Common Pests and How to Recognize Them

Aphids

 They group together in a dense clump and suck sap from young growth and leaves. There will be a sticky coating on leaves along with a black sooty mold. They are sometimes green, yellow, brown or black. They spread viruses to other plants around your garden. This can be a serious problem if left untreated.

CONTROL: Check plants, like roses, weekly and spray with garlic based insecticidal soap regularly.

 

Leafminers

They are small, but don’t do a lot of serious damage. They feed on leaves by burrowing inside and can be seen a pale green trails or white lines. This is unsightly but not too serious.

CONTROL: Spray both front and backs of leaves of infected plant or remove damaged leaves and throw away into garbage, not compost pile.

Red Spidermites

They are small, but can cause a lot of damage, because the suck sap out of plants, cause stunted growth, causing leaves to curl and drop. They leave fine webs on plants, so watch for this a first sign of trouble. Attact grapes, mums, carnations, and cucumbers.

CONTROL: Spray with insecticidal soap regularly.

Earwigs

They are about 1 inch long, fast moving and have pincerlike tail. You can trap them easily using old pop bottles or dishes of a sweet yeast mixture. 1 cup water, 2-3 tsp. sugar, and ½ tsp. granular yeast. They eat holes in most any kind of plant, but like hostas and vegetables best. They are a nuisance and will devour young plants too.

CONTROL: Be vigilant with traps by checking and refilling them every 2 or 3 days to reduce their numbers.

 

 Scale insects

 They look like a small brown blister on stems and leaves. They suck sap from plants, cause leaves to drop and can kill a whole shrub over a season of two if not stopped.

CONTROL: Prune off dead or damaged branches. Dormant oil can be used in spring. A carbaryl like Sevin can be sprayed and is effective when insects are in the crawling stage.

Slugs and Snails

Slugs have long tubular bodies, while snails are similar but they have round shells. They both leave a slimy trail, eat holes in leaves and feed on young seedlings. They can do a lot of damage if not controlled. They feed mostly on hosta and food crops.

 

CONTROL: You can place a circle of egg shells, tin foil or use copper wire around urns and pots to stop them. They will not cross over anything sharp and the tin and copper will give off a mild electrical shock so this will deter them. Laying bottle traps with beer/yeast mixture as a lure works well. They will crawl in and drown.

Wireworms

They are about ½ inch long, yellow in color and do damage to underground to roots, rhizomes and bulbs. Once they attack a plant it will collapse above ground. They like to feed on iris, potato, carrot, beets.

CONTROL: A granular insecticide can be added if you are converting grassland to garden use, otherwise you must wait to plant 3 years to use the soil. When adding compost, keep a lookout for them and hand pick to keep under control.

Cutworms

They are fat white/gray color worms, hide just below the soil surface and feed at night in May and June. They eat roots of anything in their path.

CONTROL: Use protective collars, placed around seedlings. For lawn damage spray with diazinon insecticide.

White Grub worms

Grubs are the larvae of the June Bug Beetle and damage lawns and most other garden plants by cutting the stem off just below the soil surface. They multiply quickly, so always be on the lookout for problems.

CONTROL: A lawn can safely be sprayed each year to control them before they become a problem. If you see small dead patches of grass, lift a section of turf, inspect the soil down about 5-6 in. and remove any grubs by hand before they become a problem.

Cabbage worm

They are seen often as a white butterfly or pale green caterpillar feeding on cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower. They eat holes in leaves and tunnel into cabbage heads, usually just feeding on anything in the cabbage family.

CONTROL: Use insecticide dust or spray early to control breeding of the white butterfly and laying of eggs on plants.