Hop Pests ID thread: Pics, descriptions and solutions

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Zymurgrafi

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In an effort to help folks growing hops I thought it would be useful to have a thread with information to help ID pests and problems associated with hops growing. The aim is to include as many pics and descriptions of any pests/diseases and possible solutions. From the rare to the mundane. Considering many folks may be gardening for the first time nothing should be considered to basic.

I will also start a thread where you can post pictures for ID'ing something not posted here. This thread will only be for positively ID'd pests/problems. Once a picture has been postively ID'd it can be posted here with appropriate commentary.

I think that it would be best to use picture taken by members of HBT as it is always possible that outside links can go bad, or what not. So there you go. Anyone have any contributions to make? I will start. We can edit and add as we go along.
 
These are hop aphids in the cone.
sootymold_aphids.jpg

sootymold_2.jpg

sootymold.jpg



Hop Aphids will suck your leaves dry and lower your cone yield. Leaves will turn brown and curl. They will be found under the leaves, or as seen here in the cones if they go undetected long enough. Note the black spots along with the aphids in the photos above. This is sooty mold.
The aphids also excrete a carbohydrate-rich substance known as honeydew. Honeydew serves as a good medium for the growth of sooty mold fungi...

For more info on Hop Aphids you can go here

http://www.ag.uidaho.edu/PSES/Research/r_ent_hoppest_hopaphid.htm

As far as solutions go it isn't too easy. You can blast them with a hose early in the day when they are on the leaves. Once they are in the cones, not much to do. In my situation there was no sign of them all summer. Somehow they arrived and went wild while I was waiting for the cones to ripen. Guess I was not vigilant enough during that time.

Lady bugs and asian lady beetles will eat them however they spread fast. I had a pretty healthy population of lady beetles/bugs and the aphids still got the upper hand.

Another option is lacewings. I think you can buy them. I may try that next year.
 
Japanese beetles are a pretty common pest it seems. I picked them off all summer. Unfortunately nw that I have decided to document them I cannot find a single one to photo. So if anyone has a pic let me know.

Here is what they do...
beetledamage.jpg


Best way to deal with them is to pick them off every morning. They are slow in the morning and you can flick them into a container of dishsoap and water. As the day warms up they are harder to catch and will fly away. You can use traps but often the traps will attract more beetles than they catch.

Another preventative measure is to purchase beneficial nematodes and work them into the ground in the late spring/ early summer. These are organisms that will eat the over wintering grubs that will hatch into beetles. They won't stop adult beetles. If you have beetles one year it would probably be a good idea to do this the next season.
 
I had japanese beetles this year and caused me all sorts of headache (I killed them with Sevin but then my hops were attacked by spider mites since I killed off their natural predators with Sevin).

I flicked them off the plants as well but next year my trellis will be much higher so that won't be an option so I'm still investigating. I'm going to put down Milky Spore or beneficial nematodes this fall or upcoming spring but that will only take care of my yard, they'll still fly over from neighbors yards.

I read that you can use neem oil on the plants and that will deter the beetles for a few days. Also looking into a product that you put in the soil and the plants pull it up into the leaves and that will deter the beetles, I'm still trying to remember the name of it (was shown it at Menards) but I'm betting it won't be useful for a food crop like hops.

I'll try to find some pictures of spider mites. I used Mite-X on them and it screwed up my hops, cones and leaves all turned brown before harvest (I did get some useful fuggles).

I can't find pictures of my spider mites, so I found some online attached below.

They say planting garlic will keep spider mites away, but it didn't do it (got a nice crop of garlic though). My plan next year is to continue to plant garlic, but also find some plants that ladybugs like and plant those around the hops as well, ladybugs will apparently eat aphids and mites.

mite38.jpg


mite39.jpg
 
Found him on my Mt Hood at harvest.
hoplovr1

Got almost 8 oz wet from a second-year planting (dried to 3 1/2). This critter peeked out of an obviously damaged cone. These things were pretty rare this year, but I found one in the Cascades too, and I don't like the idea of finding a dried one floating in my wort! I do want to keep the planting insecticide-free; better a dead caterpillar than the flavor of toxic alkyloids...
 
