Are these Spider-like bugs harmful to my Tomatoes?

9 years ago

My tomatoes have large number of orange colored spidery creatures as shown in the image. What are they? Are they harmful to the green tomatoes? If so what can I do to get rid of them?

I will appreciate any help.
Chitralekha

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Comments (14)

MKull
9 years ago
I believe those are leaf-footed bug nymphs, squash bugs, stink bugs, etc. They live off the fluids of plants so yes they will be happy to suck tomatoes. Keep an eye on the plants, since they just hatched they should be dispersed in a day or two, if not already. If you need to control them then, then address it but more than likely they will spread out. I personally don't really consider leaf-footers garden "pests".
houstontexas123
9 years ago
they are pests, they will destroy most fruits in your garden.
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They look like chiggers. I get them every year. They cover my plants for a few weeks - persistent little boogers - but they never really do any harm. You can take the water hose to them if you need to put your hands in those areas. I don't know if it's the weather or something that eats them, but they always go away and never really do any damage. I can't tell from the picture, but are they webbing at all? If so then definitely not chiggers and I'd go with the baby spider idea. And Ken, I'm with you on leaving them alone in the garden. I HATE spiders. Lol So in the house, it's fair game. But in the garden, I hate damaging insects more so spiders become the good guys. They can hang around and eat all the aphids and mites to their little hearts content. I still don't have to like them, I just have to leave them alone. Haha. Nature has a way of balancing itself without our help. I've learned the hard way to leave well enough alone!
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dethcheez
9 years ago
Just my 2 cents
Might be wrong
But they look like Assassin Bug nymphs to me

If so they eat other bugs & shouldn't harm your plants
???
dethcheez
9 years ago
PS~
Being in Texas they can also be Wheel Bug nymphs
Which is a type of Assassin Bug

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics
MKull
9 years ago
I should have added that I don't grow tomatoes because I don't eat tomatoes (weird right...I know) so I haven't had to deal with *any* pests on my tomatoes, therefore I can't talk specifically to how bad leaf-footers are on them.

It would be great if they were assassins but there appears to be many in close proximity and the the two black dots on the abdomen IDs them as leaf-footers :(
houstontexas123
9 years ago
http://www.entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/leaffooted_bug.htm

http://erec.ifas.ufl.edu/tomato-scouting-guide/bugs/leaffooted-bugs.shtml
colonel_kernel
9 years ago
Those aren't assassins. Chemical warfare is necessary if you want a decent crop. I'm on the Texas gulf coast and those vermin visit us every year.
roselee z8b S.W. Texas
9 years ago
There was a thread about how to control stink bugs earlier in July that spoke of a way to blow Diatomaceous earth onto tomato plants which the poster had found to be successful. It also contains some informative links.

A different kind of stink bug is discussed here, but you might want to check out these ideas for control:

http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Stink-Bugs-Naturally

Here is a link that might be useful: Earlier thread:
chitralekha
Original Author
9 years ago
I thank everyone for trying to help me with the Tomato bug problem.
I suspect the bugs to be pests.
I had noted several tomatoes deformed and damaged in this plant before I saw the bunch of these menacing insects with two separate dark spots on its abdominal region and orange yellow skin color as seen in the image. After reading your answers I took some more photos, pushed some of the insects into an oiled container for closer examination and plucked one tomato with several of these bugs crawling on it. On that tomato, I saw a dark and an orange-yellow insects joined in copulating position while a dark one was seen crawling a little away. I also saw a round depressed scar and a thick linear scar extending from it. Are these bugs the cause of the damage? I will try the Metro DataVac Electric Duster Vacuum cleaner method to physically remove the bugs. I will post back the result after a period of observation.
beachplant
9 years ago
worst bugs ever! Leaf-footed bug, they look like some sort of dinosaur flying. Impossible to get rid of, I just pull the tomatoes when i see the first one. UGH!
Tally Ho!
colonel_kernel
9 years ago
Those do look like leaf footed nymphs. Permethrin works really well, as does cheaper sevin. You can go with the more manual plan to physically remove the bugs, but you won't get all of them.
chitralekha
Original Author
9 years ago
Once again thank you very much for your valuable diagnosis and treatment recommendations.

If the physical methods of Pest removal fails, I may reluctantly use the Chemicals recommended. Mine is an organic back yard vegetable garden and I use only things like liquid soap and Neem oil spray for most of the pests. Although my cucumbers, Okras, Eggplants, Beans etc. are not very pretty looking or uniform in shape and size, we and our neighbours with whom I share the produce like them very much.
colonel_kernel
9 years ago
Well, if you're organic; try Pyrethrin. It's an unaltered chemical derived from chrysanthemum flowers - naturally occurring. It's only draw back is that it doesn't last long AT ALL. I'm currently using it and can vouch that it works. It can be used on fruits and veggies one day before harvest (again, because it doesn't last long).

One way to help combat these in the future is to plant chrysanthemum and marigold flowers in your garden - it's not a "cure all," but certain pests don't like these flowers!
chitralekha
Original Author
9 years ago
I tried Water Jet, Hand picking and Electric Vacuum to fight the Leaf-footed Bugs infesting the 4 Solar Fire Tomato plants in my back yard garden. The plants had a heavy load of tomatoes of varying maturity. Finally I had to wave the white flag and pick all the green and partially ripe tomatoes to salvage what I could. See the image of tomatoes damaged by this disgusting bug. My garden had a lot of Merry Gold with flowers from the very beginning and I had hoped it would ward off these pests. The Plants are still the and I may try some chemical pesticides in one and leave the rest as controls and see if the bugs will attack again. Anyone has any other suggestions?