So… bring on the deep freeze and get these bugs out of here!!!!

They are big enough to see, pick off and crush, so you just need to try to remove as many as you can as soon as the attack starts. Larvae look like spiny yellow globs and the adults look like orange lady bugs. When you squish them, they ooze yellow.

Look at this crazy damage! I’m going to try to plant one more batch of bush beans this upcoming weekend; not sure we’ll get another batch before the frost but we really don’t have anything to lose. Most of the Mexican Bean Beetles are now in adulthood, so the larvae shouldn’t be an issue now… right?

Mexican Bean Beetles on Bush Beans

As you can see on the last picture, the ‘good’ bugs like to hang out there, too! Praying mantis is on the most top flower to the right. The butterfly is a bit harder to see on the bottom left in a bit from the last flower.

Zinnias on the table!

Zinnia ‘Bush’

Zinnias with Praying Mantis & Butterfly

My only complaint of the plant itself is that these can get a little droopy looking because the flowers are so heavy. In the fall, you need to leave them as long as possible, and then cut them to the ground right before winter, so they can bloom again in the spring. Peonies are supposed to last 99 seasons, but I really wonder how good of a study that is, because how many people really get to see a peony plant for that long?

It’s really a neat plant, with grayish green leaves, it almost looks like its in the evergreen family (it’s not though). The curry dwarf actually smells like curry. Of course, if you are any type of food connoisseur, you know that real curry is just a mix of different spices, it does not come from a plant. It’s still pretty neat, and it can be used to flavor dishes. However, it is not really recommended for culinary purposes, because although the aroma is strong, the flavor is not, and once any heat is applied, the curry flavor becomes completely non-existent.

This plant also attracts butterflies, and within an hour of putting it outside I did catch one on it (of course, by the time I got my camera, it was gone!). I couldn’t wait to get it planted in the garden to attract more, but then a couple weeks went by before I actually got to it, and now I am having second thoughts. Apparently, those butterflies also like to lay eggs on it, and it was covered (seriously, COVERED) with little black caterpillars, about 1/3 inches big and tents that they hatched in. Super gross. I did not touch it. Then, a couple days later they grew into big caterpillars. Grosser.

As of yesterday, the plant is now caterpillar free, but it looks like they might have done a bit of damage and the leaves are looking a little weak. I’ll see if it recovers, but the curry plant may not be all its cracked up to be! I still might plant it in the ground and hope for the best.

Also, I know we have lady bugs around, which are deadly to aphids, so maybe they enjoyed a nice aphid meal, and are helping me out? As of now, they don’t seem to have moved anywhere else, thank goodness!

These little jerks are HIGHLY destructive, and need to be dealt with immediately. A quick search online seems to indicate an easy way to get rid of them is with some original DAWN (not anti-bacterial). I am going to have to go to the store to get some ASAP (I only have anti-bacterial) and take care of this. I will have to give an update later this week to see how successful I was in the extermination.

So far, I’ve only seen them on the petunias, so hopefully they won’t migrate to any of the veggies. Mint and garlic are listed as deterrents, so I will make some mint or garlic “juice” to spray on & around the rest of the plants. I do not need a full blown aphid infestation! This is the anti-fun part of gardening.