My okra plants are being eaten so badly by the bugs, they are becoming
defoliated, and I'm not sure I can get them to live long enough to grow big
enough to resist this onslaught.

I've used slug pellets to stop the slugs, and it does not seem to be slugs.
Slugs leave slime trails, and the pellets have never failed to stop them
before. I see no slime trails, nor dead slugs.

I've used Neem, which works with other plants the bugs find tasty, but it
does not help.

Out of desperation, I tried some sevin dust, and not even that seems to
stop the damage.

How can I protect these plants from whatever is eating them? I thought it
was slugs because of the big holes in the leaves, but i'm not sure if it is
just a lot of little bugs eating everything that is there. What can I do to
prevent these plants from being devoured?

Zootal wrote:
My okra plants are being eaten so badly by the bugs, they are becoming
defoliated, and I'm not sure I can get them to live long enough to
grow big enough to resist this onslaught.

I've used slug pellets to stop the slugs, and it does not seem to be
slugs. Slugs leave slime trails, and the pellets have never failed to
stop them before. I see no slime trails, nor dead slugs.

I've used Neem, which works with other plants the bugs find tasty,
but it does not help.

Out of desperation, I tried some sevin dust, and not even that seems
to stop the damage.

How can I protect these plants from whatever is eating them? I
thought it was slugs because of the big holes in the leaves, but i'm
not sure if it is just a lot of little bugs eating everything that is
there. What can I do to prevent these plants from being devoured?

First find out what it is. Have you checked for grubs or 28 spot
ladybeetle?

David

Sevin (active ingredient CARBARYL:5%)

CARBARYL
CASRN: 63-25-2

For other data, click on the Table of Contents


Human Health Effects:

snip

So basically if I don't snort the entire container, I should be just fine
:-P. Wow - horse manure can cause more damage than that....

First find out what it is. Have you checked for grubs or 28 spot
ladybeetle?

David



When I look, there is never anything there. For all I know my dogs or cats
are munching on them...You would think that with that much damage, I would
at least see some signs of what is eating it. No ants, and we have ants
everywhere, but I've never seen ants on them. The damage is not what flea
beetles do - no small holes, but big chunks are gone. It looks like slug
damage, I've seen what slugs do to my cabbages and eggplants, but we don't
have enough slugs to do the damage I've been seeing, and there are no slime
trails, and the slugs have never yet made it past the slug pellets.

We have cucumber beetles here, but there are very few this year, certainly
not enough to do the damage I'm seeing.

We really don't have any other pests here - flea beetles and slugs do 99%
of the damage to my garden. Cucumber beetles - they hate Neem, and a good
spray of neem keeps them away. Flea beetles don't like Neem either.

Oh, and we have aphids, but there is no sign of aphids on them. The only
time aphids have ever done any damage is when they infested my brussel
sprouts several years ago.

We do have ladybeetles here, do they eat okra leaves??? No sign of grubs,
but not sure I'd recognize it if I saw it.

I'm going to keep a close eye on them for the next few days and see if I
can spot anything eating them.

Zootal wrote:
First find out what it is. Have you checked for grubs or 28 spot
ladybeetle?

David



When I look, there is never anything there. For all I know my dogs or
cats are munching on them...You would think that with that much
damage, I would at least see some signs of what is eating it. No
ants, and we have ants everywhere, but I've never seen ants on them.
The damage is not what flea beetles do - no small holes, but big
chunks are gone. It looks like slug damage, I've seen what slugs do
to my cabbages and eggplants, but we don't have enough slugs to do
the damage I've been seeing, and there are no slime trails, and the
slugs have never yet made it past the slug pellets.

We have cucumber beetles here, but there are very few this year,
certainly not enough to do the damage I'm seeing.

We really don't have any other pests here - flea beetles and slugs do
99% of the damage to my garden. Cucumber beetles - they hate Neem,
and a good spray of neem keeps them away. Flea beetles don't like
Neem either.

Oh, and we have aphids, but there is no sign of aphids on them. The
only time aphids have ever done any damage is when they infested my
brussel sprouts several years ago.

