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I found that placing crushed eggshells around the base of my herbs (parsley, basil and fennel) help keep caterpillars and slugs off. They don't seem to like crawling across the sharp edges. I have also tried putting a small container of beer at ground level near the plant helps. The slugs are attracted to the smell; crawl in and drown.
I don't think the black specs are caterpillars droppings. I have the same black specs and they move and they eat my basil! Insecticidal soap is not effective. I am going to try the white vinegar.
let us know if white vinegar works? I haven't had the problem with basil but just in case, it would be nice to know what might work without using anything that damages the herbs. So far, this year we have had really good luck with ours except my basil isn't growing as well as in some years and the cilantro just didn't cut it...The rest is wonderful, tasty and so much fun. Everyday I make something using herbs from the garden.
My Basil has been doing the same thing the answers have been really hard to find. Dark spots and small holes like its been eaten. Which it has been, I have found very, very tiny caterpillars on underside of leaves. You almost need a magnifying glass they are so small. They do serious damage though. My homemade insecticidal soap works only if I spray them and the hide within the leaves really well. They will hide between leave where spray is hard to get them. Its best to continue spraying and picking the leaves and replant basil in fresh dirt like a quarentine. Thats how I got rid of them organically. My insecticidal soap was 1 tsp.vinegar,1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. dish soap and 1 qt. water in a spray bottle.
Good luck
Here is what I do with my buggy pot of basil in the kitchen window. Fly paper. I get a roll of Black Flag flypaper, unwind pieces and weave it along BBQ skewers. Messy sticky job, but worth it, and no chemicals.) Then I poke the skewers in the soil. I have fungus gnats on my plants, and the gnats don't cause the problem. Their larvae do, in the soil. They destroy the roots and the plants collapse. So my pest isn't the same as your pest, but in capturing so many gnats, the larvae population fell way down and my plants are thriving again.
Thanking for all the post, I had the same black spot and someone was chewing it. I keep take out the leaves and watering with water with dish soap last night. this morning it is still chewing. At lease I will try few more trick and knowing who am I fighting with....Tks
Watering with soapy water won't do a thing except add a little soap to the soil, and that won't kill a thing. People spray the foliage with soapy water sometimes, but that can be risky and burn the foliage. Go to a local nursery or your local extension office, bring a sample of your plant, and get the pest identified so you know how to control it.
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