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evarector1
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- Joined: Thu May 02, 2013 12:51 pm
Bugs on my plants?
Just planted my containers the end of last week; we had very heavy rain this weekend, and when I went out this morning to make sure everything survived, I found what looked like a small wasp on one of my tomato plants and some small, weird-shaped black bugs with white markings in my marigolds. I planted the marigolds to help keep bugs OFF my plants, and now something's eating THEM! Any ideas what I might be looking at? I've got pets and small children, so I'm trying to avoid chemical pest control as much as possible. TIA!
Don't be too hasty. Those may be good bugs. The tiny wasp may be a brachonid wasp and parasitizes tomato hornworms and aphids
https://www.entomology.umn.edu/cues/Web/ ... onidae.pdf
I have seen something that looks like the other bug you describe. A small black bug with a rounded abdomen (beetle?) with white spots in lines on its' back. I am still trying to id it. It might be a nymph form. It does not seem to be causing any damage to my plants and I haven't sprayed for bugs in about 3 years.
I do grow marigolds, fennel, nasturtiums, four o' clocks, and nectar plants to protect the garden and attract beneficial insects. I also plant onions, chives, and other aromatic herbs to hide my other plants from pests. I try to interplant protectors like onions and marigolds between my pepper plants and garlic chives and four o'clocks near the roses. Fennel needs to be by itself but I keep it in one corner of the garden next to gynuura, horseradish and gingers which get along with it.
Most of the host plants are also trap plants that attract aphids and bugs to them and away from the other plants. Marigolds and fennel are especially good at attracting green aphids, while nasturtiums attract black aphids. The good bugs feed on the aphids on the trap plants and hang around the garden foraging aphids and white flies off the other plants as well. If there were no food source, these bugs would be off looking for greener pastures. Trap plants are much more resilient than your vegetable plants to these attacks so give nature a chance to take care of it. I actually have had so few problems with aphids, that I hardly see any even on the fennel.
https://www.entomology.umn.edu/cues/Web/ ... onidae.pdf
I have seen something that looks like the other bug you describe. A small black bug with a rounded abdomen (beetle?) with white spots in lines on its' back. I am still trying to id it. It might be a nymph form. It does not seem to be causing any damage to my plants and I haven't sprayed for bugs in about 3 years.
I do grow marigolds, fennel, nasturtiums, four o' clocks, and nectar plants to protect the garden and attract beneficial insects. I also plant onions, chives, and other aromatic herbs to hide my other plants from pests. I try to interplant protectors like onions and marigolds between my pepper plants and garlic chives and four o'clocks near the roses. Fennel needs to be by itself but I keep it in one corner of the garden next to gynuura, horseradish and gingers which get along with it.
Most of the host plants are also trap plants that attract aphids and bugs to them and away from the other plants. Marigolds and fennel are especially good at attracting green aphids, while nasturtiums attract black aphids. The good bugs feed on the aphids on the trap plants and hang around the garden foraging aphids and white flies off the other plants as well. If there were no food source, these bugs would be off looking for greener pastures. Trap plants are much more resilient than your vegetable plants to these attacks so give nature a chance to take care of it. I actually have had so few problems with aphids, that I hardly see any even on the fennel.
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evarector1
- Newly Registered
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Thu May 02, 2013 12:51 pm
Imafan26-Thank you for answering my question! I really am trying to avoid pesticides at all costs-the older I get, the less I like the idea of eating food treated with chemicals, and I REALLY can't stand the idea of feeding them to my kids. My neighbor was out the other evening spraying something in spots on his lawn; the smell gagged me, and it made me that much more determined to stick to my guns and learn how to do things organically.