A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Yikes! Help with Shasta Daisies

My shasta daisies are getting ready to bloom for the first time ever. I went out to check on them and there was this white foamy substance on them. One even had a wad of dead leaves. I took the hose and washed the stuff off left were some very small bugs that were whitish green and oval shaped. Anyone know what those are? I think I must spray or something. Any advice would be appreciated.

Sounds like spit bugs to me. But I could be wrong

Sounds like Spittle bugs to me... I get those darned things every spring, until things dry out around here. I know that you can kill them with strong doses of Sevin, although I hate to use that stuff.

Since they get on ANYTHING GREEN (& especially like my Strawberries & my 70 foot Iris row), it's easier to wash them off with the heavy spray setting on the hose nozzle. Some of them come back, but I keep doing it a few times a day till they're gone (usually not more than a couple weeks). They can't live without being inside that mass of bubbles they make, because they dry out real fast & die.

Other than the Cucumber Beatle, Spittle bugs are just about the only insect I have more than my share of! Good luck with your Daisies!

Thanks for the info. It is funny, I came into the house and told my husband there was something on my daisies that looked like spit, but I didn't want to be too crude and describe it to you all like that. I will keep washing them off the plants if that is all it takes. Thanks again.

I found some more of the spit bugs on my rosemary. I hope we have a cold winter.