Big-eyed bugs for tarnished plant bug
UC IPM lists big-eyed bugs among the predators of lygus bug nymphs in strawberries, with damsel bugs, minute pirate bugs and spiders. They give background predation, not control: UC IPM says that because the threshold for this pest is so low, natural enemies do not give economically acceptable results. Cornell's guide rates big-eyed bugs very susceptible to broad-spectrum pesticides, so sprays against the plant bug also remove them.
Before you act
Small, oval, grey or black bugs with a broad head and large bulging eyes, found in lawns and at the base of garden plants. They hunt mites, small insects and insect eggs, and they are sometimes sprayed by mistake because they look like chinch bugs. How to recognise it, what it is confused with and how to keep it around are on the full Big-eyed bugs profile.
Other controls for tarnished plant bug
- Damsel bugsWild predator · Wild — not sold; conserve the ones already present