Hi all.
My peach tree is in terrible shape. Aggressive leaf curl (I didn't know to spray when dormant), now a bug is destroying it. I caught one on camera (2nd pic below) but I don't know if this is the thing eating it to death. I barely have leaves left, it is happening so fast.
Also, any idea what to spray with? I want to keep it organic. This tree is on its last leg I think...
bug obliterating my peach tree leaves?
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meshmouse
- Senior Member
- Posts: 132
- Joined: Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:14 am
- Location: Long Island NY USA zone7a
Hey HGrep -
I don't know why one of our more experienced experts hasn't responded to your post yet (did you tick somebody off? chuckle, chuckle), but until they do I will offer you what I would do to start.
Hot pepper/garlic spray. The theory is that the things that eat your leaves, won't do so once this spray is applied. I have found it to be fairly effective.
Get some cayanne or hot pepper powder (or what ever the hottest thing you can get is) and some raw garlic cloves. One quart of water, 2 Tb hot powder, 2 crushed/minced cloves of garlic. Simmer one hour (others say ten minutes, but I've found it gets hotter up to an hour). Cool and strain. Fine mesh first, then thru a coffee filter. Dilute 50/50 with water and spray.
Some add simple (plain as possible - defintely not anti-bacterial) dishsoap (from a few drops to a quarter cup per quart batch), some add some veg oil (same proportions). Some add both. This supposedly allows for greater adheasion to leaf surface as well as some 'rain proofness'. Otherwise, you would need to re-apply after each rain (which I would do anyway).
There is the possibility that the oil/soap additions can also act as insecticides, non-discriminatly smothering/killing desireable and undesireable insects alike. So be careful around bees, ladybugs, etc. if doing so. Spray early or late rather than mid-day.
The standard warning would be to always test spray on a small area first and wait a day to see if there is any adverse reaction. If not, proceed. Personally, I would just proceed.
Again, I'm not an expert, but this is where I would start to keep things organic and have a chance of beating back the pests.
Good luck - meshmouse
I don't know why one of our more experienced experts hasn't responded to your post yet (did you tick somebody off? chuckle, chuckle), but until they do I will offer you what I would do to start.
Hot pepper/garlic spray. The theory is that the things that eat your leaves, won't do so once this spray is applied. I have found it to be fairly effective.
Get some cayanne or hot pepper powder (or what ever the hottest thing you can get is) and some raw garlic cloves. One quart of water, 2 Tb hot powder, 2 crushed/minced cloves of garlic. Simmer one hour (others say ten minutes, but I've found it gets hotter up to an hour). Cool and strain. Fine mesh first, then thru a coffee filter. Dilute 50/50 with water and spray.
Some add simple (plain as possible - defintely not anti-bacterial) dishsoap (from a few drops to a quarter cup per quart batch), some add some veg oil (same proportions). Some add both. This supposedly allows for greater adheasion to leaf surface as well as some 'rain proofness'. Otherwise, you would need to re-apply after each rain (which I would do anyway).
There is the possibility that the oil/soap additions can also act as insecticides, non-discriminatly smothering/killing desireable and undesireable insects alike. So be careful around bees, ladybugs, etc. if doing so. Spray early or late rather than mid-day.
The standard warning would be to always test spray on a small area first and wait a day to see if there is any adverse reaction. If not, proceed. Personally, I would just proceed.
Again, I'm not an expert, but this is where I would start to keep things organic and have a chance of beating back the pests.
Good luck - meshmouse