Well, whatever he is, he's outside singing right now. We NEVER have cricket sounds in this area. I don't know why, but we don't. We get frogs now and again, but tonight, I'm being treated to the chirping, which I love, love, love. I'm glad I didn't kill him, but I do hope that there's just the one of him, and that after he gets a good meal from whichever of my plants he's going to munch on (probably the zukes, since that's where he hung out all day), he'll grow up and hop along outta here without inviting any friends.

I wouldnt say that its not toxic. Its not approved for organic use now. Acute toxicity Rotenone is classified by the World Health Organisation as a moderately hazardous, Class II(18). The LD50 for rats (the amount of the chemical lethal to one-half of experimental animals) is between 132 and 1,500 mg per kilogram(19). One factor in this wide variation may be the differences in the plant extracts used(20). The acute oral toxicity of rotenone is moderate for mammals, but there is a wide variation between species(21). It is less toxic for the mouse and hamster than for the rat; the pig seems to be especially sensitive. Recent studies have shown that in rats, rotenone is more toxic for females than males. It is highly irritating to the skin in rabbits(22), and to the eyes. In rats and dogs exposed to rotenone in dust form, the inhalation fatal dose was uniformly smaller than the oral fatal dose(23). Rotenone is believed to be moderately toxic to humans with an oral lethal dose estimated from 300 to 500 mg/kg(24). A lowest lethal dose of 143 mg/kg has been cited in a child(25). Clinical experience seems to indicate that children, in particular, are rather sensitive to the acute effects of rotenone(26). Human fatalities are rare, perhaps because rotenone is usually sold in low concentrations (one to five per cent formulation), and because its irritating action causes prompt vomiting. If the dust particle size is very small, and can enter deep regions of the lungs, rotenoneÂs toxicity when inhaled may be increased. Acute local effects include conjunctivitis, dermatitis, sore throat, congestion, and vomiting. Inhalation of high doses can cause increased respiration followed by depression and convulsions(27). On the basis of rabbit studies, absorption through the intact skin is low(28).

Interesting....I've never considered a wheel bug as a large insect. Trees, by "looked just like a cricket " are you referring to large hind legs used for jumping? If so, could it have been a grasshopper? If no to the jumping legs, what about this insect makes you think of a cricket? Can you absolutely eliminate any category of insect....like beetles or wasps? Without a picture, we need more help.

No, no, no! Never kill a spined soldier bug. They are rare and solitary and generally show up in very small numbers. You need everyone you get. I count on my spined soldier bugs to do a lot of bug control in my garden and would be very disappointed in myself if I mistook one for a stink bug and killed it. Once you see them both in the garden, you can tell them apart quite easily. In my garden, the spined soldier bugs are larger than the brown stink bugs and they proudly stand there on their leaf waiting to attack an unsuspecting pest. The brown stink bugs slink around like the cowardly bad guys that they are, and run and hide when they see me coming. Apparently the good bugs know they are good and that I won't harm them, and the bad ones know they are bad and deserve to be harmed! Here is a link that might be useful: The Link Is Here