Welcome to the ugly bug ball. Where we live, in Florida, we have bugs, lots of bugs, bugs everywhere. They’re in your house, they’re in your car, they’re in your hair and even your cup of coffee. Yep, there’s one now swimming around. Coffee is cold anyway. In fact when people visit Florida this is the first thing they talk about. “You sure have lots of bugs here”. Or “What’s that thing flying around”? Or “It’s crawling on me, get it off, get it off. I’ve taken a few pictures to show you but it’s not easy since they won’t stay still. They’re either crawling, jumping, hopping or flying away. “Quick, take it now,”I hear in the background, “it’s leaving”. They come to your garden, lots of them. Some of them like your daylilies. You can easily see some of them. The bad bugs like grass hoppers and caterpillars eat the leaves while centipedes and grub worms are in the soil out of sight eating the young tender roots. Other bad bugs, like aphids and spider mites, are very small and hide deep down in the leaves. You may not know that they are there until your plants don’t look so good any more. Believe it or not there are good bugs that come to your daylilies to eat too but not to eat them but to eat the bad bugs. Lady bugs are welcome in our garden because they feed on some of the bad bugs. If you decide to use insecticides on your plants, remember you are likely killing the good bugs along with the bad ones. The American Hemerocallis Society, (AHS) which I have provided a link to, list 21 bad bugs to watch for and is a great place to go for help with your daylilies. From their front page do a search for pest and also for beneficial insects. What are you going to do when they come for you. Bad bugs, bad bugs.
Daylilies Delight 