Well I have always tried to get along with the insect word, (well maybe not the Japanese Beetles) and have hated to spray my flowers with hard insecticides because it kills the bees and butterflies and other beneficial insects but I have declared war on a new beetle from hell in my garden. No more “Mrs. Nice Gardener”.
I do not know what kind of new beetle this is but I have never saw a hungrier leaf gnawing beetle in my life. These things are running around like crazy and frenzied alien beetles that have just been invited to a banquet and are afraid the food is going to run out before they get their fill. I have never saw the like of such a veracious bug.
I tried to get rid of them by using “ green” insecticides, but they did not even stop a one of them so I had to get out the hard stuff by the name of “Bug Stop” which by this point was all that I wanted to get done and fast. KILL!! I became a blood thirsty gardener over night. So I sprayed the leaves and tried to stay clear of the blooms and buds which the beneficial insects like hoping not to do too much harm. They were not attacking the blooms but the leaves and stems which was leaving some of the bloom stalks dying also. I am actually thinking they may be mini robots sent from Mars just because we are invading their space. LOL!
If the ‘Curiosity’ rover on Mars spots some of these beetles there I will not be surprised at all. No wonder the planet is red instead of green.
That is what roused me to declare war on these beetles and I showed them no mercy. Bug Stop stopped them dead in their tracks. Sometimes a gardener has to give in to desperate measures.
If they had feasted on all of the weeds on the property they would have been more than welcome. LOL!
Now the Anemones look so terrible with shredded leaves or no leaves at all.
This is the first year I have had these beetles and I hope they never return. In the future though if I see the first tattered leaf on my anemones I will not try to play nice with them but declare war much sooner and pull out the Bug Stop or Raid.
Happy (Well Almost) Gardening,
Lona
19 comments:
Holy crap Lona! I have to bring out the big guns every now and again too. You didn't see any teeny weeny caterpillars on the underside of those leaves?
Oh yikes!
Lona, these beetles forced you to be a bloodthirsty! I hope you won.
Oh, no...not the Japanese Anemones. I saw these beautiful flowrs in your garden pictures in years past and wanted them. I planted a few and this will be the first year for blooms on all of them....and now I have to watch out for these thugs...Where's the spray :)
Balisha
I don,' know what your bug is Lona but he sure isn't t makiNg friends by eating the plants. We have a pesticide ban here in Ontario. We can not spray anything so I do my best with a bucket of soapy water. Valerie
Oh, that is so sad. I have some kind of bug/disease on my dahlias in the front. I bought some buy spray, but they are still slowing dying. I just went out and removed them from one container where they looked particularly bad. Sometimes you just have to give in to the commercial sprays.
Hi Lona,Those beasts look very
hungry.I to dont like to use pestecides,but sometimes you have no other choice.
Lona, I can certainly understand. Last yr I had to resrt to chemicals for the first time, but it was too late. I had tomato hornworms and stink bugs galore. This yr everything seems ok. so far no bugs, no chemicals.
That's a hungry beetle! So sorry he found your garden! I hope he gets the message and puts the word out "Don't go near Lona's garden!"
Go get 'em Lona!! They have done enough damage to your poor plants - now it's their turn to pay……..
Lona I just read this week about a new beetle that has gotten to Cincinnati. I bet that's what it is. I feel bad I don't remember the name of it. Maybe if you did a search for Cincinnati and beetle you would come up with the name. So sorry you are dealing with this mess.
Cher Sunray Gardens
Them is some nasty fellows there.. Hope you got them all.. I don't like spraying either but sometimes you just have to unless like me this year you just let them critters eat..lol
hugs and happy Friday, Cherry
Lona, I have them too - they totally ate my entire Sweet Autumn Clematis before I realized they were there. No blooms or leaves on it - just the stems. I used Sevin on mine...
maybe it sent them your way. Sorry!
I can totally understand having to do what you did, they are voracious. And nasty, and mean.
Could they be hand picked? Or is there just too many of them?
Did you find out what they are?
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
Along the lines of what Sunray is saying, if this critter were a newbie in my garden I'd be alerting the university extension service's entomology department to see what's going on. They like to know things like this. And maybe they know of some kind of natural pesticide you can use. I'm glad you were able to kill them. I'll keep my fingers crossed that they don't come back.
Oh dear, how frustrating. Hope you find something to take care of those munchers.
Lona,
Do not hand pick these! They are blister beetles and can leave nasty swollen blisters on your skin if you accidentally squish them. Check out the ID at Bugguide: http://bugguide.net/node/view/445093
OMG ! Lona girl you have me shaking in my garden shoes about these bugs .. I only have to Japanese anemones but EEEEKKKKKKKKK!!!
I would be rather frantic and blood thirsty too .. when you find out what they are do a post so the rest of us will know OK girl ??
Calm down and have a cool drink ... sit down for a while ... you will feel better !!
Joy wink wink
I've never heard of blister beetles Lona but I hope I don't now! I sure wouldn't want them destroying my garden like they've done yours. :( So sorry. Does that mean the anemones won't bloom this year?
Post a Comment