spittle bugs

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dun1kirk Berkeley, CA(Zone 9a) May 10, 2007

I've always had some, but this year I have spittle bugs on almost every flower and plant. None of my controls have made a dent. Are they harmful to plants and flowers and how do you rid your gardens of them?

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) May 10, 2007

I don't think they do too much harm, I had a ton of them last year and I just hosed them off whenever I saw them, but I don't recall much in the way of damage.

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dun1kirk Berkeley, CA(Zone 9a) May 11, 2007

Do more people know more regarding spittle bugs, please?

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spidra Berkeley, CA(Zone 9b) May 16, 2007

I just saw these for the first time this year and had asked here if anyone knew what they were. Luckily, a botanically inclined friend from TX did.

Pam Peirce answers a question about them in this week's column:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/16/HOGPVPO0C629.DTL

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Equilibrium May 17, 2007

I get these every year. I'm with ecrane here. I've never noticed them doing any damage.

If you are concerned about the aesthetics of what sort of looks like bubbly regurgitated marshmallows, you could spray your plants with a dormant oil early in spring before your plants leaf out. Application of a dormant oil stops the eggs from hatching if you totally saturate the plant at the right time.

More info here-
http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1999/2-19-1999/oilsprays.html

I purchase RTU dormant oils when I need to use them but you can make your own but just keep shaking it while you are using it. -
1 gallon water
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Dawn dishwashing detergent

Here's another recipe from online-
http://www.allwoodwork.com/tips/dormantoilspray.htm

Much easier for me to buy it for the few times I have used it. Heads up though, the fix may have consequences. Petroleum oil is phytotoxic which means that although the spittle bugs might not damage them, the dormant oil might.

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