I'm on zone 5. Something's wiping out my zucchini leaves, and FAST. Much of
the nibbling is from the middle of the leaves to the outside, so it doesn't
seem like the work of a mammal. And, there are no deer tracks. Haven't seen
the deer since early May. So....back to the bugs: In 20 years of gardening,
I've never seen zucchini leaves eaten. Stem borers, yes. But not this.

I've been out inspecting for bugs at about 12 different times in the past 24
hours - haven't seen a thing. WTF???

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
I'm on zone 5. Something's wiping out my zucchini leaves, and FAST. Much
of the nibbling is from the middle of the leaves to the outside, so it
doesn't seem like the work of a mammal. And, there are no deer tracks.
Haven't seen the deer since early May. So....back to the bugs: In 20 years
of gardening, I've never seen zucchini leaves eaten. Stem borers, yes. But
not this.

I've been out inspecting for bugs at about 12 different times in the past
24 hours - haven't seen a thing. WTF???

Caterpillars?

"RhondaM" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
I'm on zone 5. Something's wiping out my zucchini leaves, and FAST. Much
of the nibbling is from the middle of the leaves to the outside, so it
doesn't seem like the work of a mammal. And, there are no deer tracks.
Haven't seen the deer since early May. So....back to the bugs: In 20
years of gardening, I've never seen zucchini leaves eaten. Stem borers,
yes. But not this.

I've been out inspecting for bugs at about 12 different times in the past
24 hours - haven't seen a thing. WTF???

Caterpillars?


Yeah....but like I said, I've been out there every two hours since yesterday
afternoon, during day and night, and I've seen nothing. Unless it's a
caterpillar that can decimate 90% of a leaf in 4-5 hours and then leave....

Just spoke to the Cornell Cooperative Extension. It turned into a conference
among the various volunteers there. The guy said "Each of us has been
gardening since the dawn of time. We've never heard of an insect that does
this".

That seems to leave the rabbits, yet again, although it doesn't make sense.
No matter. This is war now.

On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 14:22:05 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


"RhondaM" wrote in message
m...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
I'm on zone 5. Something's wiping out my zucchini leaves, and FAST. Much
of the nibbling is from the middle of the leaves to the outside, so it
doesn't seem like the work of a mammal. And, there are no deer tracks.
Haven't seen the deer since early May. So....back to the bugs: In 20
years of gardening, I've never seen zucchini leaves eaten. Stem borers,
yes. But not this.

I've been out inspecting for bugs at about 12 different times in the past
24 hours - haven't seen a thing. WTF???

Caterpillars?


Yeah....but like I said, I've been out there every two hours since yesterday
afternoon, during day and night, and I've seen nothing. Unless it's a
caterpillar that can decimate 90% of a leaf in 4-5 hours and then leave....

Just spoke to the Cornell Cooperative Extension. It turned into a conference
among the various volunteers there. The guy said "Each of us has been
gardening since the dawn of time. We've never heard of an insect that does
this".

That seems to leave the rabbits, yet again, although it doesn't make sense.
No matter. This is war now.


It is possible that it could be a variety of cutworm. If the stem is
too tough, some will crawl up until they find something edible. They
do their work at night and bury in the dirt at sunup. Dig around the
plant with your finger and see if you can find a napping cutworm.

If you find him, squish him. Too bad they cannot scream.

John

In article ,
"Doug Kanter" wrote:

"RhondaM" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
I'm on zone 5. Something's wiping out my zucchini leaves, and FAST. Much
of the nibbling is from the middle of the leaves to the outside, so it
doesn't seem like the work of a mammal. And, there are no deer tracks.
Haven't seen the deer since early May. So....back to the bugs: In 20
years of gardening, I've never seen zucchini leaves eaten. Stem borers,
yes. But not this.

I've been out inspecting for bugs at about 12 different times in the past
24 hours - haven't seen a thing. WTF???

Caterpillars?


Yeah....but like I said, I've been out there every two hours since yesterday
afternoon, during day and night, and I've seen nothing. Unless it's a
caterpillar that can decimate 90% of a leaf in 4-5 hours and then leave....

Just spoke to the Cornell Cooperative Extension. It turned into a conference
among the various volunteers there. The guy said "Each of us has been
gardening since the dawn of time. We've never heard of an insect that does
this".

That seems to leave the rabbits, yet again, although it doesn't make sense.
No matter. This is war now.

Hi Doug! I'd try a light dusting of lime on the leaves. That would
remove rabbits and deer from your list of suspects. Next day or divide
your crop into different zones try Safer Soap. Pyrethins next.
Rotenone is an option however it has gotten some bad press as it is
alleged to cause nerve damage (Parkinson like). It tough when the
culprit isn't known.

Banzai ...

Keep us informed and best of luck!

Bill

--
Garden Shade Zone 5 in a Japanese Jungle manner.
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material is distributed without profit.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
I'm on zone 5. Something's wiping out my zucchini leaves, and FAST. Much
of the nibbling is from the middle of the leaves to the outside, so it
doesn't seem like the work of a mammal. And, there are no deer tracks.
Haven't seen the deer since early May. So....back to the bugs: In 20 years
of gardening, I've never seen zucchini leaves eaten. Stem borers, yes. But
not this.

