Little Black Bugs?

[R.K. Castillo]

One of our systems has been full of a bunch of little black bugs.  

2 Questions

1.  If I spray it with worm tea will this get rid of them?  

2. Can you spray worm tea on food you plan to eat in the future like lettuce?  

[Alex Veidel]

Yes, you can spray worm tea on plants that you are eating, it's safe. Whether or not worm tea will get rid of the bugs I guess would depend on the bug, but I'm going to say no, probably not. Worm tea helps introduce an army of microbes on your leaf surfaces, which can help prevent things taking over your leaves by not leaving any space for pest fungi or other microbes. Got any pictures of the bugs?

[Sam Burton]

Worm tea won't hurt your system and won't help your bug issue.  A little mild dish soap in water in a spray bottle will probably do the trick on your bugs. 

[R.K. Castillo]

Here's a pic of the bugs.  You can also see the leaves, something is wrong with them.  I don't know if it's a nutrient deficiency or if it's because of the bugs?  

[Alex Veidel]

You're leaves are covered in tiny black spots, are they apart of the plant, or do they come off if you rub the leave. They kind of look like insect feces, and the damage is kind of silvery like thrip damage. I don't know what the little bugs are.They may or may not be part of the problem.

Got a decent microscope by any chance?

[R.K. Castillo]

I don't have a microscope.  

But I just went and rubbed a bunch of the black spots and they're definitely little bugs.  They were crawling around on my hand after I rubbed.  

At first I thought the leaves were just dirty, but after a while most of the leaves started to look like that.  

[Alex Veidel]

Wow, I just reread my post and my own grammar made me sick. Failed to use a question mark, one inappropriate use of "you're", and used the plural form of "leaf". Blehhh :P

Alex Veidel said:

You're leaves are covered in tiny black spots, are they apart of the plant, or do they come off if you rub the leave. They kind of look like insect feces, and the damage is kind of silvery like thrip damage. I don't know what the little bugs are.They may or may not be part of the problem.

Got a decent microscope by any chance?

[Alex Veidel]

Now, I'm not talking about the obvious, big, beetle things. I'm talkin about the black/brown specks on the surface area of your leaves. Your leaves are covered in them; those are bugs too?

R.K. Castillo said:

I don't have a microscope.  

But I just went and rubbed a bunch of the black spots and they're definitely little bugs.  They were crawling around on my hand after I rubbed.  

At first I thought the leaves were just dirty, but after a while most of the leaves started to look like that.  

[R.K. Castillo]

The small black spots are the bugs.  The brownish stuff on the leaves that looks like the leaves might be dirty won't rub off.  

[Ben Rodman]

One of the important elements of IPM is identifying the pest so you can treat it effectively without collateral damage. It's a wise investment (and plain fun) to get a good 30X loupe or magnifying glass: with one and access to Google you'll know your enemy in no time! 

[Alex Veidel]

Sorry man, I don't know what that is....Personally, I love having a microscope on hand to identify these kind of problems. That way you can distinguish between insect damage and other plant issues. It's been a wonderful tool. What are those, strawberry plants?

R.K. Castillo said:

The small black spots are the bugs.  The brownish stuff on the leaves that looks like the leaves might be dirty won't rub off.  

[Alex Veidel]

I feel like I've said the same thing thirty times this week, but it could be spider mites....The damage does look slightly different on different plants.

[R.K. Castillo]

They're Candy Mint.  Really good...taste like a candy cane.  

What's a good way to deal with Spider Mites?  I sprayed all the plants down with a little bit of dish washing soap yesterday but it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference.