get off my rosemary you shiny little buggers!!!!

[mrsflibble]

i'm at the end of my tether with rosemary beetles. today i stripped 40 of the little buggers off my bush (fnerfner) into a jar of vinegar within 20 mins. this is it. i give in. i'm going for the chemical approach because they're going to kill my rosemary!

theyre all over my lavendar too have found a treatment which is ok for edible herbs.

[Millymollymandy]

I've never heard of rosemary beetles! Off to google.

[RobHed]

Are these the same as Shield Bugs ? If so, we have loads everywhere at the moment. very pretty and very noisy but do they actually do any harm ? They love our garden for some reason and are mostly found around the shrubs, leaving most of the veg behind. They particularly like the wild honeysuckle.

[wulf]

One of these, I imagine:



Not seen any on the rosemary bush in my new place but we did have them when we lived in Lewisham (and picked them all off over several days). I think they only eat rosemary but will happily sit on a number of other plants including lavender.

Wulf

[bean gardenin']

I'm fortunate enough never to have heard of these before. Poor you, I will be keeping a close eye on my herbs now! They must have quite a fragrant constitution!

[MKG]

Spread some newspaper underneath your plant and give it a gentle shake. They'll all fall off onto the newspaper. You then gather them up and chuck 'em over the fence onto your neighbour's rosemary.

Mike

[Gem]

Pretty beetle though :)

[Sky]

Spread some newspaper underneath your plant and give it a gentle shake. They'll all fall off onto the newspaper. You then gather them up and chuck 'em over the fence onto your neighbour's rosemary.

Mike

lol

[Sky]

I was going to say the same, very pretty bug!

[Millymollymandy]

So are Colorado Beetles and Lily Beetles - appearances can be deceptive. We are just lucky that these pests are easy to spot - imagine if they were all browny black!

[bean gardenin']

Having never heard of them before yesterday, I was surprised to find the Lavender at school teaming with them. The Kids love them, they collect them and put them in purpose built twig homes! They are very pretty!

[MKG]

Are these the same as Shield Bugs ? If so, we have loads everywhere at the moment. very pretty and very noisy but do they actually do any harm ? They love our garden for some reason and are mostly found around the shrubs, leaving most of the veg behind. They particularly like the wild honeysuckle.

No, they're not. Beetles chew with their mandibles. Bugs only have the apparatus to suck (a bit like politicians). Shield bugs do very little, if any, harm to anything - although a few can stink to high heaven if you pick 'em up.

Mike