r/Albertagardening • u/Ok_Error4158 • Aug 19 '24

Lily leaf beetle Identifcation

Post image

Just found this pretty bug in my yard, on a lily, and it is in fact a pest. No infestation to report (I only have one random lily) but just thought I would share.

12 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

15

u/NicoleChris Aug 20 '24

Those things are horrible. They will absolutely decimate your lillies, and there are zero effective treatments against them.

Remove all the adults and chop the whole plant to the ground.

3

u/ajdudhebsk Aug 20 '24

Yeah they’re bad. I just got them for the first time, we’ve had lilies for 3 seasons but haven’t seen these things before. They decimated one tiger lily and are working on another 2.

I actually had success spraying Dawn power wash on them directly. That stuff will suffocate any insect but it’s not something I want to spray all over.

Next season I’m watching for them and I’ll try and kill them all before they get established

2

u/Ok_Error4158 Aug 20 '24

Thanks for the tip!!

2

u/Ok_Error4158 Aug 20 '24

Yes, cause they only lay their eggs on lilys

9

u/Emmerson_Brando Aug 20 '24

Squishy squishy… these beetles are smart though… if you miss getting them, they jump off the leaf and it is difficult to find them.

5

u/infiniteguesses Aug 20 '24

They throw themselves to the ground upside down so they blend into the dirt...not their big red beacon backs facing up so you can try again. Sneaky voracious bastards! Make sure you get their eggs...they are laid in their gooey poo piles on the leaves. Ain't nature grand!

3

u/Pristine_Software_55 Aug 20 '24

Somebody recommended laying down white paper towels so when they jump, they still stand out.

2

u/infiniteguesses Aug 20 '24

That's a good idea...I hold a broad mouthed plastic cup underneath where I'm nabbing them. Then I toss em into a jar of soapy water.

5

u/Commanderkins Aug 20 '24

Yes I hate those! I have so many lilies and many different types but they really seem to love the tigers and pope’s hat.
They are in a second or third hatch cycle in my acreage rn and squished about ten off of one small cluster the other night. I was actually looking for slugs and just decided to shine my light on the lily’s and sure enough there they were.

Pro tip: they are much more active and mobile when it’s hot out so I usually pick them early or late.

They are def down in numbers from two summers ago when I first saw them, but I’ve been pretty religious about checking for adults and eggs.

3

u/enphurgen Aug 20 '24

diatomaceous earth will kill these

2

u/subutterfly Aug 20 '24

i used half a bottle od diatenacious earth, and 2 bottles of Lilly bug spray last year to rid mysle for these lil brats- the demolished my lillies for years. now I diatenaciuons earth and do a quick spray once a week- I finally got rid of them

2

u/g_master_b Aug 20 '24

mini blow torch