Bugs on my tomato plant, help!?
Question:I started planting a tomato plant, it started off ok, but recently, as it grew taller, more and more bugs are appearing on it. Most of them are white and sticks to the plant and won't wash off, some of them are green flies. The leaves are starting to turn brown as well.
Is there any way of getting rid of them without using insecticides? Like a natural way without harming the plant.
Shall I also get rid of the browning leaves as well?
Answers:
pull the browning leaves off (cut)
either introduce ladybugs to your plants
or make an oil spray.
1 cup canola oil
1/4 cup dish soap
2 cups water
sprinkle in a little cayenne pepper.
mix thouroughly and spray on foliage. The soap will kill the bugs and the oil will film on th foliage to keep any eggs from hatching.
If you have cutworms: when the soil surface is dry sprinkle corn meal around the base of your plants, this will kill them.
theres not too many thing you can do except try this - mix liquid dish soap and water in a spray bottle and squirt away
That thing with the washing up liquid really does work.
Lady birds, they kill Afids and green fly.
Would be helpful if you indicate where you live.
Sounds to me like you have aphids of some kind and/or perhaps white flies. The brown leaves may not be anything, or it could be a plant disease.
A nasty tomato plant virus is going around right now and it's attacking back yard tomato plants. If you got your plants from a nursery or home improvement place, it could have been infected when you got it. Symptoms are yellowing-to-brown leaves and fruit drop. If your plant is infected, it's lost. Before pulling it out, take a leaf to a local nursery to see if they can tell you what it is.
The bugs actually carry the disease, I understand. If the plants don't have the "plague", use insecticidal soap and spray the entire plant, top and bottom of all leaves and stems. Do this when the plant is in shade NOT direct sun. (Soapy solutions may burn.) Then, spray the plant down with clean water. Repeat once a week. Also, set up sticky yellow traps, found at any nursery or garden store, for about $7 for four in a pack.
Those are the only "non-poison" ways that I know. Keep your plants healthy with a little plant food twice during the season and water deeply but infrequently. Once established, tomatoes only need watering in hot weather.
Hope that helps
Whiteflies and aphids both cause leaf yellowing and leave a characteristic sticky excrement called honeydew. Leaves appear shiny and are somewhat sticky when honeydew is present. Damage usually is minimal on tomatoes and often can be ignored. If aphids become a problem, some applications of insecticidal soap are quite effective.
Get rid of the leaves because you could get bacterial infection
Good luck
The soap and water suggestion really does work. Take off the browing leaves. Another idea that I've used for many years - it was something I learned as a kid - is to plant Marigolds near the tomato plants. Many bugs don't like them because they are stinky. It won't get rid of everything, but it will help.
Use the soapy water but make it very foamy and wrap the foam around the leaves with your hands and leave it to dry. Make sure you get soapy water on the underside of the leaves as whitefly lay their eggs there. You can actually wipe off the eggs with a damp cloth or tissue. It is probably best to remove the browning leaves.
Hanging up sticky fly strips, over the tomato plant, will reduce the numbers of aphids. Give the plant a little shake and watch them fly off the leaves - the sticky strips will catch many of them.
Stand a small pot of tagetes under the tomato plant - whitefly hate the smell of tagetes and will be discouraged. Tagetes are small, bushy plants from the marigold family and are more effective than plain marigolds. One tagetes plant in a 5ins diameter pot is all that is required for one tomato plant.
Hope you get a good crop.
Be careful how much washing up liquid you use though, someone advised me to use 6 parts water to 1 part washing up liquid. This is far too much, I sprayed this dilution on my chillies and it turned the leaves black and the plants died, my broccoli plants went black but are now recovering, the sunflowers died and my tomato plants shrivelled up.
Another useful tip is to boil a whole bulb of garlic in water for half an hour, crush the garlic in the water, strain it through some muslin into a jug so it doesn't block the sprayer up, then pour it into your sprayer.
I agree with the soap idea! only I would mix liquid soap, water and a touch of vinegar(white) together and spray away!!
Good Luck!
i usually have luck with dishsoap and water sprayed under the leaves.
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