Hop plants getting eaten by bugs?

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kenb

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Ok, so I planted hops for the first time, about 1 month ago. A couple weeks ago they sprouted. They are Mt. Hood and Nuggett hop plants. Well about 1 week ago, i start noticing tiny holes in some of leaves, and pieces also missing on the leaf edges. It appears they are being eaten by something, but all i ever see on the leaves are an ant every now and then...my wife thinks maybe it is slugs at night?

So i sprinkle a bunch of hazlenut shells around them, as i THINK slugs don’t like to crawl over them. Well, this morning there are even more holes.

What do i do? At this young age, do i spray them with some insecticide? If so, what? I hate the idea of having to do that...Or is there anything else i can do? This is the first thing i have ever planted, and don’t want to do die on me. ANy advice is appreciated.
 
Sounds like flea beetles to me. They jump away when you come close and to boot they are tiny (about the head of a pin). Approach really slowly and look very carefully and if you see tiny little black things jump away it is flea beetles. The best control is while they are young to put some floating cover (like Agribon) over them.

If it is slugs, then you can tell because there will be rough jagged edges where they eat. The tiny holes sounds like flea beetles though. To tell if you have slugs, take the remains of a melon halve and place it cut side down next to the hops. In the morning turn it over and see. If it is slugs, then you could try just taking some copper foil and making a circle around (but not touching) your hop shoots.
 
zoebisch01 said:
Sounds like flea beetles to me. They jump away when you come close and to boot they are tiny (about the head of a pin). Approach really slowly and look very carefully and if you see tiny little black things jump away it is flea beetles. The best control is while they are young to put some floating cover (like Agribon) over them.

If it is slugs, then you can tell because there will be rough jagged edges where they eat. The tiny holes sounds like flea beetles though. To tell if you have slugs, take the remains of a melon halve and place it cut side down next to the hops. In the morning turn it over and see. If it is slugs, then you could try just taking some copper foil and making a circle around (but not touching) your hop shoots.

I have both holes AND the rough jagged edges.....could i have both types of pests then? :(
 
Hit the plants with a couple sprays of a substance called Eight. they uses to make Seven and it was good but eight is better. no pests will bother them.
 
And we don't need to damn Japanese beetles. I would like to meet the guy who introduced them here. I think I'd shoot him on sight.

But yeah ladybugs are great for gardens.
 
Reverend JC said:
Hit the plants with a couple sprays of a substance called Eight. they uses to make Seven and it was good but eight is better. no pests will bother them.

I think you might be right. So far i have not seen any bugs on them (except ants) but today i saw what looked like a flea beetle walking away from my Mt. Hood hop. And my Nuggett hop, which this morning looked great except for small holes, has larger holes, and is now wilted and falling over :(

I went and bought some Sevin (they did not have eight) and sprayed all my hops but i think maybe it is too late for my Nuggett one?
 
Hop plants are fairly tough, so good chance they'll recover.

Yesterday was the first hot sunny day this year, so I best spray mine today.
 
Well, this morning there was what looked like a slug trail going across my sidewalk, over the hazlenut shells, and even a little slime on one of the hop leafs. So it looks like I have flea beetles AND slugs. I am going to set out some beer traps tonight, and hopefully the slugs will prefer that to the hops. Should i set the beer traps about a foot from the hops or ?
 
kenb said:
Well, this morning there was what looked like a slug trail going across my sidewalk, over the hazlenut shells, and even a little slime on one of the hop leafs. So it looks like I have flea beetles AND slugs. I am going to set out some beer traps tonight, and hopefully the slugs will prefer that to the hops. Should i set the beer traps about a foot from the hops or ?

Set out plenty and close by. A foot is probably ok, but you can go closer. Look into just buying a little copper foil, make a ring and just rest it on the ground around the perimeter of the sprouts. They won't crawl over it.
 
i finally got my hops in the ground last weekend. this ohio weather has been great the last week..50's at night and 70's in the day..i was told by a guy to put my spent grains in with my potting soil where i have my hops..DON'T DO IT!!!...you will have an ant infestation from hell...spent grains sugar hmmmmm...ants seem to like them...now bring on the insecticide...so much for organic...ha ha ha...
 
revrand65 said:
i finally got my hops in the ground last weekend. this ohio weather has been great the last week..50's at night and 70's in the day..i was told by a guy to put my spent grains in with my potting soil where i have my hops..DON'T DO IT!!!...you will have an ant infestation from hell...spent grains sugar hmmmmm...ants seem to like them...now bring on the insecticide...so much for organic...ha ha ha...

What harm have the ants done to the hops? The worst I could see is if they started an Aphid farm. Otherwise they could prove beneficial in eating up some of the other bugs. Just a thought.
 
That's were all my spent grains and hops go. I have'nt had a problem other than they are growing faster than I can keep up with, I already have Hop flowers developing.....
 
Brewiz said:
That's were all my spent grains and hops go. I have'nt had a problem other than they are growing faster than I can keep up with, I already have Hop flowers developing.....

Damn, really? I planted mine about a month ago and one is *just* cracking the surface (the jumbo) and the other 2 are just doing nothing. I put some glass bowls I had over them to act as tiny green-houses (works inside, why not out?)...

I hope they're not dead....

kvh
 
kvh said:
Damn, really? I planted mine about a month ago and one is *just* cracking the surface (the jumbo) and the other 2 are just doing nothing. I put some glass bowls I had over them to act as tiny green-houses (works inside, why not out?)...

I hope they're not dead....

kvh

Personally, I wouldn't try to rush them. The tricky thing with making mini greenhouses is that you have to have to remove it during the hot day sun or you'll kill your plants. Give them time, Hops are pretty hardy and I'd be very very surprised if they died from dormancy till now. It's when they get up and running that you are going to have to intervene.

Keep in mind he is in GA and well ahead of you and I.
 
Well, my beer traps didn't catch any slugs but did get a couple snails. BTW..How much watering do you guys recommend for hops? I am in Oregon, it has been 68-78 and sunny....These are about 1-3" inches high now. I have read light watering..but what does that mean? Like 2 ounces or 8 ounces per hop per day or??
 
Yeah snails do the same damage as slugs do.

You'll probably want to shoot for say a total 1" to 1.5" of water per week, like every other day. Not sure what that translates to for your situation...so like every day make sure they haven't dried out, but don't let them sit in the water. This is a function of your soil and current weather patterns. So keep an eye, if they look healthy...they are healthy. Midday wilt is common with many plants during the hot summer, and as long as they spring back and look perky during the cooler evening they should be fine. This is a guess though coming from my experience as a gardener. I am growing hops for the first time this year.
 
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