AAARRGGGH! Bugs eating my pretties!!

I am so upset! The last 2 nights I have gone out and found these little beetle looking bugs munching away on the leaves of my mandevillas, honeysuckles, hibiscus well, pretty much everything but my succulents! They look like baby JuneBugs! I used a pesticide by Bayer and it killed them last night..but they were back tonight! Can someone help me? I am a newbie and would appreciate any guidance...Also, please pass a hankie...I am so upset bout the damage they are doing!!!

I just saw this post (been out of town) and wondered what Bayer product.you used...

Hi ceejay.To be honest..I cant recall at the moment. A blue jug..Little help I am..At any rate. It did no good. What I finally did was get insecticidal soap..and picked about a gazillion of them off ALL of my plants. The only major damage they did was to that one mandevilla. It is thriving. Another problem I have been having is whiteflies. I mean BAD. I got rid of some Cow Itch Vines..They were INFESTED with the things. I had been wanting to get rid of them for some time, but had let my neighbor talk me out of it. She said the original owner had planted those and she just "hated to see them go"..Well, too bad. They are GONE. ..I have one other plant that just does not look well. It is my Moon Vine ...It looks droopy in parts of it and I noticed the..umm..I think seed pods..The spindly looking balls...in that same area looking bad..Got sorta mooshy and had black spots. I would send a pic but it is storming like mad here! With this zany post..Think you can help??..BTW..You are live in my "home neck of the woods"!

Hi turbo, sorry to hear about the attack on your plants. When the weather clears, please post a picture of the beetles, even if dead. That will help us help you identify it and offer suggestions or plans of action to keep them away.

turbosbabe - Where is Ingleside?
That storm you were talking about knocked me off line, and I just got it fixed....

Hey ceejay..Ingleside is bout 14 miles from Corpus..going up towards Rockport. It is home of one of our Naval Bases..It is also one of the sites that got the ax! I hate to think what it is going to do to the economy in the long run.It is a small town, but a nice town. We have been down here for bout 3 years and looks like we will call this "home" from here on out...Oh.on that Bayer Product..It was the Bayer Advanced. I cant say I was real impressed with it. It didnt seem to make a dent in the beetles. What finally worked seemed to be my nightly vigils. I am so glad those things are gone! ..Are you from The Woodlands area? What kind of plants do you have or are you most fond of? I want some lavender so badly..But dont know if I can get it grown here or not...

I've lived in The Woodlands since '92...14 years. Moved here from Edmond, OK, where I lived for 9 years, before that Denver, before that Houston, before that... Originally from the midwest. DH took early retirement and we don't have to move anymore. Yay!

I take it that you never got a photo of the beetles. Well, if they're gone, it doesn't matter. And congratulations!

The Bayer Advanced is just a brand name. I was wanting the ingredient - the killing ingredient. They make one with di-syston that I would warn you against using (highly toxic to mammalians - and anything else), but the one with imidacloprid is "friendlier" to mammalians. It is systemic and most (but not all) beetles will be killed by it. Sevin is another that is recommended for beetles. But then you have to be careful abut the bees and beneficials... All in all, it's best if you can handle it by constant vigil! LOL

I have a whole bunch of plants! Wouldn't know where to start on that question. But I can tell you that you probably can't grown lavender. It is too humid here. I have had some luck with Spanish lavender, but it is short-lived and lasts only 2-3 years. But pretty, and worth replanting.

Where did you live before Ingleside?

Hi ceejay..Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Randa..rhymes with panda..Ok..now that is done! Gosh..where have I lived..Well, I grew up in East Texas..Mostly Palestine, Jacksonville area, until I was in jr. high. Then we moved to Fairfield. My Dad was a gamewarden as well as a Baptist preacher. I went to college in Tyler..nursing school. I stayed in the East Texas area for lots of years. I moved to Willis(north of you!)later in life. Met(RE-MET actually..a whole nuther story!!)my honey of a hubby. We lived in Hunstville and then Lake Conroe before I started traveling with him in his line of work. We have been all over the Southeast..all the way from Virginia down to Louisiana! His company brought him down here after we got back from Virginia..That was bout 3 yrs ago. We had the "gypsy" bug for a long time. He still travels..I just dont like I used to and Aaron is bout ready to stay put as well. We have 2 wonderful grandchildren we adore living only minutes from us. We have 2 more only a couple of hours away! The two that live here are: grandson, Alex, is 2 and half.. grand-daughter, Kali, is almost a month old..I just hate leaving them. My husband just got home from Chile. He was there for 4 months. They put in a telescope..Think Hubble....It is nice to have him home. He is my camera man! I dont take good pix...Whew! I wonder if I left out any place? I am sure I did..Oh well!
As for the beetles. yes, they are gone. I just wonder if I will be invaded again next year? I use Sevin..I also use an insecticidal soap with seaweed as the basis, more than anything now. I just hate using so many chemicals. Any "heads up" on any certain critters I should be ready for in the fall??
Dang! I really, really wanted some lavender..I want some extraordinarily fragrant! Suggestions?

Hi Randa! I'm going to have to get back to you. I have a project with a time frame that I have to get done - NOW! Didn't want you to think that I was ignoring you - I really want to chat more, but it will have to wait. I'm going to stick this thread in my favorites so I don't lose you, OK? So, give me 10 days, and I'll be back.
CJ