I had japanese beatles on my first year plants also. I used Pyrethrin based insecticide on them and was extrememly suprised on the good results.
I didn't notice much of an insta kill on the beatles, cause you basically sprayed the stuff and the beatles just fell, like they do if you spray them with water.
What I did notice was the beatles did not come back for at least 10 days.
Pyrethrin is made from the African chrysanthenum flower and so I would consider it organic. It also apparently breaks down very quickly. It says you can eat food you have sprayed inyour garden 1 day after spraying.
 
This is a PEST. The common household dog. Sure, it's funny, but I'm not laughing.

pest.jpg


and this is what happens when one chews and steps on hop bines

ready.jpg


I'm definitely not a happy hop farmer. Good thing I have two other Centennial plants or I'd be super duper upset.
 
Hello Hopheads,

I believe I have a case of spider mites, but I want to be sure there isn't anything else going on. I did see some tiny webs on the back of the leaves, but I couldn't get a good picture. I also have a couple other critters I'd like some help identifying.
First for my Goldings:
Goldingsbad.jpg


And my Hallertau:
Hallertaubad.jpg


And the insect I found hopping back and forth between my hops and my grapes. I'm not sure if this guy was causing the hundreds of holes in my leaves, or if it was eating the meanies that were. Anyone know what it is?
BigBug2.jpg


And lastly, this guy jumped off the leaves I was photographing above. He is pretty tiny, but can jump pretty far.
Passenger.jpg


Thanks for all the help guys.
 
And the insect I found hopping back and forth between my hops and my grapes. I'm not sure if this guy was causing the hundreds of holes in my leaves, or if it was eating the meanies that were. Anyone know what it is?
BigBug2.jpg

i found a few of these guys between my hops and my pole beans
 
This is a PEST. The common household dog. Sure, it's funny, but I'm not laughing.

pest.jpg


and this is what happens when one chews and steps on hop bines

You should be careful if your dog is eating the hop cones.

This is quoted from Wikipedia:

"Hops, a plant used in making beer, can cause malignant hyperthermia in dogs, usually with fatal results. Certain breeds, such as Greyhounds, seem particularly sensitive to hop toxicity, but hops should be kept away from all dogs. Even small amounts of hops can trigger a potentially deadly reaction, even if the hops are "spent" after use in brewing."


I've heard this same information from other sources as well.
 
I found these critters chewing holes in the leaves of my second-year plant. I believe it's the caterpillar of the Eastern Comma butterfly, also known as the Hop Merchant. They hang out on the undersides of the leaves. So far, the plant seems to be outgrowing the damage, but I've been hand-picking the ones I can reach just to be on the safe side.

P1040243-1.jpg


P1040250-1.jpg
 
Not sure what type of caterpillar this is but it was definitely eating the leaf. I found it on a Centennial.

IMG_0108.jpg
 
Found some of these eating my hop plants, not sure what they are
bugba.jpg


and the damage done
damaget.jpg
 
Complete BS, I asked my vet for verification. wikipedia.org is the biggest source of dis-information there is.

You should be careful if your dog is eating the hop cones.

This is quoted from Wikipedia:

"Hops, a plant used in making beer, can cause malignant hyperthermia in dogs, usually with fatal results. Certain breeds, such as Greyhounds, seem particularly sensitive to hop toxicity, but hops should be kept away from all dogs. Even small amounts of hops can trigger a potentially deadly reaction, even if the hops are "spent" after use in brewing."


I've heard this same information from other sources as well.
 
Two striped leafhopper (in nymph stage).

