This time of year, our vegetable harvests should be in full swing. If you’ve been picking tomatoes and bell peppers, you may have seen a group of bugs we call stinkbugs. Around the beginning of May, you may have seen one to five of them on your vegetables. Now, the populations look to be high and are hurting your vegetables. I offer information that will help us understand the shape, behavior, purpose, and possible way to get rid of these unwanted guests.
An insect that we commonly call a stinkbug may actually be identified as a leaf-footed bug. The immature stages of this insect are called nymphs. They have soft bodies and orange to red coloring. On their backs, they have what look like two small black bumps. You will often see them clustered while feeding on your vegetables. Leaf-footed bugs are about an inch long as adults. Their bodies are gray to brown, and their front wings have a white band that makes them stand out. The adult’s hind-legs will have prominent leaf-like bulges, a feature that gives the insect its common name. All stages have piercing mouthparts that they use to drink plant juices. They eat a wide range of fruits and vegetables, including peaches, tomatoes, and seeds like black-eyed peas and beans. They have been known to feed on stems and tender leaves of some plants.
Leaf-footed bugs overwinter as adults in protected areas, such as in woody brush, barns or other buildings. In the spring, when the weather starts to get warmer, they lay eggs. After a week, the nymphs hatch, and within five to eight weeks, they start to grow into adults. There are typically two to three generations from the spring through summer. They move from areas with weeds and brush to vegetable gardens and landscapes, and they often do this when the fruits of your labor start to ripen.
They do damage that is similar to stinkbug damage: on soft vegetables like tomatoes, the damage first shows up as spots, depressions, or discoloration on the fruit’s surface. Because of this, you might notice that the skin on your tomato plants gets a little “corky,” or tough. When you poke holes in fruit, secondary pathogens can get in. This may be why the fruit goes bad or rots. Feeding small fruit may cause them to die, which could be a problem for cherry tomatoes like Sun Gold or Sweet Million. Damage can be a big problem for fresh market and processing businesses when it comes to how the food looks and how easy it is to sell, but home gardeners might be able to handle small amounts of damage.
Leaf-footed bug populations can change from year to year because of things like hard winter freezes that make it hard for them to overwinter, parasitic wasps that eat eggs or adults, and birds, spiders, and assassin bugs that eat them. Pre-emptive control can be obtained by removing overwintering sites such as weedy areas. You may also use row covers to keep the critter from accessing the vegetables. Physical removal is also an option especially when the populations are just starting to build. Wear gloves when handling these insects because they will emit an unpleasant odor when crushed or provoked. Insecticides should only be your last line of defense, and are most effective against small nymphs. Broad-spectrum pyrethroid-based insecticides, like those with peremethrin, can kill these bugs. But they are harmful to bees and other good bugs, so they shouldn’t be used too often. I’m sure you’ve already read this next part of one of my articles: always follow the directions on the pesticide label exactly, pay attention to the “days-to-harvest” period on the label, and wash the fruit before eating it. Things that smell bad shouldn’t get you down; you still have a lot of vegetables to pick for dinner. I invite you to share successes in your garden by browsing online to my Facebook webpage: www. facebook. com/stephenbhorticulturist.
As a tomato gardener, few things are more frustrating than walking out to your lush plants and spotting strange orange bugs clustered on the leaves. These unwelcome guests are likely leaf footed bug nymphs, emerging pests that can swiftly damage your tomato crop.
In this guide, we’ll cover how to identify orange leaf footed bugs, the harm they cause, and effective organic methods to get rid of them without toxic chemicals. Read on to protect your tomatoes from these sneaky summer invaders!
What Are Leaf Footed Bugs?
Leaf footed bugs belong to the family Coreidae, which includes squash bugs and many other sap-sucking insects. There are over 100 species of leaf footed bugs in North America. The most common garden pest species is the western tarnished plant bug (Lygus hesperus).
These bugs get their name from the flattened, leaf-like expansions on their hind legs. Adults have long antennae and measure 0.3-0.6 inches in length. Their coloration provides good camouflage: mottled brown, gray and black on the wings with an orange-brown body.
Leaf footed bugs feed using needle-like mouthparts to pierce plant tissues and suck out juices. Both adults and nymphs cause damage through feeding.
What Do Leaf Footed Bug Nymphs Look Like?
The young nymphs of leaf footed bugs go through five growth stages, each time shedding their exoskeleton to become larger. Just-hatched nymphs are tiny black insects. After a few days, they molt into the orange phase often seen colonizing tomato plants.
These orange leaf footed bug nymphs have oval-shaped bodies with black legs and antennae. Two distinctive black stripes run down their abdomen. They are around 0.12-0.2 inches long.
Within a few weeks, the nymphs will molt again, becoming greenish-brown. In their final phase before adulthood, look for the developing ‘leaf feet’ on the hind legs.
Why Are Leaf Footed Bugs Attracted to My Tomato Plants?
Leaf footed bugs are generalist feeders that attack a wide variety of garden vegetables, fruits, ornamentals and weeds. Tomatoes are among their favorite targets.
These pests are drawn to lush, healthy tomato foliage and fruit. Leaf footed bugs often build up on weeds or uncropped areas and then migrate over to gardens once tomato plants start setting fruit.
