[skywalker]

I have been really chuffed this year with how well my courgettes are doing. Big lush green leaves and lots of buds appearing.

Just been out to do my daily check to find the leaves have been decimated by huge greenfly who have munched through many of the leaves on several plants. I have sprayed them with a washing up liquid solution but am afraid of the long term psycological effect this will have on them. 

I really really love my courgettes 

[mumofstig]

Huge greenfly?..............greenfly are all smallish............or do you mean a lot of them 

as courgettes don't think (they'd have 'family planning' if they did ) I don't think it will have any psycological effect on them

[doubledug]

Can this be true greenfly eating courgettes,sorry the leaves. Perhaps as you have such a devotion to them you could plant a ring of something around them that  a green fly finds irresistable. As a sacrifice.    

[mumofstig]

I wondered if it was a shield bug? that's why I asked if it was huge   (for a green fly)

[DD.]

Shield bugs don't eat leaves, they're sap suckers and usually are little more than a nuisance.

[mumofstig]

well they sucked holes in my potato haulms last year then 

Seriously........ I couldn't find anything else on the plant other than the shield bugs.

[Ice]

One squirt of Provado Ultimate gets rid of them for weeks.  Just don't spray close to harvest time.

[JayG]

Shield bugs don't eat leaves, they're sap suckers and usually are little more than a nuisance.

Greenfly don't munch either, they ain't got no teeth but they make up for it in sap-sucking ability (have to say I've never seen them on courgettes though, and I'm not sure what you mean by "huge"!  )

[sunshineband]

All in all a bit of a mystery bug 

The washing up liquid trick should see 'em off though 

[skywalker]

ooh maybe I'm mistaken. There were definately aphids on the underside of the leaves which I presumed to be greenfly. The leaves have over a period of days started to curl inwards so I presume that is where they have been sucking the sap. Maybe some other evil is responsible for the holes in my leaves then?