not want to start some major project.

cansaskgard 6/27/2010, 12:12 pm

I too am quite curious... same thing and I just found my first two slugs Bugs/slugs? Icon_evil

Thank you

I have read about the beer and pennies, so I am going to try to rig something up there, but still quite curious about the neem oil also and someone here has a mix of neem oil, epsom salt, and ivory that they use for there garden? I am trying to search but no luck so far...

Chopper 6/27/2010, 2:32 pm

Per http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_neem.htm: " When applied properly, neem can kill snails, slugs". Apparently it disrupts the pest so that it doesn't eat and starves to death so the pests do not disappear immediately,, but the damage should stop.

hookilau 6/28/2010, 9:23 pm

I used diatomaceous earth (got it at Lowes).

Here's a link for ya if you've never heard of it http://www.ghorganics.com/DiatomaceousEarth.html

Nette

cansaskgard 6/28/2010, 9:32 pm

I looked around for that DE but could not find it... maybe have to look harder...

Found some neem oil though and mixed up some spray which I applied this evening. I figured after this morning and picking about 30 of them in my PJ's, I was not happy in the slightest and something had to be done pronto. I also found some mustard seed for a trap and some borage seed just to help some other stuff out. I figure something has to work.

I hope the OP's question has been answered... I will find out in about a week if things are working as planned.

Megan 6/28/2010, 9:41 pm

cansaskgard wrote:I looked around for that DE but could not find it... maybe have to look harder...

Try a feed store...and find an older and/or more experienced salesperson if need be. The place I went to, the first kid I asked looked at me like I'd requested alien space goo. ;-)

kimbertangleknot 6/28/2010, 9:53 pm

Megan wrote:The place I went to, the first kid I asked looked at me like I'd requested alien space goo. ;-)

Maybe next time you should request the alien space goo, they might point you in the right direction Cool

Megan 6/28/2010, 10:14 pm

His expression was really funny. "Earth that...kills...bugs????" (I had had a long day. When he didn't understand the term, I was hard put to come up with a concise explanation for fossilized skeletons of diatoms and insect dehydration and... anyway!) But his coworker, same age, knew exactly what I was talking about and took me straight to it.

cansaskgard 6/28/2010, 11:03 pm

too funny!

There is a feed store near my work I think I may head too soon...

Thanks!

hookilau 6/28/2010, 11:40 pm

I found DE at Lowe's where they keep the orchid stuff, like dried moss and things.
Everyone I asked hadn't the slightest clue. I just happened upon it one day. So far I've had ok luck with things not eating up too much stuff but those beetles are driving me crazy!

Next year, I'll either shroud the garden or use some sort of landscape fabric and just make an X and plant bag garden style. That way they at least won't lay their stinky eggs in the soil. Beetles. Pfft.

Nette

Megan 6/28/2010, 11:50 pm

hookilau wrote:I found DE at Lowe's where they keep the orchid stuff, like dried moss and things. Everyone I asked hadn't the slightest clue.

I feel for you. Having worked at a big box store for a few years, I can also tell you that if a) it's way outside your department and/or b) you don't have a lot of training, chances are you don't know what it is, unless you happen to have serendipitous experience. You DO pick up knowledge over time, of course, but a few dusty bags off in a corner can be difficult to learn about by osmosis. As a consumer, if you know what you are looking for, you can help by searching online for a product number, and then finding a dept head or some such who can punch it in and look it up that way. I know it's not an ideal solution, but as a general method, it can help. (I had a bit of an odyssey this year trying to find a misting system.... I and the store associate tripped across it almost entirely by accident.)

RDBhan 6/29/2010, 7:33 pm

Hi,
I hope this is the right thread for this question. I have leaf damage on my beet leaves, swiss chard, and spinach. I cannot tell if it's a fungus, leafminer damage, or slug damage. I've mulched with coffee grounds and I don't see any slugs around. I'd really appreciate some advice on this. I've included some pictures: beets, chard, spinach top to bottom. Thanks,
Rohan
Bugs/slugs? Dsc_0013

Chopper 6/29/2010, 8:31 pm

I would rule out slugs. They would leave holes. Big ones. The first and third picture look like they may have some leaf miners and the second looks like disease to me. Understanding that I am no expert.

This LINK has some good info and pics. Got it from another thread on the forum.

Shoda 6/29/2010, 8:35 pm

Those look exactly like the leaf miner damage I have had this year. The leaf miners go after beets, spinach and chard! Destroy those leaves or find the dark spot in the damaged area and squish the little larva so it can't do any more harm. If left alone, those will hatch into flies and they will lay more eggs on your plants. Not fun.

They overtook my chard, spinach and I am still fighting them on my beets. Good luck!

RDBhan 6/29/2010, 8:42 pm

Thanks Shoda and Chopper, great advice. The link was great and I'll get rid of those leaves.

Blackrose 6/29/2010, 8:47 pm

That's what happened to my spinach and now my beets!! My spinach wasn't so bad, but the beets are decimated! They almost have no leaves left. I've been trying to figure out for about 2 weeks what was happening to my beets.

Should I pull them and start over or will the beet roots still grow?

RDBhan 6/30/2010, 11:42 am

How does one get rid of leaf miners? I read about both horticultural oil sprays and diatomaceious earth. I'll give these a try, as well as eliminating the injured leaves (or squishing them if I've already taken too many off)

Does anyone have any experience with the above methods for miners? It seems like they're pretty successful for snails and slugs, at least based on what's written in this thread.
Thx.

Garden Angel 6/30/2010, 3:12 pm

Hi, I'm not really sure but I 've been using Safer insecticidal soap spray for just about anything I see that moves in my garden ! it's biodegradeable and was recommended to me by the other gardeners at the community gardens. I buy it at Wal-Mart. Hope this helps !

auntij 7/1/2010, 1:47 am

As I continue to wage war against bugs I recently bought a dust from my local garden center. It is organic (I don't know if it fits fda criteria but it is chemical free). What it basically does is cuts the bug causing it to dehydrate (I believe the gentleman said it works with slugs too). I forget the name of it at the moment but I will go out in the garage and look at it tomorrow. If anyone has any questions about it feel free to ask I'll look up what I can.

Megan 7/1/2010, 7:03 am

auntij wrote:As I continue to wage war against bugs I recently bought a dust from my local garden center. It is organic (I don't know if it fits fda criteria but it is chemical free). What it basically does is cuts the bug causing it to dehydrate (I believe the gentleman said it works with slugs too). I forget the name of it at the moment but I will go out in the garage and look at it tomorrow. If anyone has any questions about it feel free to ask I'll look up what I can.

It's diatomaceous earth. Good find!

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