The bugs seem especially fond of staking or caging tomatoes, as the confinement provides them easy access. But leaf footed bugs will also readily feed on sprawling tomatoes.
Their peak activity is during hot, dry weather in mid to late summer Be extra vigilant inspecting for leaf footed bugs from July through September
How Do Leaf Footed Bugs Damage Tomatoes?
Both adult and juvenile leaf footed bugs use needle-like mouthparts to stab into tomatoes, extracting nutrients and moisture. This ruptures plant cells and creates areas for decay organisms to invade. Their feeding causes several types of direct injury
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Sucks sap: Removing sap interferes with the plant’s circulatory system, impairing growth, fruit production and overall vigor.
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Injects toxins: As they feed, leaf footed bugs introduce toxic salivary secretions that cause extra tissue damage.
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Scars fruit: Feeding punctures on tomatoes create pale spots or dimples. These often become entry points for fungi and bacteria.
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Transmits diseases: Leaf footed bugs spread serious tomato diseases like curly top virus through their saliva as they feed.
A heavy infestation can quickly defoliate tomato plants. But just a few leaf footed bugs are capable of disfiguring fruit and stunting plants. Thorough inspection and immediate treatment is key.
How to Get Rid of Leaf Footed Bugs on Tomato Plants Organically
Catching orange leaf footed bugs early before they multiply gives you the best chance of protecting your tomato crop. Here are effective organic control methods:
Hand removal
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Check under leaves thoroughly for both nymphs and adults. These bugs often congregate along stems and on the undersides of foliage.
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Pick off any bugs you find and drop them into a bucket of soapy water to kill them.
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Use a flashlight at night to spot leaf footed bugs that are harder to see during the day.
Insecticidal soap
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Spray tomato plants with a direct-contact organic insecticidal soap. Coat the undersides of leaves thoroughly.
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Repeat applications every 5-7 days as needed to control hatching nymphs. Soap spray only kills on contact and doesn’t provide residual control.
Natural pyrethrin insecticide
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Products based on pyrethrin extracted from chrysanthemums provide quick knockdown of leaf footed bugs.
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Direct spray to cover leaves, stems and developing fruits. Reapply every few days while bugs are active.
Attract beneficial insects
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Release or lure predaceous insects like assassin bugs, minute pirate bugs, and parasitic wasps that feed on leaf footed bugs.
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Plant nectar-rich flowers to draw these beneficials. Clover, dill, cilantro, and yarrow are good choices.
Remove weeds/debris
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Keep the garden free of weeds like ground cherry and lambsquarters that can harbor leaf footed bugs.
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Also eliminate nearby waste piles, tall grass and any other places the bugs may hide and breed when not in your tomato patch.
How to Prevent Leaf Footed Bugs from Damaging Tomatoes
Along with control methods, certain prevention strategies can help deter leaf footed bugs:
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Use reflective mulches like aluminum foil or mylar to confuse pests and make plants less apparent.
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Cover tomato cages or supports with fine netting or row cover early in the season to exclude bugs.
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Use crop rotation to avoid following tomatoes, eggplant or peppers with more solanaceous crops. Break the pest cycle.
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Plant tomatoes as far as possible from weedy borders or last year’s tomato patch.
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Avoid excess nitrogen fertilizer, which makes plants more succulent and appealing to leaf footed bugs.
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Monitor for eggs on the undersides of leaves weekly and crush any you find. This eliminates them before they can hatch into plant-damaging nymphs.
What’s the Outlook for My Tomato Plants After Leaf Footed Bug Damage?
The key is to catch infestations early before large numbers of leaf footed bugs become established. Tomatoes can recover well from light feeding damage. But if bugs are left uncontrolled, they can seriously undermine your tomato harvest.
While frustrated to spot those orange pests on your plants, don’t despair. Just take prompt action to curb leaf footed bugs through the organic methods outlined above. Pay close attention while tomatoes are ripening to keep your crop protected. With quick response, you can still gather a bountiful tomato harvest despite this occasional garden pest.
Tomato plants have insects — How to safely spray them
FAQ
How to get rid of orange bugs on tomato plants?
What are the orange mites on my tomatoes?
What are the tiny orange bugs on my plants?
What are tomato plant pests?
These tomato plant pests can take a big bite out of your harvest. Use these tips to keep them under control. Tomato pests are a diverse group. You’ll find them creeping, crawling, and burrowing through leaves and fruit. Other pests will attack plant roots and stems.
What bugs eat tomato plants?
There are plenty of other tomato pests that work damage on your tomato plants: the potato wireworm, tortoise beetles, wireworms, stalk borers, psyllids, leaf miners, tomato pinworm, cabbage looper, tobacco budworm … the types of bugs that attack tomatoes number in the dozens to hundreds. But you can fight them.
How do you know if a tomato plant has Bugs?
You want them off your plants and out of your garden before they wreak havoc on your crop and spread all kinds of nasty diseases. A good way to identify bugs on tomato plants is by where they attack: the upper plant (including its leaves, stems, and fruit) and the lower plant and roots.
What worms eat tomatoes?
Yarrow, Queen Ann’s lace, coriander, and dill are all great options. Most often, Tomato Fruit Worms eat flowers and tomato ovaries, which causes considerable harm to the crop. Also known as corn earworms, tomato fruit worms are considered one of the most damaging tomato pests.