Garden pests come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny sap-sucking aphids to hoofed mammals like deer. No matter what is munching on your plants, organic and natural methods can help protect your harvest. Here are 10 of the most common vegetable and flower garden pests, with eco-friendly ways to control them.
1. Aphids
Aphids are soft-bodied insects from 1-10 mm long that cluster on young shoots, flowers and undersides of leaves. Common types are green, black, or woolly white aphids that suck plant fluids. This stunts growth and causes leaves to curl, turn yellow and become deformed. Honeydew secreted by aphids also attracts sticky black sooty mold.
To control, knock aphids off plants with a strong stream of water from the hose. For mild infestations, wipe or spray leaves with an insecticidal soap and neem oil mix weekly. Repeat for 2-3 weeks until aphids are gone. Ladybugs, green lacewings, hoverfly larvae, and parasitic mini-wasps naturally feed on aphids. Interplant flowers like dill, cilantro, sweet alyssum, and wild mustard to attract these beneficial insects to your garden.
Create a natural aphid spray by steeping crushed chilies, onions and garlic in hot water for a day. Strain and add a few drops of dish soap. Test spray on a few leaves first before widespread use. Reapply after rain. Monitor young growth routinely to catch any new clusters early.
2. Squash Bugs
Squash bugs are gray-brown flat bodied true bugs around 12-19 mm long. They puncture stems and undersides of leaves to suck nutrients from all squash family plants, including zucchini, pumpkins, cucumbers and melons. This causes vines to wilt and collapse. Squash bugs also transmit serious wilts diseases as they feed.
Check undersides of leaves routinely for clusters of copper-colored eggs and smash them. Hand pick bugs off plants in early morning while sluggish and drop them into soapy water. Float boards on soil to attract bugs overnight for easy disposal in the morning. Cover young plants with floating row covers and hand pollinate flowers for bee-free pest protection.
Introduce natural tiny parasitic wasp enemies of squash bugs to your garden. The beneficial tachinid fly attacks adult squash bugs. Interplant nasturtiums, marigolds and radishes which repel or confuse the bugs with their root aromas. Spray an organic neem oil mix weekly under leaves to deter feeding. Remove crop debris promptly after harvest to eliminate overwintering sites.
3. Imported Cabbage Worms
Green velvety imported cabbage worms blend in perfectly with their host plants - cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and kale. The 1" caterpillars voraciously eat ragged holes in leaves, ruining heading plants. Some types are pale yellow or tan. Adults are white butterflies which lay tiny round yellow eggs on leaf undersides.
Apply Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt weekly according to label directions. This natural bacteria kills young worms when eaten but is safe for people, pets, bees and wildlife. Encourage parasitic mini-wasps by providing small umbrella-shaped flower clusters. Cover brassica crops with fine insect netting or garden fabric secured well to exclude the adult butterflies.
Interplant aromatic French marigold, sage, rosemary, dill and thyme to mask the scent of cabbage plants. These can also act as trap crops, drawing egg-laying adults away from your main crop. Monitor for worms and eggs weekly, squashing them manually. After harvest, remove old leaf debris and till soil to eliminate overwintering pupae.
4. Spider Mites
Spider mites are tiny pests only 1/50" large. They attack the undersides of warm season vegetable and flower leaves leaving a classic yellow speckled or bronzed look. Fine webbing may cover badly infested plants. Hot, dusty conditions cause rapid spider mite multiplication.
Blast undersides of leaves with water to quickly dislodge colonies. Introduce predatory mites which specifically attack spider mites eggs and young. Neem oil or insecticidal soap sprays suffocate mites, but thorough contact spray with undersides of all leaves is vital for control.
Spider mites dislike humidity. Misting plants daily counters spider mites. Include humidity loving plants like peppers, eggplant, beans and celery which repel spider mites naturally. Maintainoptimal soil moisture and avoid water stress. After harvest, remove and destroy severely infested residue. Monitor routinely, especially leaf undersides for future infestations.
5. Japanese Beetles
Metallic emerald Japanese beetles arrive as annual summer pests in many regions. Adults grow up to 1/2" long and skeletonize leaves, leaving only tough veins behind. Beetles also damage flowers like roses, crepe myrtle and raspberry blossoms. Some years, beetles are extremely numerous, covering plants entirely.
Hand pick beetles off plants in early morning when sluggish and drop them into soapy water. Small battery powered hand vacuums make quick work of removal. Install commercial Japanese beetle traps using floral and pheromone lures to attract and drown them. However, lure traps may pull more beetles into your immediate area so use judiciously.
