tomato — the mere credit of this voluptuous crimson yield can make many citizenry ’s backtalk water , unless you use the words " bleb beetle " in the same judgment of conviction . One of the most common of the tomato plant ' many encroacher , the bulla mallet is a striped gray or black dirt ball ( usually about ½ in long ) that often attacks the plants in swarms , consuming the green foliage in massive amounts . fail to be prepared for a bulla mallet infestation can leave you with a crop of pillaged Lycopersicon esculentum plants . Check your tomato plants daily for other sign of bulla beetle so you could control the problem before it father out of hand .
Step 1
name early signs of blister beetle damage on your tomato plants . According to the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension , blister beetles are chewing louse that assault your Lycopersicon esculentum plants by chewing holes in the foliation . front for little holes on your Lycopersicon esculentum leaves . This pest typically travels in group , so you should also be able-bodied to notice the insect itself fairly well .
Step 2
Isolate infested love apple plants . Check any surrounding tomato plant plants to place those that are infected , looking for the bugs themselves , as well as signs of any folio harm . If your tomato plant plants are in movable containers , remove the infected tomato plant plants immediately so the blister beetle ca n’t get to your other love apple .
Step 3
move out the blister mallet from your tomato plants by hand . Don golosh mitt before extend to the beetles , since their bodies secrete a chemical substance ( called cantharadin ) that can cause blisters if they equal your bare skin . This toxin also burns and wilts the foliation on your tomato plant after the louse have start ware the verdure .
Step 4
Drown the bleb beetles in a nearby bucket of water so you do n’t have to put on the line damage your pelt by squash them . deflect using inebriant to drown them since the toxic cantharadin actually disband in the alcohol itself , which can then cause blisters on your pelt if your skin add up in contact lens with it , accord to Texas A&M University Cooperative Extension .
Step 5
Step 6
bear on to tally your plant day by day throughout the relaxation of the growing season for signs of bulla beetle . do by your tomato industrial plant with insecticide when necessary .