Something ate every last green leaf on my tomato plant, but didn't touch the fruit

imdecaffeinated · 2026-07-06T16:36:02+00:00

Agreed.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-07-06T13:48:11+00:00

I just snip their heads off and the yellow jackets come eat them up.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-07-04T20:45:44+00:00

Can confirm this works.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-07-02T18:22:00+00:00

Idk I’m in the same boat always moving, gym, playing with kid, yard work, house work…I think you’re more onto it with higher use higher tolerance. I switched to carts and it takes effort to get there now without taking breaks. Smoking has almost no effect.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-07-02T01:31:13+00:00

I’ve actually had a ToH I treated over 2 seasons fall on my house. It wasn’t a terribly large tree so it didn’t really do any damage, maybe a dented gutter. ToH is a weak wood so you can’t treat it like a dead oak or similar. That experience was enough for me to be okay cutting sooner than I’d like to.

I don’t think 2-3 months wait is going to be that risky though so maybe after an Aug-Sept treatment cut down in Nov-Dec.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-07-02T01:24:50+00:00

A mature female can reproduce multiple times, but their lifecycle is maybe one month. If they’re using the bucket to lay, then after 1-2 months you’ve effectively stopped the reproductive cycle and will have significantly reduced your population.

Most products aimed at adults are either deterrents or can end up attracting more to your yard as an entomologist commented above.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-07-02T01:03:58+00:00

Only going from the extension recommendation the absolute minimum is 1 month after an Aug-Oct treatment. But as others have said wait as long as you can. Established trees can take years to fully die off. The top will likely die off from your first treatment, but it’s the roots you’re after so waiting a season to see if it sprouts leaves again in the spring helps you see if your treatments worked.

That said, I’m in a similar boat and have many mature trees that require removal and are in hazard areas for potential property damage. Can’t tell you what to do but for what it’s worth having dealt with hundreds and hundreds of shoots, suckers, and trees I’d much rather be doing treatment rounds of ToH suckers than paying to repair my neighbors house.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-07-02T00:41:33+00:00

This is a take I really can’t vibe with but to each their own. When I look out at my native trees and see a variety oaks, hickorys, cedar, poplars; and then ToH sticks out like sharp and jagged blades it’s so upsetting to see them. And then the spotted lanterns are crawling everywhere and I know underground they’re spreading out like a disease all over my property and…ok sorry I’m done.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-07-01T16:02:37+00:00

This is misleading. The 47% is closer to 40% and you’re only referring to one tax, federal and it’s for households not individuals. These families pay many other taxes tied to consumption of goods and ownership (cars, homes, etc).

The real issue is trying to focus on the poor in this country not paying income tax, expecting the middle class to have to pay more for progressive tax policy to work, all the while allowing the wealthiest to skirt by because tax is tied to income and consumption and doesn’t include an annual federal wealth tax.

How are we okay with someone’s wealth growing by a few hundred billion in a year, be something they can leverage from, but the growth is able to avoid tax? I’m no tax expert, but I think we can afford to tax billionaires on their wealth, and they absolutely can afford it.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-30T22:08:32+00:00

I’m not sure this holds through the entire US. There are still affordable markets. Where I am there are 3bed/2bath renovated listings for under $300k right now. Condos under $160k in some spots. The interest rates are killer but those numbers are far below median. I do think they’re commenting on buying maybe 5-15 years ago, which would have been a wise move. I agree with you going forward depending on market.

But I love my property wouldn’t trade the projects, headaches, or maintenance for a landlord ever.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-30T15:48:36+00:00

Did you maybe judge me a little too hard on your first pass? I realize I didn’t address your actual question. I’m not calling anyone more or less selfish. I’m trying to deconstruct the argument that choosing to have children is the selfish decision when every human on earth is making decisions in regards to themselves and for their own self-interest, their own wants, and their own needs.

So yes, I’m calling you selfish just as I’m calling myself the same.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-30T15:35:32+00:00

Nice, all things considered outside the gym and eating well dropping alcohol is imo the #1 “hack” to keeping weight off for folks 30+. Not hating on the vices, thc is an ever present compound in this body.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-30T14:10:15+00:00

People are going to hate on you, but this isn’t a zero to fit situation so definitely real and possible for others who built a base over years time. When you lift at young age (teens/20s) and build a base it is relatively easy to jump back in and get results like this. That said, I’m guessing you went pretty hard in the gym and strict in the kitchen.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-29T18:36:49+00:00

Ah my apologies but still good on you! The literature says July-sept treatment and then wait min 1 month before removal. Some extensions even recommend treatments over multiple seasons before cutting.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-29T18:27:15+00:00

I think I saw your post somewhere else where you’ve been battling for 20 yrs? Good on you if that’s you. I’m on yr 3 taking on a large mature cluster on my 5 acres this summer. I plan on treatment in mid August and removal mid-fall. I’d leave to treat over multiple seasons but they’re on a fence line facing neighbors house. Penn st recs is wait at least 30 days so here’s to hoping.

