Anybody know about the Tomato Suck Bug? Cyrtopeltis modesta
woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
9 years ago
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lgteacher
9 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (9)WBDB: that's not a problem. Soap is in my arsenal. However, when reading the UC IPM website, it refers control to the same as stink bugs. When I read soap for stink bugs, this is what is published: INSECTICIDAL SOAP# (M-Pede) 2.5 oz/gal water 12 0 MODE OF ACTION: A contact insecticide with smothering and barrier effects. COMMENTS: Not effective against adults; only kills nymphs through direct contact so thorough coverage is critical. Expected field efficacy with excellent coverage is 30-50%. And that statement regarding ADULTS seems to hold true. Since I gave the plants about 4 baths in the last couple weeks and I still see them. There are less though. But that could be from me going out every morn and eve and shaking the plants; and as the flutter off, I clap them dead... LOL Breaking branches all the while. :( I just need to get a little bit more diversified in my beneficial attractant plants. I'm seeing all kinds of beneficials this year but I don't think I'm conducive to pirate bugs and assassin bugs...yet. I was hoping lacewings would take care of them, because I'm going to purchase some real soon... Just want to clear up the ant problem first. Thanks Kevin...See Morepill bugs/ roly-polys
Comments (56)Effective Organic Control to use is Diatect V. This is from the Natural Gardener website: Protect your new vegetable transplants from trouble. Have you ever had a wonderful day of gardening only to return the next morning to find half your transplants have been cut off at the base? Well, there are two possible culprits, the cutworm or pill bugs (aka rolly-pollies). A cutworm is a caterpillar that lives in the soil and will wrap itself around a new transplant at the base and cut it off. You can either protect the plant with a collar around the base or place a stick next to the stem so the cutworm will wrap around the stick along with the stem and not be able to cut through. Once the plant is established, the cutworm is not affective. The Pill Bug will gnaw at the base of a seedling or a new transplant. Once the seedling or transplant is established, the pill bug will generally leave the plant alone, so you need to be diligent about protection for only a short period of time. First for pill bug control keep the area on the drier side. Water early in the morning. This allows the top part of the soil to dry before night, when the pill bugs are active. Also keep mulch away from plants during this period of time. In the evening dust with Diatect V, diatomaceous earth (D.E.) and pyrethrin, around base of plants. Set up boards, grapefruit halves or banana peels as traps for the pill bugs and scoop them up every morning and dump into soapy water to get the population down. Pill bugs, like many pests, have their place in life as decomposers of dead plants or weak plants, so control is only needed during the early stages of the plant's life. The rest of the time let the pill bugs do their work. Roger and John have been doing tests here at the nursery and have been having great success with the certified organic pesticide Diatect V. It is a mixture of Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.) and pyrethrin. It does not have piperonyl butoxide as many other D.E./ Pyrethrin mixes do. Some of the harder to control bugs that we have success with include four-line bugs, squash bugs, stink bugs, harlequin bugs and other hard-shell bugs. It is best applied with an applicator to really get the dust where the bugs are - on the underside of leaves and the ground where they jump when they are disturbed. We have several different types. RogerÂs and JohnÂs favorites include the pest pistol, which is a simple accordion style pump bottle, and the dustin-mizer which is a hand-crank applicator that electrically charges the dust particle so it is attracted and sticks the plant - a must for large gardens. When you apply this product, you must take care not to inhale the very sharp silica particles of the D.E. Here is a link that might be useful: Organic pest control...See MoreI don't even know where to start...Advice please!
Comments (15)msfuzz, I'm in my 5th year of tomato gardening, here's a quick recap of my methods and what I've learned so far : Year 1 : I used terra cotta containers about 1 gallon in size. I used gardening soil from the local Home Depot. Given our dry air and the small, breathable containers, I found watering twice a day was a requirement - which I didn't always achieve. My plants suffered but the taste of my first homegrown hooked me hard. Year 2 : I used white, plastic 2-gallon buckets which were better for moisture retention, but still required daily watering and weren't very pleasing to the eye. My plants did better, but were prone to tipping over in gusty winds. Year 3 : Using small landscaping bricks, I built a planter / raised bed on my patio, dimensions roughly 7ft x 2ft x 16in. I lined it with rubber pond liner to reduce moisture loss, control drainage and prevent staining my patio. This improved my results and cut watering to every other day during the height of summer. I re-used one of the buckets from the year before and tried a hanging / upside down technique for a cherry tomato variety. It was a neat experiment, but again the small size meant mucho hydro maintenance. Year 4 : Moved to a house with a yard! Built a raised bed on one end of the back lawn. The planter was a hell of a project. Three conjoined circles, each about 4 feet in diameter (picture the circles on Led Zeppelin's Stairway album). I tapped into the sprinkler lines for a drip irrigation system - highly recommended. I probably should have removed the grass / sod underneath, but instead I turned the soil with a shovel, covered with several layers of newspaper and filled it in with about 20in of gardening soil from the local nursery. I was pleased with the results, but fruiting was delayed because I didn't have any way to mitigate the excessive heat last July. I learned high temperatures can sterilize the pollen. It was frustrating to see a multitude of blossoms never come to fruition. 2009 : I'm adding a second raised bed (3ft x 13ft x 16in) where there is currently a patch of boring landscaping gravel. I believe this new planting area will be appropriated by DGF (darling girlfriend) for flowers. The tomato garden bed will get some wrought iron shepherd's hooks for another attempt at hanging tomatoes and to provide support for a shade cloth. In short, unless you have mountains of time and money, don't try to accomplish everything in your first season. I have learned (and love) patience thanks to this fantastic hobby. The mistakes you make and the successes you have can contribute nicely to next year's project (and the following year and the year after that, ad infinitum) Welcome aboard and have an awesome day! Ray...See MoreUPDATE: WoW Thanks! I wanted that !#7
Comments (150)My husband was in michigan this week and that was one of the flights he thought about taking on thursday night. He flies a lot and it just hit close to home. Clarence is not far from where we live. We are a little more out in the country. Big sigh of relief. When the news came on at 10pm they announced at the end of the broadcast that a plane had crashed by the airport, but they didn't know anything yet. By the time the 11pm news came on, it was not until after the weather that their news crews made it to the neighborhood and they announced it was a commercial plane. WIVB broadcast without commercial break until I went to bed at 2am. When my husband called to say he was alright i was so grateful. (wipes tears and sniffles) Fran, Could i have the blanket flower, please? BTW, DS#3 watered my keyboard once, its still a little iffy. We set it in from of the blower on the woodstove for a week. Just FYI those of you sowing in the keys LOL! Thank all of you for the prayers. Families here are esp. close knit and things like this are difficult for anyone. Praying for your FIL, too Nichol. Fleethart...See Moreowlfisch
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woohooman San Diego CA zone 10aOriginal Author