I've been out inspecting for bugs at about 12 different times in the past
24 hours - haven't seen a thing. WTF???

I don't know but I wonder if it's the same thing making lace out of my
Hollyhock leaves? I can't see a bug, either.

"William Wagner" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Doug Kanter" wrote:

"RhondaM" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
I'm on zone 5. Something's wiping out my zucchini leaves, and FAST.
Much
of the nibbling is from the middle of the leaves to the outside, so it
doesn't seem like the work of a mammal. And, there are no deer tracks.
Haven't seen the deer since early May. So....back to the bugs: In 20
years of gardening, I've never seen zucchini leaves eaten. Stem
borers,
yes. But not this.

I've been out inspecting for bugs at about 12 different times in the
past
24 hours - haven't seen a thing. WTF???

Caterpillars?


Yeah....but like I said, I've been out there every two hours since
yesterday
afternoon, during day and night, and I've seen nothing. Unless it's a
caterpillar that can decimate 90% of a leaf in 4-5 hours and then
leave....

Just spoke to the Cornell Cooperative Extension. It turned into a
conference
among the various volunteers there. The guy said "Each of us has been
gardening since the dawn of time. We've never heard of an insect that
does
this".

That seems to leave the rabbits, yet again, although it doesn't make
sense.
No matter. This is war now.

Hi Doug! I'd try a light dusting of lime on the leaves. That would
remove rabbits and deer from your list of suspects. Next day or divide
your crop into different zones try Safer Soap. Pyrethins next.
Rotenone is an option however it has gotten some bad press as it is
alleged to cause nerve damage (Parkinson like). It tough when the
culprit isn't known.

I'll try the soap. No other chems, though.

Okay, am I the only one who is hearing the music to "Who Wears Short Shorts" whenever I see that
subject line?

"Rev "Fragile Warrior"" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
I'm on zone 5. Something's wiping out my zucchini leaves, and FAST. Much
of the nibbling is from the middle of the leaves to the outside, so it
doesn't seem like the work of a mammal. And, there are no deer tracks.
Haven't seen the deer since early May. So....back to the bugs: In 20
years of gardening, I've never seen zucchini leaves eaten. Stem borers,
yes. But not this.

I've been out inspecting for bugs at about 12 different times in the past
24 hours - haven't seen a thing. WTF???

I don't know but I wonder if it's the same thing making lace out of my
Hollyhock leaves? I can't see a bug, either.


My Hollyhock leaves are suffering the same fate, from the same invisible
insect.

KD
Zone 5a

"KD" wrote in message
...

"Rev "Fragile Warrior"" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
I'm on zone 5. Something's wiping out my zucchini leaves, and FAST. Much
of the nibbling is from the middle of the leaves to the outside, so it
doesn't seem like the work of a mammal. And, there are no deer tracks.
Haven't seen the deer since early May. So....back to the bugs: In 20
years of gardening, I've never seen zucchini leaves eaten. Stem borers,
yes. But not this.

I've been out inspecting for bugs at about 12 different times in the
past
24 hours - haven't seen a thing. WTF???

I don't know but I wonder if it's the same thing making lace out of my
Hollyhock leaves? I can't see a bug, either.


My Hollyhock leaves are suffering the same fate, from the same invisible
insect.

KD
Zone 5a

Very unlikely that it's the same invisible -- aka unseen -- insect is at
work on both zucchini and hollyhocks. Not sure what it is on the zucchini,
but I'd be willing to bet the hollyhock varmits were hollyhock weevils that
were gone by the time you noticed the damage. Check this web page out for
hollyhock weevils, just a bit past the middle of the page:
http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/edward...ct%20Pests.pdf

Good luck!

Suzy O in Wisconsin, Zone 5

"Suzy O" wrote:

"KD" wrote in message
...

-snip-
My Hollyhock leaves are suffering the same fate, from the same invisible
insect.

I find Japanese beetles on both my Zuchini & my Hollyhocks. They do
seem to eat quite a bit & hide on the bottoms of the leaves so they
aren't seen very often. If they get out of hand a little Sevin seems
to get them back under control. Usually I just let the birds feast
on htem. They make Japanese Beetle traps, but I've never tried
them.

Jim

Good heavens, Japanese beetle traps are NOT a good thing. Usually they lure
more beetles into the area than what would have been there to begin with.
My sources say that if you do use them, set them far away from any plants
they like. The Wisconsin Extension has a nice factsheet on JBs that
describes their life cycle, control, etc.
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/wihort/gardenfacts/X1062.pdf

Good luck,

Suzy O, Zone 5, Wisconsin

"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message
...
"Suzy O" wrote:

"KD" wrote in message
...

-snip-
My Hollyhock leaves are suffering the same fate, from the same invisible
insect.

I find Japanese beetles on both my Zuchini & my Hollyhocks. They do
seem to eat quite a bit & hide on the bottoms of the leaves so they
aren't seen very often. If they get out of hand a little Sevin seems
to get them back under control. Usually I just let the birds feast
on htem. They make Japanese Beetle traps, but I've never tried
them.

Jim