Inch worms on my leafy lettuces? What to do??
Question:I'm worried to use any type of spray because the plants being so delicate and thin. Wouldn't that effect the taste?
Answers:
Put ordinary white cooking flour in a shaker & sprinkle on the lettuce.
Do this in the morning when the dew is on the plants or after they are wet from rain or watering. Crawling loopers (caterpillers) & inch worms will crawl up from where they've been hiding under the leaves & get coated with the flour & suffocate & fall off. Just collect the outside leaves where they've fallen & discard.
This works! It's been used for years by organic gardeners.
Or spray this remedy: Grind up in blender 1clove of garlic & 1 hot pepper. Strain. Add 1 drop (to 1 tabsp) Vegetable oil, 1 drop (to 1 tablsp) Ivory liquid soap mixed in a gal. of water. Spray in the morning or evening, when it's cooler outside. Always start with the weakest solution. A general rule is that stronger soap solutions are needed for bigger pests.
Use the best tools you have...Your hands.
Just pluck those little buggers off. If you don't like the idea of squishing them then take along a pail of soapy water and plop them in. Happy Hunting ;)
safer insecticidal soap. it washes off before you eat it.. the worms will not like it and won't stay on your lettuce.
Hand pick them off, then steep hot peppers in hot water, strain and place in a spray bottle. Spray plants with hot pepper water. When you eat them, just wash them good. May have to respray after watering or a rain.
put self rising flour on them. kills them and wont hurt you. it washes off in about two waterings most of the time the worms dont come back sometimes it takes two flours
A spray of 10% diluted Murphy's Oil (vegetable based soap) will suffocate them.
just spray them with soapy water. liquid dishsoap and water in a spray bottle works for most bugs.
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