Found these on cascade plants and it took me a few weeks to identify. I grew up 4-h'ing every year as i grew up on a farm, and i did entomology like 7 years and did special projects on insects in grade and middle school. Low and behold I was explaining the little turds to my mom and dad tonight and sure enough about an hour later, she sent me links with exact pics. I was so depressed, but my moms a smart cookie. :rockin: I still felt retarded as I though t might me some kind of cottony scale.

P.s. They are not affected by Sevin, I drowned one in it last week and it laughed a me before I identified it. Some species are treatable with malathion from what I can gather, but seems pyrethians are effective. The pic directly below is mine, the link is a way better image
mystery_insect_1.jpg




http://www.leaps.ms/Natural Calendar 0810.htm
 
While my dogs sleep under the shade of my hops they also have no interest in eating them.
I think there may be some exaggeration on how lethal they are but I also think it's situational. Who wants to be the guy that killed their own dog because they got a little lazy? How do you explain that to the wife, to the kids?
I would consider the stories that others posted as real and take the precautions neccessary for your dogs.

With mine I set a big bowl on the ground and watched to see if they nibbled. No interest. They've never showed interest but that's my dogs.
I think this is an issue that merits precaution but dogs and hops can live together if you make it work.
 

I'm inclined to agree with him. I've read somewhere reputable that some dogs are allergic to hops, but it's actually very rare. Wish I had a source. In any case my dog drank an IIPA one time and he was fine. He likes to knock over peoples' beers and drink them if no one is around. ;)

As for these pests, I've had japanese beetles so far this year. Sevin killed them, but they still would eat a bunch before finally dying. I think a combo of sevin and flicking them off the plant does the trick, because they're too weak to climb back on. I don't really have any qualms about using Sevin because it's so early in the season.

Now I have aphids, and neem seems to be doing the trick.
 
I'm inclined to agree with him. I've read somewhere reputable that some dogs are allergic to hops, but it's actually very rare. Wish I had a source. In any case my dog drank an IIPA one time and he was fine. He likes to knock over peoples' beers and drink them if no one is around. ;)

As for these pests, I've had japanese beetles so far this year. Sevin killed them, but they still would eat a bunch before finally dying. I think a combo of sevin and flicking them off the plant does the trick, because they're too weak to climb back on. I don't really have any qualms about using Sevin because it's so early in the season.

Now I have aphids, and neem seems to be doing the trick.

seems kinda like the chocolate debate to me. takes a very large amount of chocolate to actually be harmful to most dogs, but i keep mine away from any amount anyway.
 
I've found a beetle (obviously don't know if it's always the same one) after dark chewing away at my hop leaves. I've never seen it during the day and there's always only one. I've included a pic as well as one of the kind of damage I think it's causing. I've also seen leaf damage similar to that shown here but always put it down to snails as it's always restricted to the lower leaves and I've only every found the beetle at about head height. The beetle always looks like it's chowing down on the entire leaf whereas the snails don't seem like they would manage the thicker veins. I've included an example of what I'm talking about. I've got several more pics of pests on my hop growing blog. I'm presuming that the beetle is a Japanese one even though the segment behind its head isn't green, like in the pictures I find with a google image search.

Japanese beetles are a pretty common pest it seems. I picked them off all summer. Unfortunately nw that I have decided to document them I cannot find a single one to photo. So if anyone has a pic let me know.

Here is what they do...
beetledamage.jpg


Best way to deal with them is to pick them off every morning. They are slow in the morning and you can flick them into a container of dishsoap and water. As the day warms up they are harder to catch and will fly away. You can use traps but often the traps will attract more beetles than they catch.

Another preventative measure is to purchase beneficial nematodes and work them into the ground in the late spring/ early summer. These are organisms that will eat the over wintering grubs that will hatch into beetles. They won't stop adult beetles. If you have beetles one year it would probably be a good idea to do this the next season.

CIMG3984 will40.jpg


CIMG3961 will31-001.jpg


CIMG3943 will25-001.jpg
 
RyanN said:
Not sure what type of caterpillar this is but it was definitely eating the leaf. I found it on a Centennial.

