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I've been battling aphids all summer and they were ruthless to all my brassica plants. It's the beginning of October and they seem to have backed off of my kale (what's left of it), but I've still been finding them on my brussels sprouts. I was out of town for a couple days and this morning when I went out to do my morning routine of squishing and squirting away aphids, I instead found these mysterious black speckles. They don't move, and I'm pretty sure they're not a larva or insect egg because they kind of crumble when I brush them with my finger. They seem more like dirt or tiny turds.

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Interestingly, I don't see aphids where I find those black fleck. I do see a lot of earwigs all of a sudden. The earwigs are usually hiding inside the top leaf ball right where the aphids usually infest. I know earwigs are considered a pest, but I suspect the earwigs are eating the aphids, so I'm trying not to mess with them at the moment. Are the black flecks earwig poo? Or is it something else I need to be concerned about?

emersonthis
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  • This isn't directly related to your exact question, but since you mentioned aphid pressure, I'll offer you this. I've always struggled with aphids on my brassicas until this year. I did two things differently. Firstly, I waited until the plants were much more mature (6" high) before planting them out. Then I liberally sprayed neem oil on the foliage. Both worked quite well. – nickcoxdotme Oct 09 '20 at 05:15

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