Leaf-Footed Bugs

This time of year I notice an increase in damage on my tomatoes. Little dimples and other small blemishes show up well before the tomatoes begin to ripen. One culprit might be stink bugs, but their damage is often more severe. Another evil tomato biter is the Leaf-Footed Bug shown below. It's about three quarters of an inch long and has large back legs.



The leaf-footed bug does damage to stems and leaves, but their most irritating work is what they do to tomatoes. I like my tomatoes to be pristine, perfectly smooth and deep red. Earlier in the season this would have been possible, had the furry masked mammals not stolen the early crop. This time of year it's a lot harder to get perfect fruit. While my garden was increasing production, the insects were maturing and increasing their numbers.

Natural pesticides and even nasty chemicals don't seem to faze these nasty creatures or their stinkbug friends in this stage of their lives. There are some preventive measures I could have taken, like keeping weeds under control, but now I'm left with only one workable solution. Hand picking. As with most hand picking of bugs, the recommended procedure is to knock the bugs off into a container of soapy water. Unfortunately, leaf-footed bugs can fly, so they won't all drop willingly into the pail. I use my tried-and-true method of smashing them between gloved thumb and forefinger.

Leaf-footed bugs are extremely good at hiding in plain sight. Once I had found one, I stood in the same spot, looking deep into the shadows of the tomato plants. Within a few minutes I found about a dozen and a couple of stink bugs. Leaf-footed bugs also release a stinky smell when touched or smashed.


I don't know how many more of these little beasts are out there, but I know a dozen that won't be bothering my tomatoes anymore.

Stephen

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