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Organic insect control (frog hoppers)

Posts: 99

posted 16 years ago

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Ok, I'm off the chemical pesticides herbicides, and fertilizers. I have neem oil and beetle traps for the upcoming Japanese beetle season.

Presently I have a frog hopper problem. Most of the garden is out of reach my garden hose. What would you guys recommend?

Thanks in advance

Brenda Groth

pollinator

Posts: 4437

Location: North Central Michigan

posted 16 years ago

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I have NO IDEA what a frog hopper is..is it an insect?

i know here we have the army tent worms, and we will have the ash tree borers and the gypsy moths..and I know in Idaho they are having problems with the mormon crickets..

i would say go to one of the organic pest control sites and google you frog hopper things..

here frogs are protected..they are big bug eaters..

Brenda

Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

Posts: 99

posted 16 years ago

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Froghopper

Do you have a link to a site?

B

Leah Sattler

Posts: 2603

posted 16 years ago

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I hadnt' heard of it either then checked out the site! oh! spittle bugs! I have those guys all over the wild areas of our new place. I only saw them occasionally in my old garden and they never seemed to do much damage so i never thought to try and be rid of them

where are you trying to control these buggers? the lawn or garden?

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"One cannot help an involuntary process. The point is not to disturb it. - Dr. Michel Odent

Posts: 99

posted 16 years ago

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Garden. They're affecting my Agastache and some daisy's

Brenda Groth

pollinator

Posts: 4437

Location: North Central Michigan

posted 16 years ago

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ah yes, spittlebugs, have seen some signs of them in years past but never had any real problems with them.

Brenda

Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

Leah Sattler

Posts: 2603

posted 16 years ago

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obviously I can't speak from experience here because they never 'bugged' me

. but the bit I read said that a good squirt with the hose is usually good enough and that there will be two 'outbreaks' of them yearly and then they go away. in lawns they plants that are partially shaded by the surrounding vegetation.

how much damage are they doing? are you just afraid they will get out of control or are they already?

my first independant thought is to formulate catch plant. they were obviously around in my old place and here also yet seem to stick to plants in the uncultivated areas leading me to believe they have some preferences as far as plants go. are there many 'wild' areas near you for them to populate? are they going after your daisies as a last resort? maybe you just need to plant a species of plant for them to munch on or simply allow some areas to go unmowed as a catch plant. people routinely plant dill and other species for the sole purpose of tempting annoying insects away from desired plants.

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"One cannot help an involuntary process. The point is not to disturb it. - Dr. Michel Odent

Posts: 99

posted 16 years ago

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They're not doing to much damage, I just hate seeing my hard work affected. I took my back sprayer out and squited them with some water. I'll see how that does.
Thanks

Leah Sattler

Posts: 2603

posted 16 years ago

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if they aren't doing too much damage then I would stick with simple things like water. it is frustrating to see your hard work appear to be damaged by something. you might do some thinking about what your expectations are. seeing some beauty in the natural world including parts of it that don't match a garden magazine cover or the closely tended commercial gardens can give you real freedom. some insects, weeds, damage.......are all normal. it is our expectation to not have these things that are abnormal. I think a balance has to be struck and it is in a little different place for everyone. I really only try to control an insect if I think it threatens the plants life. the only thing here that has ever done that are some crazy unidentified black beetle....squash bugs.....and potato beetles.......none which my chickens think are tasty..

I am very careful to leave spiders and lizards and toads when I find them......I purposely place hiding places/shelter for them in the garden.

check out those spittle bugs. do you have a microscope. they really are pretty fascinating. what a unique way to shelter themselves!

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"One cannot help an involuntary process. The point is not to disturb it. - Dr. Michel Odent

Posts: 99

posted 16 years ago

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Yes, I'm getting the mentality and I agree. In fact today after the spray I see less activity and little damage. So I'm going to leave it alone for now.

How does the board feel about using neem oil to deter Japanese beetles?

FYI I had some sort of fungus/blight/rust (one or all of them) this year on a bunch of plants. I stumbled across an organic fungicide named Serenade

http://www.serenadegarden.com/news/PR-013105.html

Gwen Lynn

Posts: 736

posted 16 years ago

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I've seen spittlebugs before, used to always get them on cosmos when I grew it. I had know idea they were froghopper nymphs. Learn something new everyday!