We do have ladybeetles here, do they eat okra leaves??? No sign of
grubs, but not sure I'd recognize it if I saw it.


There are many species of ladybeettles. Some are useful preying on aphids,
scale etc and some like the 28 spot ladybeetle are leave eaters that will
destroy potatos, eggplant etc.

David

Zootal wrote:
....
I'm going to keep a close eye on them for the next few days and see if I
can spot anything eating them.

around here big leaf damage is usually
grasshoppers. i don't know if grasshoppers
eat okra or not tho.

for grasshopper control it helps to have
bird baths (and not feed the birds much in
the summer months so they will forage --
except if you are feeding orioles or other
rare birds on a special diet i'd keep those
going).


songbird

In article 31,
Zootal wrote:

Sevin (active ingredient CARBARYL:5%)

CARBARYL
CASRN: 63-25-2

For other data, click on the Table of Contents


Human Health Effects:

snip

So basically if I don't snort the entire container, I should be just fine
:-P. Wow - horse manure can cause more damage than that....

There is no minimum dose that is good for you. Enjoy.
--
- Billy
Both the House and Senate budget plan would cut Social Security and Medicare, while cutting taxes on the wealthy.

Kucinich noted that none of the government programs targeted for
elimination or severe cutback in House Republican spending plans
"appeared on the GAO's list of government programs at high risk of
waste, fraud and abuse."
http://www.politifact.com/ohio/state...is-kucinich/re
p-dennis-kucinich-says-gop-budget-cuts-dont-targ/

[W]e have the situation with the deficit and the debt and spending and jobs. And it¹s not that difficult to get out of it. The first thing you do is you get rid of corporate welfare. That¹s hundreds of billions of dollars a year. The second is you tax corporations so that they don¹t get away with no taxation.
- Ralph Nader
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/7/19/ralph_naders_solution_to_debt_crisis

Zootal said:


I'm going to keep a close eye on them for the next few days and see if I
can spot anything eating them.

I suggest a night-time foray with a flashlight. My guesses would be that
your pest is the invasive Asiatic garden beetle. They have only recently
reached the midwest. They feed at night and hide during the day.

http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/cap...cGardenbtl.htm


--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Yes, swooping is bad."

email valid but not regularly monitored

In article
,
Pat Kiewicz wrote:

Zootal said:


I'm going to keep a close eye on them for the next few days and see if I
can spot anything eating them.

I suggest a night-time foray with a flashlight. My guesses would be that
your pest is the invasive Asiatic garden beetle. They have only recently
reached the midwest. They feed at night and hide during the day.

http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/cap...cGardenbtl.htm

Presuming Pat is right, you ,ay want to look at
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/greenhs/htms/ghsebeetles.htm
The "Integrated Pest MAnagement" approach would have you try the spring
Tiphia wasp, and beneficial nematodes (Heterorhabditis sp.) first. To
avoid killing off beneficial insects.

http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/biocontrol/j_beetle.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2618435/

You don't want to swat fleas with a sledgehammer.
--
- Billy
Both the House and Senate budget plan would cut Social Security and Medicare, while cutting taxes on the wealthy.

Kucinich noted that none of the government programs targeted for
elimination or severe cutback in House Republican spending plans
"appeared on the GAO's list of government programs at high risk of
waste, fraud and abuse."
http://www.politifact.com/ohio/state...is-kucinich/re
p-dennis-kucinich-says-gop-budget-cuts-dont-targ/

[W]e have the situation with the deficit and the debt and spending and jobs. And it's not that difficult to get out of it. The first thing you do is you get rid of corporate welfare. That's hundreds of billions of dollars a year. The second is you tax corporations so that they don't get away with no taxation.
- Ralph Nader
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/7/19/ralph_naders_solution_to_debt_crisis

Billy wrote in
:

In article
,
Pat Kiewicz wrote:

Zootal said:


I'm going to keep a close eye on them for the next few days and see
if I can spot anything eating them.

