Q. What is chewing on my dahlias and leaves little black specks all over? JoAnn Bernovich – Federal Way, WA
A. For those readers enjoying their Saturday morning breakfast as they read this column, I urge you to skip over this answer until you finish eating. You have been warned. I believe that the little black specs you are seeing are the fecal pellets of the offending insect. My first guess is that it is earwigs, but I always hate to blame them since they are not always the culprit but they I do know that they leave behind visible fecal pellets. The other suspect is the spotted cucumber beetle. If you see no insect activity during the day then it is more likely earwigs that are active at night. You may find the earwigs hiding inside the folds of the flowers during the day or in the soil below under a twig or such. The spotted cucumber beetles are active during the day and you should have noticed them. Both can be controlled with a pyrethrum based (powdered flower of the painted daisy – Chrysanthemum coccineum) organic pesticide like Safer Yard and Garden. If spraying during the day for earwigs you will also have to spray the soil below where they are may be hiding during the day.