Attack of the orange bug

[Starlight]

Ack!!!!!! I watered then decided to go and snag me a tomato off the vine and noticed one of my pepper plants on the one side all over the peppers is this tiny orange bodied bug.

There's oodles of them. Sorry the pics kinda blurry. Hopefully somebody knows what they are. They just came out of no where and when I first watered I didn't notice them cuz I was looking at the peppers to see if any needed picked yet.

These guys are tiny, about ant size or smaller and they quick. Tried to get near them for pic and they all started scurrying to foliage and other side of plant.

Good bug or bad bug? Hope they something good cuz they sure don't look like something I want to try and squish. (shivers)

I've spent the past two days chasing one of them blue colored tail lizards round and round the house and finally got him out and half dozen praying mantis that hatched from something I brought in house and kept trying to get at my coffee and morning toast. Now these guys show up just when all has been quiet outside.

[Carriehelene]

Yuck. They look nasty. Sorry I don't have any answers for you, never seen anything like that in my garden.

[saltmarsh]

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2015/04/...-footed-bug-7/

[Tracydr]

Those are leaf footed larvae. I just killed a bunch of them last week by squishing,then spraying with neem and finally dusting with DE the next day. Not just because of them but I also had stink bugs and just a few aphids.

[Starlight]

Thank you ! Thank you! Thank you!

I found a matching pic from off the link from Saltmarsh. Yuck!

That is them alright. Yuck!

All the years I been growing peppers and first time I have seen such a bug here. Once in awhile I will get a Leaf-footed bug, but never had one that color.

Just went out and soaped the heck out of the plant and did squish a few that tried to escape, since you said you did Tracy, so at least I knew I wouldn't get stung or bite.

Hopefully they will all be dead by morning. They having the bubble bath of their life right now. If I still see some come morning, I'll try the Neem oil.

Usually I try and let natural predators take care of pest problems, but most of the good bugs have moved on as things are winding down here for the year. There was way to many of these things. They had to go.

Appreciate the help folks!

[b54red]

I hope the soap kills them for you. Once they get full size they are much harder to kill. I used a soap and Permethrin spray to kill them on my bells this year and it worked great on the leaf footed bugs as well as the stink bugs which have come on strong lately. Now my plants are healthy looking once again and it looks like I will have a massive fall harvest this year.

Bill

[Starlight]

That's fantastic Bill. I went out and checked this morning. They all dead. Most of the bodies I couldn't find. Hope that means they croaked up into nothingness. The few bodies I did find, I touched and they were dead. I left the soap on all night and washed the plant good and the drenched the soil well too to get the soap out and off so the leaves wouldn't fry in today's heat and sun.

I'm smiling this morning since I know what I was dealing with, but sure was freaked out last night with a mass of unknown wicked looking critters even though I'm bigger than them. LOL : )

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Starlight

That's fantastic Bill. I went out and checked this morning. They all dead. Most of the bodies I couldn't find. Hope that means they croaked up into nothingness. The few bodies I did find, I touched and they were dead. I left the soap on all night and washed the plant good and the drenched the soil well too to get the soap out and off so the leaves wouldn't fry in today's heat and sun.

I'm smiling this morning since I know what I was dealing with, but sure was freaked out last night with a mass of unknown wicked looking critters even though I'm bigger than them. LOL : )

Google images of leaf footed bugs and you will see some really creepy looking things and all sorts of them exist. They can be mistaken for Assassin bugs since some of them look so much alike but the tell tale thing is the leaf like thing on the back legs of the adults. Some of the immature leaf footed bugs and Assassin bugs look almost identical but you can clearly see the leaf like back legs on the leaf footed bugs.

Bill