How to control bugs on vegetable bed?

[ArunM]

Hello,

 We live in Brisbane and seem to have problems on our garden bed with bugs eating into some of our produce / leaves. 

  We tried neem oil extract so far with limited success. Anybody in the community has had any luck with this ? Please suggest something I can use to control the bugs.  

 

Arun 

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @ArunM 

There are many bugs and different solutions for each.

Rather than load your garden up  with mixed chemicals.

Is  there any signs of caterpillers etc that might be the culprit?

Not much  help yet I know.

[Akanksha]

Sorry to hear about your bug issue, @ArunM. 

I agree with @Jewelleryrescue that any insights on the type of bugs attacking your produce would be helpful. Feel free to post any additional photos of the bugs that can help our members identify them.

Let me also call upon our experienced garden experts @mich1972 and @Noelle for their thoughts.

Akanksha

[mich1972]

Good morning @ArunM it is hard to tell from the pictures but it looks like your Eggplant is being eaten by grubs, which you can use Dipel from Yates. That’s a safe spray for edible plants eaten by grubs and caterpillars. 
Your tomato fruit may have been eaten by rats, it’s hard to tell. The foliage itself looks like a fungal disease, possibly too much water. Again I’m not 100% sure. I’m going to tag @Noelle for her expert advice. 😊🪴

[Noelle]

Hi @ArunM 

I agree with @mich1972  regarding the eggplant foliage - a natural insecticide like pyrethrum or Dipel should do the trick.

Given the amount of rain that your part of the country has had in the past few weeks, I think the tomato is suffering from too much moisture (the damaged fruit looks like it has developed a rot following some form of damage, such as sunburn or even a rodent. The plant looks like it has developed a disease of some description (bacterial or fungal) from having wet feet for too long.

[ArunM]

Thanks for the suggestions @Noelle , @mich1972 ,  @Jewelleryrescue 

I will try pyrethrum for some time and see if it will help. This is a suspect I found. I will keep checking. 

[Noelle]

Hi @ArunM 

That's a ladybird beetle or lady bug - a good guy that eats bad bugs!  Not your culprit.  Make sure not to spray lady bugs as they are beneficial to have around.  Check out the CSIRO's Ladybirds of Australia's website for more information.

[mich1972]

Makes my heart happy when I see ladybugs in my garden, they are truly beneficial, don’t destroy them !!

[ArunM]

Thank you @mich1972 for the suggestions. Will be careful not to spray the lady bugs. 

We started using pyrethrum. I will see how they go. Planning to apply it weekly. I will also use some neem oil in between and see if that helps. 

I also found these when I was inspecting the plants.

Thanks to the community for their time and suggestions.  

[mich1972]

@Noelle  Do you know what these are ? @ArunM I have tagged Noelle into the conversation 🌿😊