Hi all,
Happy to be here for a short moment, however NOT happy to be dealing
with something which was just identified by the nursery as SPIDDLE BUGS.
Anyone there ever heard of it? Know any garden friendly, critter friendly way to
get it gone?
Please please say yes and soon before it over takes all my efforts . Thanks a bunch.
Amkind2life

Is this what you have http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/clini ... itlbug.htm ? Spittlebugs in general do suck plant juice, but I don't believe they're harmful enough in most cases to bother doing anything about them. You probably can wash them off with a garden hose if you want to remove them from the plants.

_________________
In theory, theory and practice are the same; in practice, they aren't -- lament of the synthetic lifestyle.

WELL NOW,
WAS I SURPRISED TO FIND THAT THE NURSERY TOLD ME SOMETHING
TOTALLY INCORRECT. NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT I HAVE. WHAT I HAVE, AND I
EVEN TOOK A SAMPLE INTO THE PLACE, BELIEVE IT OR NOT---
CREATES THIS STICKY WHITE, MARSHMELLOW LIKE SUBSTANCE THAT
USUALLY ENDS UP DEVELOPING TO ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE LAST DIGIT
ON MY LITTLE FINGER. WHITE, STICKY GLOBS OF THIS STUFF. IT LOOKS LIKE
SOAP SUDS AFTER I CUT IT AND PUT IT INTO A PLASTIC BAG. IT DISAPPEARED
FARILY RAPIDLY FROM ITS FORMER SHAPE WHICH IS BILLOWY IN ITS EFFECT.
SO NOW THAT YOU KNOW THIS, ANY OTHER INCREDIBLY LIFE SAVING
INFO YOU MIGHT LIKE TO SHARE?
I AM ALL EARS, AND SHOULD HAVE FOREGONE THE JAUNT DOWN TO THE NURSERY AND COME HER FIRST. YOU GUYS ARE USUALLY RIGHT ON THE MONEY
FOR MY EFFORTS. THANKS A WHOLE BUNCH FROM ME AND MY GARDEN.
AMKIND

Here's an A&M picture of a different type:

http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/youth/bug/bug049.html

The link in the picture shows the foamy action on a plant.

_________________
In theory, theory and practice are the same; in practice, they aren't -- lament of the synthetic lifestyle.

HI,
I JUST RE READ THE BLURB ON SPITTLE BUGS AND IT SAYS THEY SOMETIMES
FEED ON CORN. I HAVE BEEN USING CORN AND ALFALFA PELLETS AS A
FERTILIZER FOR MY ENTIRE GARDEN SINCE LAST YEAR WHEN I READ ABOUT
THE COMBO ON THIS SITE. MIGHT THIS BE THE CAUSE?
I WOULD BE LOST WITHOUT THE STUFF, SO I HOPE THIS HASN'T
CALLED THEM TO ME.
WOULD YOU SUPPOSE THERE IS SOMETHING MISSING SOMEWHERE
AND IT CAUSES THESE BUGS TO COME TO THIS PIECE OF PROPERTY?
THEY DON'T HAVE THEM NEXT DOOR? WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT
MAKES THEM ATTRACTED TO THE PLANTS HERE, AS APPOSED TO
ANOTHER PIECE OF LAND? AS I BELIEVE I MENTIONED, THEY SHOWED
UP LAST YEAR AND I DID NOTHING SINCE IT WAS AT THE END OF THE GROWING
SEASON. I WAS HOPING THE COLD WOULD GET RID OF THEM. NOW THEY ARE BACK.
ANY SUGGESTIONS OF WHAT I CAN DO TO MAKE THEM GO AWAY?
THANKS,
AMKIND

I bought a house in Prattville Alabama 10 years ago and the yard was in very bad shape. When I would cut the grass the spiddle bugs would fly up and collect on me and on the mower. NONE of my neighbors had spiddle bugs, only my yard. After the termite inspection was made I ask the guy about getting rid of the spiddle bugs. He said by Law he can only treat inside a house. But he did recommended using DURISBAN. It killed every spiddle bug that stayed, and the others that lived flew into the neighbors yards. Then they asked me what I'd done because thay saw me spreading something the week before, then they all used DURISBAN and all the spiddle bugs were gone. We were there three years and the bugs did not come back.
Since that time the U S Government has BANNED Durisban. The next best thing is DIASINON, (Spelling might be off) It's not as strong, but it's close to Durisban.
Spread it like fertilizer or grass seed.
Hope this helps

I have been gardening for about twenty five years, and have never lost any plant to spittle bugs. They may look kind of gross with the wad of spit-looking stuff, but they don't seem to cause any harm.

Hello Bishop,
Hum, seems like if the US Gov. banned it it must have been pretty
harmful to all life, even the life forms unseen to the microscope, & especially
to the naked eye.
If you recall this is an organic site, and though I am not all that wise
about what is organic and what is not, I am wondering if Diazanon is actually
something toxic. It might be organic, but if the Gov. recommends it,
I would have to believe it's probably harmful to the soil. Would you happen to know?
Seems once I got past the panic of seeing the stuff, since it is really funky looking,
I am a little more at peace with the stuff. It's good to know it doesn't do much, if any
harm. Maybe some nice birdies would come into my yard, which they seem to
enjoy and make themselves a nice meal or four out of the spittle bugs.
It also just rained and it seems like I am not seeing the white stuff so much.
Amkind

OH, I should say Diazanon is quite toxic. It will kill just about anything... and probably everything it comes into contact with. That includes any crawly things the birds might be attracted to.

Bishop: I've never heard of Spittle bugs doing any amount of damage. I guess they might to a little bit, but I've never noticed any. I have one on an herb in a pot right now, and I showed it to my little girl, then left it alone. Chances are you have such an imbalance in your lawn from using pesticides that the spittle bugs natural enemies have all been wiped out. I would think the blast of water several days in a row would make them pack up their bubbles and leave. If that didnt' work, follow it up with some hot pepper tea and be done with them.

Ya might start looking here for more info, and follow some of the links from there: http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=30

Good luck with your problem, try using less toxic "scorched earth" methods and I think you'll be happier with your greenery.

Stephenh