Organic Gardening will upgrade its login and registration system on
December 11. The new system is needed to support some of the major site
enhancements that we are currently developing. The new system is shared with
other Rodale sites, including Prevention, Men's Health, Runner's World and Women's Health.
Click here for answers to the most frequently
asked questions related to the new system.
Small green bugs are eating my sunflower leaves. I can't seem to identify them; they are about 5mm long and green. They eat the leaves, but not the veins. At first, I see black bugs about 2mm large; then the green bugs come along.
These bugs are only attacking the sunflowers; all the other plants and veggies in the garden are fine. What are these bugs? How can I get rid of them? Would insecticidal soap help? I would appreciate any advice!
No, I don't see any brown spots. Just large, chewed-out chunks of leaves. My daughter and I put ladybugs on the leaves, hoping this would help the problem. But instead, it just got worse! On some leaves, just the leaves themselves were eaten but the veins were left alone.
Dear Fellow Small Green Bug Hater, I'm pretty sure we couldn't have the same bug, since I live in No. W. California, but I had the same problem on my sunflowers last year. It was so bad (and depressing), that I didn't even plant one this year. My problem was spotted cucumber beattles and the advise I have gotten is a red pepper spray directly on the problem areas. Hope it works, I plan on trying it next year. Good Luck, mayhem mandy
