What is killing off everything in my garden?

[snuffaluffagus]

From my Hibiscus to my Hostas, Dogwood shrubs to Maple trees, Zucchini to Squash. There are these black bugs which look like giant fleas that I haven't seen fly but, do they ever jump! Everything is being sucked to death by them . I just over sprayed with a mixture of tobacco tea, dish soap, and water but, they jump off the leaves then jump right back on again. They're all over the place and killing everything . Please help!

[snuffaluffagus]

This is the only pic I could find doing a quick search online. What the h*ll are they and how do I get rid of them?

[<3 My $aving$ <3]

Franks hot sauce works wonders against pesky bugs,

I have NO idea what they are (not sure i want to either) YUCK!
IF you can submit a photo to;
http://pestcontrolcanada.com

[marstec]

If they are really tiny, then could be flea beetles. If quite large, could be Japanese beetles (these have an almost iridescent shell). What kind of access do you have to poisons? I don't advocate spraying, in fact, I have ALL the deadly stuff, but very rarely do I use them. However, if they were killing off everything in the garden, I would certainly do something about it. If it is Japanese beetles, check online for tips on getting rid of them. Good luck.

[Ciel]

OP's pic link is not of Japanese beetles. Whatever is in the photo looks like unwanted insect lives...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_beetle
Link says anchor bugs seem to like to nosh on Japanese beetles, which are more iridescent green and brownish red and squatter/oval than the bugs in OP's link.
Heck, my mother's rose leaves are either on the way to being all lacelike due to bug nosh or they have that yearly bloom of black mildewy spots showing. Sigh. And this was THE YEAR of multitude of roses due to the April feeding I gave the plants (though during dry May/June, the leaves seemed to dry out to tan brown awfully quickly).

[Ciel]

I have tried to do the water/dish soap/something else solution and spray or drizzle it on the rose leaves, but the stuff does not permanently rid the bushes of Japanese beetles. At best, the leaves are temporarily slippery.

[snuffaluffagus]

They're small, no more that 1/2 cm maybe in length. I did look up flea beetles and it would seem that's what I'm dealing with. Unfortunately I had to work today and didn't have time to get to the hardware store before it closed. There are more of these bugs this evening than there were yesterday...my Hydrangeas are now infested too . I'm going to try to get the morning off from work to pick something up and apply asap. I hope I can find something organic at least for my veggies. Please wish me luck!

[Patty Smyth]

Jerry Baker - my go to guy for solutions

http://www.jerrybaker.com/garden/inf...andtonics.aspx

[Tbites]

They're small, no more that 1/2 cm maybe in length. I did look up flea beetles and it would seem that's what I'm dealing with. Unfortunately I had to work today and didn't have time to get to the hardware store before it closed. There are more of these bugs this evening than there were yesterday...my Hydrangeas are now infested too . I'm going to try to get the morning off from work to pick something up and apply asap. I hope I can find something organic at least for my veggies. Please wish me luck!

Technically.... stuff like diatomaceous earth or pyrethrin is organic (there's some chemical pyrethrin out there too) but diatomaceous earth will kill MOST insects... including beneficials like bees !! ... so try and avoid the blooms if you can. If you try pyrethrin, try to apply in the evening when bees aren't active and also try not to spray on the blooms.

I know this probably sounds nutz (do you expect anything else from me ? ) but do you have toads in the forest behind your place ? They're a natural predator for flea beetles.... use a broken terracotta pot in your garden so they have a place to stay.

[snuffaluffagus]

Thanks Patty! I used to use the first recipe on that site when we lived at my old place. I had lost it so am very grateful to you for posting the link.

Omg, lots of toads all over here, Tbites . I have 2 that have dug their homes right in the soil of one of my veggie gardens. I think I'd need an army of them though to help with this situation. Thanks for the info on the pyrethrin...I'll look for that.

Here's what the little bastids look like. First is on the Dogwood, second in on the Hydrangea.






See the yellowing of the trees? This just happened overnight. I woke up this morning to find it dropping it's leaves . I'm heading out now to get some products to help.

[snuffaluffagus]

Found some Green Earth Bio-Mist Garden Insect Killer with 0.02% Pyrethrins ( derived from the Pyrethrin Daisy) and 0.20% Piperonyl Butoxide. I've sprayed the Dogwood and Hydrangea so far and it seems to be doing the trick. I'm ever so thankful that ds1 cashed in some airmiles a few weeks ago and gave me the gift certificates for Reno Depot. I picked up 4 bottles of the Green Earth and that should be good for the shrubs, plants and veggies. Not sure what to do about the trees though as I couldn't find any larger containers of the stuff.

[Tweetybird999]

Good grief! Hope you get this under control.

[muggos0101]

Your yard looks kind of gigantic, but if you can get a hose around, and if plants are hardy enough to take it, dousing them with water can help if not eliminate a bug problem. It kind of looks like you're dealing with a forest in your pic, but if there are plants closer to your home, giving them a good rinse can at least help. Are those little black dots at the very top centre part of the plant bugs? I would want to blast those away for sure if possible.

This probably sounds weird but when I was in grade 2-3 someone paid me 10 cents or something for every mosquito I killed. I lived in Golden BC for about a year, apparently their was enough mosquitos that they had a program to use helicopters to water bomb stagnant water with pesticides. I lived literally on the airport and the guy at the helicopter base was like a family friend and paid me to kill mosquitos. It was just busy work for a kid, but I was stoked to make a buck or two. I didn't have to save the dead ones or anything weird, I would just report my progress. Assuming those bugs are harmless, you could try paying young family members to help kill them. You sit in the yard sipping iced tea keeping an eye on them, they have fun playing outside killing a bunch of bugs and make a few bucks, everybody wins!

[Sunshyne1]

We have a tree in our backyard dropping leaves already too.
But its due to the drought, not any type of insect.
Are you sure the tree isn't dropping leaves because of lack of water? Or do you see the insects on the tree?

[snuffaluffagus]

Muggos, sounds like an excellent job to keep a child's hands busy. Bet you never had time to get bored . My kids would look at me like I grew a second head if I asked them something like that though, lol. They're almost 16 and 22 and think I'm nuts enough as it is . I've hosed the flea beetles off a few times (before picking up the spray) and they just hop right back onto the plant, grrrr. While the insect killer didn't get rid of 100% of them, it seems to be doing the job ok. I just wish I had noticed earlier though as I lost a pumpkin and a squash plant .

Sunshyne1, while I saw a few bugs on the trees outside the fence line, I didn't really pay too much attention as I was focusing on the young ones inside of it. But, you are correct about the yellowing and falling of leaves due to drought. The only trees affected are the Birch and, not only my trees but all the Birch up along the road. It makes sense as I think they have a shallow root system and, up until yesterday, we were in desperate need of precipitation. Wish I had seen your post earlier as I was in tears panicking about the stoopid beetles .