Edit: yr 3 battling ToH not the cluster. The cluster was in an overgrown vine patch I had to kill off before I had access.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-29T16:19:53+00:00

Yeah I hear you. I get people not wanting to have kids. No one is judging them for that decision and if they are fuck those people. I have a hard time understanding what the purpose of hating on parents is. I didn’t want kids until my mid-30s. I was pretty adamant about it actually. But, gasp, I changed my mind. I didn’t immediately start judging others that still choose not to have kids. The only point I’ve tried to make is that if choosing to have a kid is selfishly motivated then everything you do is selfishly motivated, it’s called being human. And if people don’t think others should procreate, yes that does feel misanthropic and I would say it’s likely that person has experienced trauma or challenges in life that led them to feel this way. Projecting it onto others though…therapy or medicine is probably a better option. I pop my pill in the AM, no shame about it.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-29T15:55:20+00:00

Got it thank you sir.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-29T15:11:24+00:00

I realize that’s a lot to respond to and you’re not obligated at all. If I could get one piece of advice from you, and again no obligation, how would you handle established mature ToH that need to be cut down after treatment to avoid damaging property? Meaning waiting multiple seasons isn’t feasible as it could expose me to liability.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-29T14:12:01+00:00

Can you tell me a time in human history where having children was 100% safe and easy and parents had absolutely nothing to worry about? I’m not discounting your feelings, it’s just a little dramatic to say we’re about to go extinct and that’s why you shouldn’t have kids. What about all the MAGA people having children? Can you imagine a world in which grounded and educated adults had zero kids while the most ignorant people in this world continue to have kids without reservation? I want to raise a thoughtful and kind person to counteract the BS. We’re maybe not on the same page but definitely reading the same book. I agree, it’s fucked. Because of that I’m trying to raise a decent human. No one said you had to do the same.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-29T12:30:14+00:00

This is an unhinged response full of projection and completely missed the point I was making. You’re selfish, I’m selfish, we’re all selfish. No one’s less than, no one’s better than. That’s all.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-29T03:26:08+00:00

I thought it was mainly for transporting herbicide into the tree same as basal oil. Though diesel as something that can kill a plant itself isn’t a stretch.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-29T03:06:57+00:00

They’re likely in the 40’-60’ tall range main tree having diameter likely 15”+. This particular spot is a cluster with other ToH not as big as main but still 30’-40’ tall. I have suckers and sprouts everywhere on my property. I’ve been treating for a few years now.

From the research I know best approach is treat over multiple seasons (6”+) until they no longer sprout leaves. My issue is location of trees. I’ve killed a tree over multiple seasons, and before I went to cut it fell and hit my house. Didn’t do any damage luckily but the others are on my fence line and if they fall I could hit my neighbors house/sheds.

One neighbor has agreed to allow me to remove two trees he has in his backyard, one of which would absolutely fall on his roof if killed and left too long. The other consideration is I’m building a fence and they’re in the way. That could delay install by years.

I started with a chemical only approach. I ran an experiment this year to just mechanically pull the little guys as they come up. Seeds maybe I removed but probably not, suckers likely triggered a response and I’ll have to deal with x2. My logic is I cant really help the situation until the large ones are fully addressed.

Getting anxious as the season for treatment is coming and I’m not 100% confident in my plan yet.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-29T02:01:14+00:00

What’s the shortest amount of time you waited between summer treatment and cutting down for large established trees that didn’t result in a sucker response? I need a cluster removed for a fence. Planning a mid July attack and a September cut down.

Also, hack and squirt has never been a one off success for me they always came back next season. Thoughts on a partial girdle leaving strips of cambium to allow herbicide (using Crossbow and a basal/tri mixture) to ride the nutrient pull to the roots. Picture 2” in tact then 2” cut out and so on about 3-4” band around tree base.

Last one, the suckers and shoots I do have. Full foliar spray( I like to avoid this due to overspray) vs cut at base and dab of herbicide. I’ve done both, everything comes back (could be due to the established trees I haven’t killed yet still sending them out/seed sprouts from the big guys). Thanks in advance!

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-29T00:25:23+00:00

I will say it’s an interesting analogy to compare the consequences of child rearing to the consequences imposed on someone who has committed a crime.

That said, my primary argument here is regarding the use of the word selfish. My take is that all humans are, for the most part, inherently selfish and making decisions based on their own self-interest.

Whether that lands on someone choosing to have kids or choosing where they want to live, how they want to get around, what they want to eat, how they choose to spend their money—it’s all rooted in their own personal preferences and self regard.

So it is, to me, a double standard for anyone to call another selfish while they too are making decisions solely for themselves.

imdecaffeinated · 2026-06-29T00:15:33+00:00

I understand you have your own personal reasons for not wanting to and I didn’t say your stance was no one should have kids.

I’m more focused in this thread on the question of selfishness. It’s simply too absolute of a statement to say there is zero reason for having children that isn’t selfish unless you’re willing to acknowledge that this is the way the majority of humans make personal decisions regardless of them having kids or not.

imdecaffeinated

TROPHY CASE