On 17 Jun 2004 19:28:34 -0700 in
,
(maldrich) graced the world with this thought:

Hi,
I am new to gardening outdoors (1st time). I have a huge insect
problem with:

green beans
tomato
green bell pepper
jalapeno

Onions, carrots and pickling cucumbers look fine, but they are still
small.

My garden is located very close to a wooded area. Everthing is growing
well, but the bugs are eating the leaves. I've tried a mixture of
water, dish soap and vinegar, but it's not helping. I'm not sure what
type of insects are eating the plants. If it helps, I had a ~4 inch
basil plant in the garden that was eaten in two days.
Any suggestions on a good/harmless pesticide?
TIA

Mike

The best way of dealing with something is to know what it is you're
dealing with. If there isn't anything you see during the day, go out
at night with a flashlight. Look at the leaves with a magnifying glass
and see if there's any tiny critters. Do you have snails/slugs in your
area? They're notorious "invisible" culprits, and would be highly
suspect if they do live there (like they do here....) For what it's
worth, surrounding your plants/bed with bare copper wire will keep
snails and slugs out.
And, what works for one pest may not work for the next, this is the
main reason you need to have a good idea what you're dealing with.