Apply neem oil to deter feeding and egg-laying. Introduce milky spore disease to lawns and soil to kill beetle larvae naturally. Screen valuable plants with a fine mesh to exclude beetles. Pick up fallen diseased fruit promptly to reduce larvae survival in soil. Monitor for first sightings and control beetles before they multiply.
6. Slugs and Snails
Slugs and snails thrive in moist organic environments, hiding by day and emerging at night to chew irregular holes in plant leaves. Their pesky rasping damage often goes unnoticed until it's quite extensive! Generations hatch every 6-8 weeks all season requiring diligent control efforts.
Hand pick slugs and snails after watering when they emerge for fresh plant material. Set small containers of beer sunk into soil to attract and drown them. Use abrasive diatomaceous earth sprinkled around beds to dry out soft slug bodies. Set half an orange rind flesh side up to attract overnight hideouts for disposal in the morning.
Install copper tape barriers around raised beds to repel slugs - they dislike contact with copper. Keep garden debris cleaned up reducing daytime hiding spots. Encourage natural predators like garter snakes, frogs, toads, birds and ground beetles with habitat structures. Maintain optimal soil moisture without overwatering which encourages population explosions.
7. Tomato Hornworms
Tomato hornworm caterpillars grow over 4" long, with a characteristic tail horn on their rear end. They feast heavily on tomato, pepper, eggplant and potato foliage and also attack green fruit. Hornworms easily go unnoticed due to their excellent camouflage coloration blending with stems and leaves until heavy damage occurs.
Manually pick worms from plants and drop them into soapy water. Look carefully on undersides of leaves for hornworm eggs which resemble white styrofoam and crush them. Apply Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria spray onto plants according to label directions to kill young larvae.
Grow marigolds, chives, onions and garlic as companions to deter hornworm moths. Attract native parasitic braconid wasps which use hornworms as nurseries for their own larvae. Check under debris around the base of plants where hornworms retire during the day. Remove plant residues promptly after last harvest to eliminate overwintering pupae sites.
8. Caterpillars
Many types of caterpillars other than cabbage worms and hornworms attack garden plants. Looper, armyworm, cutworm and gypsy moth caterpillars chew ragged holes in leaves of vegetables and ornamentals. Some spin fine webbing tents around feeding sites.
Manually pick visible caterpillars from plants early on and drop them into soapy water. Identify types and host plants to focus control efforts. Apply Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria spray to kill young larvae. Cover valuable plants with fine mesh netting secured well at base to exclude moths.
Introduce parasitic trichogramma wasps and tachinid flies which use caterpillars as hosts, as well as predatory insects and birds. Check undersides of leaves for eggs and hand crush them. Use pheromone traps to capture and disrupt adult moths. Monitor plants routinely for early detection which improves control.
9. Fruit Flies
Tiny fruit flies swarm overly ripe garden produce in mid to late summer. They particularly infest tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons and stone fruits with soft spots or cracks. Fruit flies appear suddenly once larvae inside fruit or soil pupate and emerge as troublesome adults.
Monitor ripening fruits closely for the first signs of fruit flies. Pick produce promptly when ripe and store properly to prevent infestations. Remove and toss infested remnants and fallen damaged fruit into sealed containers right away. This eliminates future breeding sites in soil and debris.
Set out pheromone traps and bait attractive homemade vinegars to catch flies. Use insect netting covers over plants to create physical barriers. Introduce predatory beneficial nematodes to soil which attack fruit fly larvae. Treat compost piles with Hypoaspis miles mites to prevent transfers to garden beds. Monitor for flies and remove food sources promptly to manage future generations.
10. Ants
Tiny ants certainly seem harmless enough until they swarm tomato plants riddled with sap-sucking aphids, whiteflies and other piercing-mouth pests. Ants milk these insects for nutritious honeydew secretions. Getting rid of the sap feeders on plants helps eliminate this food source for ants in gardens.
Pour boiling water directly into visible underground nests near garden beds to eliminate colonies. Sprinkle deterrents like ground cinnamon, red pepper flakes, crushed mint leaves, curry powder or cloves onto soil. Natural diatomaceous earth sprinkled at nest entrances and around beds cuts and damages ants upon contact, causing dehydration. Apply judiciously wearing a mask so beneficial insects aren't affected.
Set out short-term sweet liquid ant baits according to directions during severe infestations. Ants take the bait back to nests which kills the colony within days. Maintain diligent garden sanitation, pruning diseased material and removing decaying vegetation to prevent some pest issues that attract ants. Monitor for first signs each season and act swiftly to get infestations under control early before ants damage plants.
Employ these organic pest prevention strategies to protect people, beneficial garden allies and our shared environment while producing a bountiful harvest. With close observation and a few simple non-toxic controls, your garden can flourish in healthy balance with minimal damage from 10 of the most notorious vegetable patch pests.
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