In the garden…leaf footed bugs

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Note: Once a week I share a popular post from the archives. This post was originally published in June 2012.

Leaf footed bugs can cause a lot of damage to crops like tomatoes, pecans, peaches and tender young crops. Learn how to control them organically.

We planted several different varieties of tomatoes this year. We planted Rutgers, Romas, Purple Cherokee, Lemon Boy, Yellow Pear and Yellow Cherry tomatoes. They have all done well and after the season is over I’ll share my thoughts on each variety in the season wrap up.

SchneiderPeeps - tomatoes But last week I noticed some Leaf footed Bugs on them…

SchneiderPeeps - Leaffooted bugs can cause serious damage to your tomatoes. Learn how to control them organically. Here’s the adults. They’re kind of big and ugly looking. They’re related to the stink bug and they suck the juices out of the tomatoes. 

SchneiderPeeps - Leaffooted bug babies
Here’s some babies and even though they are smaller they are no less destructive than the adults.
SchneiderPeeps - Leaffooted bugs can cause serious damage to your tomatoes. Learn how to control them organically.
Here’s the damage they do. There will be soft watery spots on the tomato and then bacteria can start growing in it…yuck!
Each day while we’re out in the garden we’re looking for these guys and squashing them because that is our favorite pest control method. Now they are related to the stink bug…you might want to consider that before you squash yours. Other than spraying with something that will kill all bugs (including bees) there’s not much else to do at this point. 
But here’s something interesting I’ve observed…
  • The Rutger tomatoes are the most covered. We have 2 beds with this variety one at each end of the tomato area and both beds have a lot more leaf footed bugs than the other beds.
  • The Romas are the next susceptible.
  • I’ve only seen a few of these on the Lemon Boy.
  • I’ve not found any on the Purple Cherokee or the small tomatoes. I’m not saying they’ve never had any, I’m just saying I’ve not ever seen these bugs on the them nor have I’ve seen any leaffooted damage on the Purple Cherokees or the small bugs.
It’ll be interesting when the season is over to figure out an average of how many pounds of fruit each tomato plant produced and to see what varieties did the best.
 

Want to know more about leaf footed bugs? 

“Leaf footed bug” refers to a wide variety of bugs that have a widened lower leg. Here are some great photos and classifications from BugGuide. Not only do they like tomatoes, they also like pecans, prickly pear, peaches and many other tender young plants and beans. They insert their sharp mouth into the fruit and suck the juices out. They leave some saliva in the fruit which causes it to stop growing and rot. 
 
The Life Cycle of Leaffooted Bugs
  • There is only one generation per season (which is a good thing).
  • They overwinter in sheltered spots.
  • They emerge in the spring and mate.
  • They lay white eggs on the underside of leaves. 

Prevention

  • This is a hard bug to completely get rid of but citrus oil products can help a heavy infestation. 
  • Birds, snakes, lizards, spiders and frogs – we often relocate lizards and spiders to our garden from other areas of our property. 
  • Parasitic flies such as the tachinid fly will also help.
  • Hand to hand combat – basically you clap your hands together squashing the bug. (Gross but effective)  
  • I did have a friend tell me that hyacinth beans and sunflowers attract leaf footed bugs and that she plants them near, but not in, her garden so that the bugs will eat the beans and sunflowers and leave the tomatoes alone. We might try that next year.
Have you ever had these bugs? Is there another organic way of getting rid of them?
 
Leaf footed bugs can cause a lot of damage to crops like tomatoes, pecans, peaches and tender young crops. Learn how to control them organically.
 
You can find information about other fruits and veggies by searching clicking on the In The Garden tab up top or in The Gardening Notebook.
 

Thanks for sharing with your friends!

29 thoughts on “In the garden…leaf footed bugs”

  1. Hi Angi~ Thanks for stopping over. I’m always interested in reading peoples garden adventures. I’m also looking forward to reading your end of the year wrap up about the tomato varieties you planted. We’ve planted several varieties too. I have a few more tomato posts planned for some of those.

    Our biggest pest problem is not the bugs (so far), but the the birds!

    Following you via Google Friend Connect. I’d love a follow back if your over visiting again and think about it.

    (Hey,are you vegan? I noticed the link on your sidebar for the 30 day webinar.)

    Reply
    • I’m not vegan but I did take Heather’s 30 Day Vegan workshop. I loved it! We try to eat just whole foods and have recently had the opportunity to be a part of a meat and dairy co-op that purchases raw dairy and grass fed beef and poultry. However, in order to do that I need to serve a few more meatless meals during the week. The workshop really helped me get refocused on that.

      Reply
    • They eat everything!!! After 17 years of fighting them I have no problem sqwushing them!! Some people in the South vacume them up.

