Insect Help Please
 

I have something attacking the leaves of my white eggplants but not the
tomatoes, zuchs, lettuce or cucumbers. Suggestions on how to combat
appreciates.

Steve

Insect Help Please
 

STEVEN STEIN wrote in message
...
I have something attacking the leaves of my white eggplants but not the
tomatoes, zuchs, lettuce or cucumbers. Suggestions on how to combat
appreciates.

Steve

Can you describe the look of the damage? Otherwise it's hard to say. Could
be a vine weevil. They only come out at night, and chomp big holes in your
leaves. If you've got your plants in pots, one of your pots could have vine
weevil grubs in it. Go out at midnight with a flashlight and see if you can
see these beetles on your leaves. For more info, Google vine weevils.

OTOH, it could be slugs or snails, depends on the country you live in.

s.

Insect Help Please
 

I'm in NY. One plant has small holes in the leaves, the other has one leaf
that is almost completely eaten (holes everywhere). They are in the ground,
not in pots. From the photos of what vine weevils do, I don't believe that
is them. Not much damage on edges - more in the full leaf part.
"someone" wrote in message
...

STEVEN STEIN wrote in message
...
I have something attacking the leaves of my white eggplants but not the
tomatoes, zuchs, lettuce or cucumbers. Suggestions on how to combat
appreciates.

Steve

Can you describe the look of the damage? Otherwise it's hard to say.
Could
be a vine weevil. They only come out at night, and chomp big holes in
your
leaves. If you've got your plants in pots, one of your pots could have
vine
weevil grubs in it. Go out at midnight with a flashlight and see if you
can
see these beetles on your leaves. For more info, Google vine weevils.

OTOH, it could be slugs or snails, depends on the country you live in.

s.

Insect Help Please
 

Sounds like slugs or snails to me, probably not caterpillars. Get out there
at night around midnight with a flashlight and have a look, that's when it's
all happening. If you find anything, Kill It!

If the edges are jagged, it could be birds, but I doubt it.

Sorry I can't advise further as I don't live in N.America, and your pests
are different from ours.

s.

STEVEN STEIN wrote in message
...
I'm in NY. One plant has small holes in the leaves, the other has one leaf
that is almost completely eaten (holes everywhere). They are in the
ground,
not in pots. From the photos of what vine weevils do, I don't believe that
is them. Not much damage on edges - more in the full leaf part.
"someone" wrote in message
...

STEVEN STEIN wrote in message
...
I have something attacking the leaves of my white eggplants but not
the
tomatoes, zuchs, lettuce or cucumbers. Suggestions on how to combat
appreciates.

Steve

Can you describe the look of the damage? Otherwise it's hard to say.
Could
be a vine weevil. They only come out at night, and chomp big holes in
your
leaves. If you've got your plants in pots, one of your pots could have
vine
weevil grubs in it. Go out at midnight with a flashlight and see if you
can
see these beetles on your leaves. For more info, Google vine weevils.

OTOH, it could be slugs or snails, depends on the country you live in.

s.

Insect Help Please
 

Small holes are probably the work of flea beetles. They look like small
black dots, and jump very quickly when threatened, hence the "flea" part. I
haven't yet found a good low impact remedy for them, aside from squishing.
It helps to delay planting, as the beetles seem to reach a population peak
in late spring/early summer. Large holes could be slugs. Go out after dark
and check around. Sluggo works very well, and is not toxic to birds and
mammals. A quick fix, until you can get some Sluggo, is a mix of one part
household ammonia and 4 parts water, put into a labeled spray bottle and
sprayed directly on the slugs. It dissolves their slime coat in a very
satisfying way.

Something I've seen on my eggplants for the first time this year is a small
green worm of the type we've always called an inchworm--someone probably
knows the correct name for it. Squishing works well for those also.

Earwigs are another possibility. Check for them at night also. Soap spray,
a direct hit, works well on them.

The good news is that if you can get your transplants through the first few
weeks, they start to grow rapidly and toughen up, and seem to be much less
attractive to pests.

Good luck,
Sue

--

www.suereno.com

"STEVEN STEIN" wrote in message
...
I have something attacking the leaves of my white eggplants but not the
tomatoes, zuchs, lettuce or cucumbers. Suggestions on how to combat
appreciates.

Steve

Insect Help Please
 

STEVEN STEIN said:

I have something attacking the leaves of my white eggplants but not the
tomatoes, zuchs, lettuce or cucumbers. Suggestions on how to combat
appreciates.

Flea beetles, most likely.

Mulch with leaf mold: sprinkleground coffee around the base of the plants;
spray with a mixture of garlic, hot pepper and coffee.

Neem extracts / neem oil (may list active ingredient Azadirachtin) can be used
safely.

Usually only a problem early in the season. It's best to hold off planting
eggplants until much later than tomatoes and peppers. Usually they can
outgrow the first attacks by flea beetles if planted in rich soil when the
weather is reliable hot.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

Insect Help Please
 

You might have potato beetles. They usually go for my potatoes,
occasionally my eggplants if we get a cold spring. For some reason,
they always leave my peppers and tomatoes alone. Maybe that's dessert
-- I usually pick them off around first course. :)

http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entom.../veg/ef312.htm
http://res2.agr.ca/fredericton/stud/3500/biocpb_e.htm

Insect Help Please
 

think they are the fleas - I went out the other night and looked underside.
A few small black dots and one very tiny light green grasshopper look alike.
A few of the major leaves are pretty much eaten - do you think the plants
will survive and what should I spray them with?
Thanks... Steve

"Pen" wrote in message
om...
You might have potato beetles. They usually go for my potatoes,
occasionally my eggplants if we get a cold spring. For some reason,
they always leave my peppers and tomatoes alone. Maybe that's dessert
-- I usually pick them off around first course. :)

http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entom.../veg/ef312.htm
http://res2.agr.ca/fredericton/stud/3500/biocpb_e.htm

Insect Help Please
 

"STEVEN STEIN" wrote in message ...
I have something attacking the leaves of my white eggplants but not the
tomatoes, zuchs, lettuce or cucumbers. Suggestions on how to combat
appreciates.

Steve

Shot holes?
Flea beatles.

Insect Help Please
 

"SugarChile" wrote in message
...
Small holes are probably the work of flea beetles. They look like
small
black dots, and jump very quickly when threatened, hence the "flea"
part. I
haven't yet found a good low impact remedy for them, aside from
squishing.

"STEVEN STEIN" wrote in message
...
I have something attacking the leaves of my white eggplants but
not the
tomatoes, zuchs, lettuce or cucumbers. Suggestions on how to
combat
appreciates.

I agree with other posters that flea beetles are a good possibility
for your pest. They love eggplant most of all and don't really damage
anything else. They can eat enough to destroy young eggplant.

My remedy is to cover the plants until they are big enough to fend for
themselves. I made cages out of wire cloth - actually I used some
leftover tomato wire, but any similar material will do. I then made a
cover out of floating row cover, which is a fabric with tiny holes but
which admits enough light that plants will grow under it. A simple
stitching will make a suitable cover. Leave some wires sticking out
below to support the cage (by pushing them into the ground). Use your
best judgement on when to remove the cages.

I hope this helps,

Guy Bradley
Chesterfield MO
zone 6