I suggest a night-time foray with a flashlight. My guesses would be
that your pest is the invasive Asiatic garden beetle. They have only
recently reached the midwest. They feed at night and hide during the
day.

http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/cap...cGardenbtl.htm

Presuming Pat is right, you ,ay want to look at
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/greenhs/htms/ghsebeetles.htm
The "Integrated Pest MAnagement" approach would have you try the
spring Tiphia wasp, and beneficial nematodes (Heterorhabditis sp.)
first. To avoid killing off beneficial insects.

http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/biocontrol/j_beetle.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2618435/

You don't want to swat fleas with a sledgehammer.

What's the time lag on introducing those biological controls?

Also, not that biological controls introduced into places where they are
not native can have disastrous side-effects. One need only look at Cane
Toads in Australia for a demonstration.

I admit I have not yet read the cites you provided. I am, however,
impressed they come from Ohio State and the NIH. They certainly are going
to contain worthwhile, pertinent info.

If it's going to take months or a year for the bio controls to get up and
running, do you have any suggestions for saving the plants he's got
growing _right now_? That would be cool and informative.

Chris

Chris Thompson wrote in
. 3.70:


What's the time lag on introducing those biological controls?

Also, not that biological controls introduced into places where they
are not native can have disastrous side-effects. One need only look at
Cane Toads in Australia for a demonstration.

I admit I have not yet read the cites you provided. I am, however,
impressed they come from Ohio State and the NIH. They certainly are
going to contain worthwhile, pertinent info.

If it's going to take months or a year for the bio controls to get up
and running, do you have any suggestions for saving the plants he's
got growing _right now_? That would be cool and informative.

Chris


I am not at all opposed to biological/natural approaches. I eat the plants,
after all . That is why I prefer Neem, it is natural, quickly
biodegrades, and isn't actually poison - they flea beetles don't like the
smell and stay away. It works wonders on cukes and cabbages.

The patch I applied sevin to had only four plants in it, and is an isolated
patch away from the garden. I have about fifteen okra plants in a row that
I'm also trying to save, but is in the middle of the garden, and I won't
dump sevin in the middle of my garden - too many beneficial bugs would get
killed.

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in
:

There are many species of ladybeettles. Some are useful preying on
aphids, scale etc and some like the 28 spot ladybeetle are leave
eaters that will destroy potatos, eggplant etc.

David


Huh, learn something new every day. I've seen a lot of lady bugs and I have
not seen the 28 spot variety - I looked up some pics of them - none of ours
have anywhere near that many spots.

songbird wrote in
:

Zootal wrote:
...
I'm going to keep a close eye on them for the next few days and see
if I can spot anything eating them.

around here big leaf damage is usually
grasshoppers. i don't know if grasshoppers
eat okra or not tho.

for grasshopper control it helps to have
bird baths (and not feed the birds much in
the summer months so they will forage --
except if you are feeding orioles or other
rare birds on a special diet i'd keep those
going).


songbird


I don't think I've ever seen a grass hopper here. I'm not sure why - I'm in
the mid Wilamette Valley, and for whatever reason we just don't have grass
hopper problems - at least not in my neighborhood.

I suggest a night-time foray with a flashlight. My guesses would be that
your pest is the invasive Asiatic garden beetle. They have only recently
reached the midwest. They feed at night and hide during the day.

http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/cap...cGardenbtl.htm



Nasty bugs. I was going to go out last night, fell asleep, woke up and it
was daylight again...I'll try it again tonight, I've been wanting to do a
slug census lately anyhow - we have the famous Oregon Slugs here, and yes
they really do grow up to six or eight inches long. And the bigger puppies
can do an amazing amount of damage in just one night!

Chris Thompson wrote:

do you have any suggestions for saving the plants he's
got growing _right now_? That would be cool and informative.

Murphy Oil Soap... make a solution of an ounce to a gallon of plain
water and use it to mist your plants. Be sure to spray the undersides
of those huge leaves too, and it wouldn't hurt to drench the soil
around your plants.
http://www.colgate.com/MurphyOilSoap/faqs