This I think is a question mark butterfly. These guys are my nemesis. They cycle twice a year on mine. The butterflies come in the spring and lay little green eggs that stack on top of each other. Several caterpillars come out and eat cones and leafs. They are
Black at first then get lighter and develop yellow spiney things. They make these leafy looking chrysalis under my deck that look like so and the new butterflies come out and lay eggs for a second cycle.

image-1499045358.jpg
 
You asked earlier in the thread for a Japanese Beetle pic so here it is, fresh off my hops:

1zq9g9l.jpg


Anyone know what this monster bug is? He was hanging around my hops garden on a chair I relax in while watching my girls grow:

20k9l3n.jpg
 
That's an eyed click beetle. Plant juice feeder with wood boring grubs, not one of the "good" insects but dunno if they feast on hops or not.
 
I keep seeing and crushing little green oval eggs that are attached to the end of sisal rope hairs. Anyone know what these could be? Usually in the same areas of the fuzzy tailed jumpers.
 
They could be lacewing eggs, lacewings are a very good bug to have around your hops. Google lacewing eggs and see if they look like that.
 
They do look like lacewing eggs but not in clusters like images I've seen. Usually just one here and there. Haven't seen any lacewing either. Maybe I'll just try to track one and see what it hatches into. Thanks.
 
I've found a beetle (obviously don't know if it's always the same one) after dark chewing away at my hop leaves. I've never seen it during the day and there's always only one. I've included a pic as well as one of the kind of damage I think it's causing. I've also seen leaf damage similar to that shown here but always put it down to snails as it's always restricted to the lower leaves and I've only every found the beetle at about head height. The beetle always looks like it's chowing down on the entire leaf whereas the snails don't seem like they would manage the thicker veins. I've included an example of what I'm talking about.

The beetle in your pic is a June bug. They mostly active right after dusk.
 
My brother-in-law spotted this guy, looks like the Hop Merchant (Eastern Comma), on one of my Cascade bines. He had managed to strip about 4 feet worth of leaves in just a few hours.

attachment
 
The beetle in your pic is a June bug. They mostly active right after dusk.

Thanks for that. It's a lot easier to ID bugs when you have a name to go with. Just searching with an image can take for ever. Didn't know if I had a Japanese beetle or a Green June bug that was for some reason brown.
 
I've grown up with them in wisconsin so that was an easy one for me. Hate them things cause they like to fly into you when you out relaxing.
 
Im having trouble with downy mildew on my peppers and im worried about it spreading to my hops. My hop bines are filled with cones and starting sidearm growth. Is there a fungicide(preferably organic) thats safe to use and wont ruin the cones I have going? Ive already lost my Beefsteak tomatoes to this damned plague mildew!!!

EDIT: Id rather use a systemic fungicide more so than a foliar spray.
 
KeyWestBrewing said:
Im having trouble with downy mildew on my peppers and im worried about it spreading to my hops. My hop bines are filled with cones and starting sidearm growth. Is there a fungicide(preferably organic) thats safe to use and wont ruin the cones I have going? Ive already lost my Beefsteak tomatoes to this damned plague mildew!!!

EDIT: Id rather use a systemic fungicide more so than a foliar spray.

Don't handle the plants are wet. Fungus transfer happens much easier. Organocide.
 
I have leaf damage but no visible pests. There is some slightly sticky residue remaining, though. Any idea what this could be? I've looked all over but no visible bugs.
 
aulee said:
I have leaf damage but no visible pests. There is some slightly sticky residue remaining, though. Any idea what this could be? I've looked all over but no visible bugs.

Possibly Honeydew from aphids.

KeyWestBrewing said:
I really try not to touch any of my plants unless it's necessary. The organicide is ok on the cones? Is it a systemic?

Not systemic. Label says apply right up till harvest.
 

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