Insect ID, Spray Recommendation

[Rednekf350]

Started noticing the upper leaves of some of my Stag Horn and very few of the Burley getting eaten up pretty badly. The underside of the leaves are covered with what looked like pepper and is very soft to the touch. A magnifying glass showed that they are a reddish brown beetle-type insect but they are not moving at all. One of the leaves has very small white insects along with reddish brown beetles that appear to be white aphids, also not moving.

Any safe insecticide recommendations at this stage ? The plants are otherwise robust. I am going to start priming within 2 weeks and I am growing for chew so I'm a little concerned with sprays. I read another thread that recommended simply hosing the aphids off at harvest but not sure about the beetles.
Thanks !!

 

[deluxestogie]

The first and third photos show a heavy aphid infestation. I would begin with hosing them off. Use enough force to dislodge the aphids and rinse them away (they can't climb back up), but not so much as to bruise the leaf lamina.

I can't identify the beetles in the second photo. Something different caused the gaping holes.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

Give each leaf, top and back, a close inspection and keep an eye out for horn worms or bud worms. You may also notice little black pellets where they relieve themselves. Give the worms a squish. Their color blends in almost perfectly with the leaf so also watch out for their silhouette or profile. The eggs and the worms can cause havoc in your curing area also so watch out for the tiny clusters of eggs on the leaf.

Tobacco Hornworm | Burley Tobacco Extension

The tobacco hornworms (Manduca sexta Linn.) can be distinguished from the tomato hornworm by the seven diagonal white stripes and the curved red horn. The tobacco hornworm can be very destructive by chewing large irregular holes in a tobacco leaf. (Phot by Ben Meredith, ANR agent for Woodford...

burleytobaccoextension.ca.uky.edu

Budworm | Burley Tobacco Extension

Budworms are often difficult to kill due to protection from the bud. Damage to small bud leaves can be significant if budworm infestation is high. Buds can be damaged beyond recovery by budworms.

burleytobaccoextension.ca.uky.edu

 

[skychaser]

Any safe insecticide recommendations at this stage ?

Pyrethrin. Pyrethrins are pesticides found naturally in some chrysanthemum flowers. It's safe to use on tobacco or vegetables. It works great on aphids and potato bugs. Dunno about horn worms or other bugs. Don't have them here.

I haven't seen a single insect on any of my crops this year. Not even a grasshopper nibbling on tobacco. When I see all the things that many of you have to battle with, I think ... damn I'm a lucky guy to live where I do. I'll change my mind by December though. Winters here suck. But our extremes between summer and winter here are one of the reasons we have so few pests.