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    • I had a friend the other day tell me to take grape cool-aide, mix it with water but do not add the sugar. Spray it all over your tomato plants and the bugs can not stand the smell. My friends were helping someone who was a herbalist and they were telling her about bugs getting on their tomatoes. She told them about the kool aid and that it would help. They went to store and bought grape cool-aid mixed it up and sprayed the plant and from then on they did not have any more bugs on their plants. I am going to try it with mine this summer and see what happens.

      Reply
        • Antiseptic soap works well on these bugs, but they keep coming. Spaying them in my Sacramento tomatoes is a daily chore for last two seasons. I’ll solarize my raised bed over the winter to kill any sleeping over.

          Reply
  2. Oh, bummer. My grandfather had a bunch of those, but he’s quick to spray with nasty stuff. I haven’t had too many bugs this year, but I do preventative natural spraying. Once I start getting fruit I spray with a homemade concoction of water with epsom salts, and various essential oils, particularly peppermint, lemongrass, and lavender. It seems to work pretty well, but doesn’t last long. I don’t have a large garden, so it isn’t a big deal to spray the plants once a week or so.

    I’ve also heard people get great results from homemade pepper and garlic sprays.

    Good luck!

    Reply
    • Thanks. We will probably try some homemade sprays next year. We’ve had 3 days in a row of 100+ degrees so we’re just about done for the summer. We’re going to put the chickens in that area for August and Septemeber in hopes that they will take care of aanything that might want to overwinter there.

      Reply
      • Diatomaceous earth Works for these guys too. I try to avoid getting on the flowers of plants so it doesn’t affect the bees in my garden. I use as preventative in spring and then when I have an issue. I try to let the good bugs take care of the bad when I can. This product has to be reapplied after rain.

        Reply
  3. Ew! I don’t do bugs well and I certainly don’t squish bugs well. I plan to use Diatomaceous Earth dusted on my plants. I will also look into natural stuff. Bugs are just a fact of life, aren’t they?

    Reply
  4. Well, I’ve never had those bugs attack my tomatoes–others have done the work for them in my garden! Flea beetles sometimes do leaf damage, and slugs will eat holes in them, but other than that we’ve been pretty tomato pest free. A garden article I read said to grow sunflowers, because the pests like sunflowers. UCDavis Ag. Dept. said to clean up all garden debris well in the fall, so they aren’t as likely to overwinter in the garden, and they said an “egg parasitoid (Gryon pennsylvanicum)” can help kill off the baby bugs, but it doesn’t help with the adults. Probably handpicking and squishing is the best, if time consuming, way to go. You might try contacting the horticulture dept. of your local state college and see if they have any ideas, or your local Master Gardeners. Good luck!

    Reply
  5. Your basket of tomatoes looks wonderful. I am so missing having a garden but now that I have a little extra time on my hands I did manage to start a few plants here and there. Hopefully I’ll be able to start a fall garden which will make up for what we are missing out on.

    Reply
  6. Yuck Angie! That looks really bad. Reminds me of the squash bugs on my zucchini last year. They were so destructive. I had stink bugs on my tomatoes, but not too terribly bad. I hope to be on top of the bugs this year. Last year I also had a large amount of bean beetles, but I still got a really good harvest from my beans considering I only had one row. I was pleased.

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  7. hi there wat is the best way to get rid of spider mite naturally does espsom salts and water sprayed on them work

    Reply
  8. Hi Angi– I know this has been going for several years but I have to tell you about the cleanest, easiest, most successful and least toxic way to control leaffooted bugs. They don’t swim well, so drown them! Use a container with a wide mouth (like empty Costco 2.5 lb mixed nut plastic containers) . Fill part way with sudsy water (a bit of dishwashing detergent does the trick). Hold it under the bugs, tap the leaf or tomato or whatever they are on, and knock them into the water. You can even dunk a whole group of tiny nymphs (on a tomato like in your photo, for example) into the water! For adults, hold the container just below and in front of them; 99% of the time they will jump right into the water. The suds aren’t mandatory, but it takes care of the bugs more quickly. This method also works for other stinkbugs. Happy hunting!

    Reply
    • Hi Elizabeth, thanks so much for the tip! I will definitely be trying it next year when these little guys come back. I think with this method I can even get my kids to help.

      Reply
  9. I have had good luck breaking off small willow limbs and sticking them through the tops of my tomato cages. The strong smell seems to fool the bugs and they go elsewhere. It also gives my tomatoes a bit of shade until the leaves get dry. The strong willow smell stays even after the leaves dry and begin to fall off. By then the bugs are usually gone anyway.

    Reply
  10. The homemade pest spray I have had success with is 1Tbls liquid dish soap (Dawn) in a spray bottle filled with water. This immobilizes and kills the soft body nymphs and. An be washed off your plants,

    Reply

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