Bugs

[Charlie M]

Curious as to what people are seeing for bugs in this screwed up weather year.Around here June was extremely wet but I don't see an increase in mosquitoes, I have not seen a single potato beetle and very few Japanese beetles. In a normal year there wouldn't be a potato left in my garden without constant treating them and the Japanese beetles would have damaged practically everything. Maybe the world really is screwed up!!

 

[Dan in Ohio]

Charlie,

Potato beetles seem to be missing here too , was crediting my chickens for that as they had their way with it last year. Do not seem to control the skeeters though.

 

[Billy NY]

I've got some Japanese beetles, been hand picking those and squashing them, I have not seen many on the potatoes.

The black flies are worse than I have ever seen, hundreds swarm you, out of nowhere, they don't bite just yet, certain times of the year, or its a different, but slightly larger insect, does bite and leaves marks almost like a darned tick. Usual mosquitoes, after dark. Must have been the 6 weeks of rain, that brought those blackflies on, it was cold enough this winter, it got below zero for long enough to seemingly kill off some of the insects as they were no trouble until July, which is late for these, I keep snorting a few when outside, head net is great, but if you sweat or need to see, not so good, but it does keep em off.

 

[bison]

It's been cold and rainy all summer long, hardly a skeeter around but we got zillions of grasshoppers :shock:

 

[Mike in Mn.]

Here there are gnats, black flies, mosquitoes, and deer flies like crazy and also NO potato bugs. Last year I think I spent more on powder and spray than the potato's were worth. I have the biggest potato plants I have ever seen, about waist high, if there as good under as the top there will be plenty. Oh, and also the wood ticks are worse than I have ever seen them.

 

[Nancy Howell]

We had a cool spring and the grasshoppers were late getting big which is fine with us.

Haven"t seen much for mosquitoes. Flies were really bad at the barn early, but have dropped off.

Ticks were really bad this spring, dropped back when it got hot and dry, but with the good rains we"ve had in July, ticks have gotten bad again.

 

[RayP(MI)]

Mosquitos yes, although not as much during the latest dry spell. There was a while I had many miserable itchy welts all over my body.

Colorado Potato beetles.. Yes, have had to hit them hard three or four times with a cocktail of insecticides. Then there is the daily, some times several daily, walk down the rows, pinching off all I can find. We live in a big potato growing area, and bugs are resistant to most chemicals, as they've seen them all!

New to me this year are shiny, coppery colored beetles about the size of the potato beetles. Wife said her dad called them bean beetles, but I'm not sure what they are.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Was heavy on ticks but they have slacked off. We do have lots of Japanese beetles. Grasshoppers are not as thick as normal. Skeeters have not been bad, chiggers are thicj though. We have an abundance of Assasins this year. NW MO.

 

[teddy52food]

Here in mid Mn. I found only one green cabbage worm so far. I used to practice with a shotgun on their butterflies, but not this year. The usual ticks, deer flys and musketoes.