HomeStrawberriesStrawberries: Stems are covered with spittle (spittle bugs)

Strawberries: Stems are covered with spittle (spittle bugs)

Although spittle bugs usually do not affect the plant, they are an annoyance to pickers.

Strawberry plant with white foamy blob between leaves and unripe fruit.

More than two spittle masses per square foot is considered the action threshold for this insect.

Unripe cluster of strawberry fruit attached to stem is held by a hand. There is a mass of white foam on stem junction. A small green insect with a pointy head is visible at base of stem, below the spittle mass.
Spittle bug adult (green insect) is located just above the thumb.

 

Spittle bugs typically produce one generation per season, with nymphs hatching in early spring and adults laying eggs in autumn. Both nymphs and adults use sucking mouthparts to siphon sap out of host plants.

A weed stem with a mass of white foam perched at a junction between stem and leaf.
Photo courtesy of Kathleen Demchak, Penn State University.

 

More spittle bug information:

Use these resources if you need additional help with diagnosis and to find solutions to your problem.