Altadena Beware the Bagrada Bug in Your Organic Garden

A little over a week ago, I noticed a beetle like in my garden. It was the size of a ladybug, but with a few red dots on a black exoskeleton. In a day, I watched the small bugs cover and consume my brussels sprouts, cabbage, collard greens before moving to my nasturtium flowers. I was devastated. There are now millions of little bugs all over my garden, under foot, flying through the air and landing, destroying my crops! I sprayed with soapy water and vinegar, pounded the ground with cayenne pepper and eventually pulled up most of my garden yesterday. They continue to linger.

I searched the internet for information and found this Dec 2010 LA Times article by Jeff Spurrier . Here is an excerpt:

"This is the adult Bagrada bug, which goes after winter crops such as cabbage, kale, broccoli, arugula, cauliflower and radish. It sucks the sap out of tender leaves, leaving puncture marks and a stippled or wilted leaf. The pest can stunt growth or kill plants.

The bug will also go after warm-weather crops such as papaya, potato, corn and beans, but is more lethargic in heat. It spends its time in the soil, laying eggs or hiding; heavy rains drive it out of air pockets and onto the plant du jour.

The Bagrada bug is a global pest, particularly in southern Europe, southeast Asia and northern Africa, where it may have originated. It turned up in Los Angeles County a few years ago, first spotted by a gardener who thought she had a cluster of ladybugs inhabiting her alyssum. In one of its younger nymph stages, the Bagrada is round and resembles a brightly colored ladybug.

Unlike the harlequin bug, which it strongly resembles, the Bagrada bug lays most of its eggs in the soil, so natural predators such as wasps aren't effective controls. Picking the bugs off plants by hand is not feasible because the infestations are so thick and sudden, with multiple generations occupying one plant at a time.

Insecticides aren't an option for many, he said. Adult bugs will simply flee one garden for another, only to return when the residue of pesticide is gone."

I hope this information is useful for Altadena and area home gardeners. I hope you do not find this unwanted guest in your garden.