Trying to re-start some squash plants, and came home after a weekend away to find the leaves almost completely destroyed! I took some pictures. I took the bad leaves away, but there are some small ones left on other leaves. What can i put on it o get rid of them (natrually, no pesticides).

They are about 3-4mm long, green with 2 distinct dots on their body. The older ones seems to be grey.

http://picasaweb.google.com/wannafly37/GardenProblems#

It is not close enough for me to see and check reference books.
It is also something that I don't have in my area.
Check out the sawfly there are lots of variations on the pest.

Since it is turning your leaves into skeletons, try BT on them. A lot of leaf chewing insects can't handle BT and die.

You will know that BT works if you spay it and 3-4 days later you see brown or black worms dead under or around the leaves.

Roy,
Thanks again for the help. LAst night I only had my SO's camera, and I couldnt get the macro mode to work good, but i'll try to take better pictures tonight with my camera.

IT looks like they might be sawfly, as some pictures on google images look VERY similar.

What is "BT"?


On another note, I've also got some VERY small (again about 2-3mm) slug looking things on my green beans. I tried putting beer out on a plate, but they didnt go to it. I poked one around with a stick and they are very squishy like a slug..I will try to get pics tonight.

What type of beer are using?
Pilsner, a good Ale, strong stuff like Guinness?
Rice beer like Budweiser, or maybe Miller?
Are you using a full body beer or a light beer like Coor light?
Ok, it doesn't really matter you can also try:
* 2 cups of warm water
* 2 tablespoons of flour
* 1 teaspoon of sugar
* ½ teaspoon of yeast
* ...and mix well.

Slugs often flock to beer, but sometimes they don't. I would try again with the cheapest beer.

BT is Bacillus Thuringiensis. It is a bacteria that has been used commercially for 60-80 years (something like that) It has been used in nature for a few thousand years. There are several brands out there that contain BT.

I took some better pictures with my camera.

http://picasaweb.google.com/wannafly37/GardenProblems02#

I'll pick up some BT and see if that helps. I'm not sure if these things are slugs or what.

Pics 1 and 2 look like aphids. These are black or brown aphids with this many, it is too late for lacewings or ladybugs to do much good. Wash them off with a strong blast of water (They are too weak and stupid to climb back up) You can also use insecticidal soap or fine a home remedy for a soap solution to kill aphids.

Can't quite tell on photos 3 and 4.

5 looks like black aphids and ants are carrying them around. Ants 'milk' aphids and help move them to new locations. Ants are NOT your friend in the garden.

6-10 is the same bug, but I can't put my finger on it. I think I have seen them before. It is a big-time leaf chewer and should die in a few days if fed BT. With this many, you might see if there is a moth or small moth-like insect around at night or you can disturb from plants. It might be a smallish moth, but the adult form of the guys snacking in your garden. Easier to manage the caterpillar than to get rid of the adults.

Good Luck.

Next year bring in Lacewings in March/April when you first see aphids. They are voracious eaters of aphids and stick around your garden better than lady bugs do.

Thanks, I had never seen aphids like that before, I thought they were always so small they were hard to see. I'll try the soap and lacewings next year. I have noticed I do have a lot of black ants in the raised bed.

I'll try the BT, hopefully i'll get a chance to pick some up today. Darn work getting in the way of my gardening hobby lol.

This morning the garden had hundreds of clear/white mushrooms in it I fear it's the next stage of that white mold. It's either that or it's been rainy here the past few nights, so it's from the soil sitting while moist. *shrug*

For the black ants you can try a mixture of
1/4 cup sugar
tablespoon of Borax

You might google that and see if I got it right.
That mixture or one close can help control ants.