How should iceberg lettuce be checked for bugs?
• ANSWER: Lettuce, Iceberg DESCRIPTION: Iceberg lettuce is a common ball-shaped leafy vegetable. Wrapper leaves are the 2-3 loosely attached leaves on the outside of the lettuce. These are generally not consumed and often times these leaves have been removed by the time the head reaches the consumer. Most commonly, only the tightly packed leaves that form a ball are eaten. Generally, two leaves, one from each side, will form a layer completely covering the circumference of the lettuce head. INFESTATION: Iceberg lettuce may carry black/gray thrips and/or green aphids. Though lettuce infestation is seasonal, being more prevalent during the summer months, our research has indicated that outbreaks of infestation do occur in the winter months as well. We therefore recommend that lettuce be inspected throughout the year. Fortunately, it has been determined that infestation is predominantly limited to the first four layers of leaves i.e. the outermost eight leaves on the head (two per layer).
