I went out to find my hops plants’ leaves all chewed up this week. I found the culprits (see attached pictures). They particularly love chewing on my Cascades. I decided they needed a Seven spray down before the critters totally kill my plants. Just letting you all know that you might want to keep an eye out for these caterpillars on your plants. I usually only have problems with Japanese beetles later on in the summer. I guess not this year.
Not to wax all “silent spring” on you, but I wonder if there is a biological control you could use? Perhaps a trip to your county extension might give you some non toxic ideas?
Dipel dust should be effective on those critters… it uses the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis instead of toxins.
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My red rider BB gun holds about 250 rounds, while not lethal to humans, it’ll snuff out caterpillars ( bugs) easily… AND you get eye to trigger finger coordination training too! Sneezles61
Good to know, thanks for sharing.
I am in year 3 with my backyard hops and in the 2nd year they got attacked by Powery Mildew.
So I am picking infected leaves off weekly and disposing of them and spraying the plants with a solution.
1 tablespoon Neem Oil
1 tablespoon Baking Soda
1 gallon water
see “Hop growing thread 2018”
There are strains that are resistant to powdery mildew and regional viruses. To make life easy you should find THE hop for your region to guarantee your crop and showcase (read added effort) bines of cult status as a backup.
That looks like winter moth caterpillars. They can do a lot of damage quickly so don’t wait to take action. I’ve had good success with sevin.
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I agree. I was amazed as to see how much damage they had done in so little time. This is the first time I’ve used Sevin on my hops. I usually only have problems with Japanese beetles in July which don’t cause nearly this much damage. I really thought I was going to loose my hops if I didn’t use Sevin. It sure killed them in a hurry. Now, I’m having birds snip off the heads of the bines. I think they are thirsty as we haven’t had much rain. I might have to set up aluminum pie plates on the top wire to keep them away. Nature can be a challenge sometimes.
I wouldn’t use that crap. It’s banned in many countries so that may say something.
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Set up some bird bathes… Sneezles61
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I was thinking of doing that.
You’ll shoot your eye out kid! 
Ho! Ho! Ho!
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