A Likely Paranoid "What's Eating Me?" Post

Hi - I have second year Magnum and Cascade hops that are under attack! I think... I have a lot of leaves that mysteriously developed holes and brown/dead leaves with no sign of intruders.

Eventually, I saw a lot (and I mean hundreds) of ladybug larvae on my two plants (approx. 8 bines). As I'm inclined to believe ladybugs are our friends, I'm concerned they may be attracted to something more devious.

Here are the most recent inhabitants I found... Do any of you know what these may be and if they are the cause of my concerns? If so... how do I kill these buggers!! This means war!

I'm in the Seattle/Tacoma, WA area and the hops sprouted in mid-March. I know little to nothing about gardening, if that's not already apparent, but would really likely to get my plants healthy before the hop flowers bloom, if possible.

Thanks!

Those look like the cast skins of aphids. Look on the underside of the leaves, there should be some aphids still around, but the ladybugs may have already finished them off. As for control, things like insecticidal soap, most retail insecticides, and even a hard blast of water from the hose will control them.

The only real concern with hops and aphids is that the aphids can get inside the hop cones and make a real mess of them. The aphids secrete out something called "honeydew" that is basically excess water with some sugars in it. The honey dew is deposited on nearby plant material, and a black fungus called "sooty mold" will develop. You do not want this sooty mold on your hop cones for obvious reasons.

I would say aphids too. The lady bugs eat aphids so they are good.

Thank you for the info and advice. I think you are correct, I had some friends and family come over this weekend and they also thought they were aphids. I'll take a stab at them using your suggestions and whatever I can find via google.

Much appreciated!

Update: I took the hose to the leaves and then minced about 8 garlic cloves into water and put it in a spray bottle. I gave the whole plant a generous spray with the garlic water. It seems to have done the trick as I haven't seen any problem since.

Apparently the lil' bastards hate garlic.

Thanks for the assists here!