Nasty Bugs

The garden isn't doing that good this year. It was too cold to plant anything for the longest time and now it's too hot for anything to grow. I don't have any picture of them. I'm hoping it's a good sign that I couldn't find any to photograph today. I'll try to get more/better pictures of these nasty pests, but for now if you go to pinterest.com and type in the bugs names in the search box you'll get more than enough good photos of the horrible things.



This a (terrible) photo of Stinkbug eggs and hatchlings. They're relatives of Squash Bugs, they look like them (except Squash Bug hatchlings are red), both suck the juice out of plant and fruits, both lay there eggs on the underside of plant leaves, and they both release a strong smell when squished; Stink Bugs smell weirdly peppery and Squash Bugs smell like sour apple candy. Which is the best thing I can say about them. I'm so mad at these things I've taken to squashing them with my bare hands, I also do this because the tricky blighters kept getting away when I used my shoes.
  Like far too many garden pests they don't just attack one type of plant. These buggers get on everything, and when the plants aren't enough for them they go after the produce; leaving tomatoes and peppers, and even apples with horrible rancid brown spots on them.  I haven't found anything to kill them other than finding them and smashing them by hand, but I have found that watering the plants makes them crawl to the top of the plants which makes them easier to kill. It seems like they don't like catnip, (last year I had a catnip plant hanging from the overhang on the greenhouse and  nether of the pepper plants that were growing in pots in front of it had any problems with them)  but I haven't been able to really test this out because none of the seeds I plant came up.    




    This is a bad picture of the flat, copper colored eggs Squash Vine Borers lay up and down the stems of squash leaves. If the base of your plant turns yellow-brown and your plant starts to wilt it's probable the victim of these red bodied and grey winged bug's grub. Especially if you find piles of yellow-brown material on it's stem. I've been crushing all the eggs and adults I can find. And mom is burying all the squash plants, like the one you see to the right, hoping that the plants will make more roots at different spots on the plant so they can survive an attack form these wasp look-a-likes. It looks like one of the plants might make it thanks to this, but it too early to tell. 

I don't know what's eating up the squash leaves.                                                          

We're also having problems with Tomato Horn Worms. Which are voracious green caterpillars that if left unchecked can eat an entire tomato plant in a couple of days. Before I used to feel bad for the caterpillars that predatory wasps used to lay eggs in, but after a couple of years of having these nasty things, which by the way do not limit themselves to tomato's, gorge on our poor plants I now cheer on any wasp I see buzzing though the garden. 



 
   I'm going to be busy all day this Thursday so look for that day's post on Wednesday. Bats Bizarre is having a Father's Day sale. From 6/2/13-6/16/13 use coupon code FATHERSDAY for 5% off your purchase from Bats Bizarre. This coupon doesn't include the cost of shipping.

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