They Look Like Pretty Patterns—But What Hatches Will Make Your Skin Crawl

I first spotted them on a leaf in my garden—tiny black clusters, so neatly arranged they almost looked like delicate lace. My neighbor thought they were just harmless specks and had been wiping them off with her bare hands. But when I leaned closer and realized what they really were, my stomach turned. These weren’t freckles on a plant. And I knew exactly what was about to happen next…

The first time I noticed them, I thought my eyes were playing tricks. A neat little patch of black, star-shaped dots clinging to the underside of a leaf in my garden. At first glance, it almost looked beautiful—like tiny lacework stamped into the green. But the moment I leaned closer, my stomach turned. These weren’t harmless specks.

They were eggs. Hundreds of them.

And if I hadn’t known better, I might’ve brushed them with my hand, thinking they were just dirt or mold. But these clusters hatch fast, and once they do, your garden can go from lush to shredded in days.

My neighbor learned that the hard way.