ranedie said:Hi all, new member here. I've recently had a go as well with the exact same critter (leaf footed bug). I've had plenty of shield bugs/squash bugs before, but this was a new one for this year. There was some confusion between various bug sites that ID'd it as an assassin bug, but further digging revealed the altho the nymph stage of the leaf footed bug & an orange colored true assassin bug look petty similar depending on the quality & aspect of the image. The clincher for me was the absence of a developed "rostrum" on the nymph when viewed from the side.
We've had the usual annoyances of the shield or stink bugs on our squash, & then this year on our pumpkins as well. Prevention phase is try to remove the egg rafts with some sticky tape, or clip the leaf if it's really covered. For the ones I miss, I simply spray them, preferably in the newly hatched nymph stage, or whenever I find them with a homemade mixture of Doc Bonners unscented liquid soap & water. Strength to be determined by what works, usually 1-2 tablespoons or so to 16-20 oz spray bottle. Excellent results with grasshoppers as well! A large hopper will usually succumb within a couple minutes if your soap strength is right. I've heard some folks will add a few drops of liquid cayenne extract(from natural food stores) for really gnarly bugs. I use a large bottle with a stream & spray setting. Long range stream for hoppers, short range spray for most everything else. Be aware this WILL kill bees & wasps so be careful who you shoot! We have a backyard Top Bar hive so that's always an issue for us.
As far as ill effects on plants, I've never had any yet, unless maybe one was to drench a plant or leaf in full sun. For large applications or those pomegranate trees mentioned in the other thread, I'm thinking this stuff is cheap enuff you might could use a small pressure sprayer with good results...
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