I've seen plenty of froghoppers cousin, the leaf hopper. Maybe seen froghoppers too and didn't realize it. Never had a problem with them, but the spittlebugs are kinda gross. I just used to rinse them off the plants.

Jocelyn Campbell

steward

Posts: 6601

Location: Everett, WA (Western Washington State / Cascadia / Pacific NW)

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posted 16 years ago

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If it's a small enough or localized enough infestation, what I've done before (this will be gross to some) is strip off the "spittle" making sure to squish the bug within it. It's so second-nature to me that I was out in public recently and had to stop myself from doing it in someone's planting along a sidewalk! It does make your hands kinda icky.

I've seen plants dangerously weakened by all the sap they suck out, and they are really insidious around here. Yuk. Though I never knew them as frog hoppers, either!

It's what I do when I see aphids, too; just strip them off with thumb and forefinger and squish them. This way there's no worrying if the water just dislocated them and they'll be back, or if whatever natural pest spray is doing its job. Squishing is undeniable.

QuickBooks set up and Bookkeeping for Small Businesses and Farms - jocelyncampbell.com

Leah Sattler

Posts: 2603

posted 16 years ago

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there is something immensly satisfiying about squishing a bug that was eating your stuff!

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"One cannot help an involuntary process. The point is not to disturb it. - Dr. Michel Odent

Gwen Lynn

Posts: 736

posted 16 years ago

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I have heard (read it somewhere) that you should kill aphids right on the plants & leave their guts in place. Supposedly, new aphids that are trying to move in will detect a stress hormone from the dead ones and they'll back off.

I don't know how true this is, but it sorta makes sense, in a mafia kind of way!

Jocelyn Campbell

steward

Posts: 6601

Location: Everett, WA (Western Washington State / Cascadia / Pacific NW)

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posted 16 years ago

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Yes, the mafia technique! I love it!

We had an infestation of slugs (duh, we're near Seattle!) and no ducks. Every night the slugs would march into our yard from the field next door, chow down our best strawberries, veggies and flowers, and then in the morning, march back into the tall grasses to hide.

We started a patrol. With a dandelion weeder. Every morning before work, we'd walk the fence line. And every evening, too. It only took a minute or two, and we'd take out 4-6 or more slugs each time. That little v-shape is just perfect for the job!

We had less slugs for literally years after this!

QuickBooks set up and Bookkeeping for Small Businesses and Farms - jocelyncampbell.com

Leah Sattler

Posts: 2603

posted 16 years ago

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I tried a suggestion once to create "bug juice" using whatever kind of bug is bothering your garden. you pluck them off and blend them up (I just smashed them good) and then filter the parts out and use the "bug tea" as a detterent spray. I didnt' do it enough to see if it works cause it kinda grossed me out. but its based on the same premise that when the bugs are killed there is something released that tells there buddies to back off. if I had an extra blender I would do more experimenting. but the crunch crunch sound of bugs in a bowl was just a little too much for me.

I always try and squish adult stink bugs (squash bugs) around the squash based on this idea. I'm not systematic enough about it to make any determinations as to its effectiveness though.

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"One cannot help an involuntary process. The point is not to disturb it. - Dr. Michel Odent

gary gregory

Posts: 395

Location: northern california, 50 miles inland from Mendocino, zone 7

posted 16 years ago

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buddy110 wrote:

Presently I have a frog hopper problem. Most of the garden is out of reach my garden hose. What would you guys recommend?

Thanks in advance

I want to know why you don't need a garden hose in your garden. Do you have other types of irrigation, or plenty of summer rain?

Gary

Posts: 99

posted 16 years ago

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gary wrote:
I want to know why you don't need a garden hose in your garden. Do you have other types of irrigation, or plenty of summer rain?

Irrigation system

rose macaskie

Posts: 2134

posted 16 years ago

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I don't know about frog hoppers but I long to say that in my garden the ants always clean up all the black fly. In th eyears when i find black flie covering the tiips of my plants i alalways see ants hanging around and i just leave them and when i come back two weeks later black flie gone . I thought ants farmed them but they seem to get rid of them .

Leah Sattler

Posts: 2603

posted 16 years ago

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Im going to have to pay closer attention to now to see what ant farm. they are amazing little critters!

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"One cannot help an involuntary process. The point is not to disturb it. - Dr. Michel Odent

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