Common Garden Pests and How to Stop Them

We want to help your landscape and garden look great all season long. Here are some of the most common pests that will try to cause some damage:

 

Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers tend to take over our gardens in the summer time and they’ll eat just about anything. If they’re becoming an issue, robber flies could be your answer. Robber flies attack and feed on grasshoppers, so add plants that attract robber flies such as marigolds and sunflowers.

 

Tomato Hornworms

These look similar to big, green caterpillars but have a distinctive “horn”. It doesn’t take many of these to eat up the leaves on your tomato plants, so grab them and drop them into a bucket of soapy water. You don’t have to worry about them stinging or biting.

 

Japanese Beetles

These beetles are relatively large and are a nightmare for your rose bushes. You may see them elsewhere in the garden, but roses are their favorite. Spray them with an insecticidal soap to stop them.

 

Leaf Miners

Leaf miners are small worms that burrow tunnels through the leaves. This causes leaves to look as if someone drew squiggly lines with a white crayon all over the leaves. These don’t cause much damage except for in the worse cases. Simply pluck any affected leaves.

 

Winter Moth

Don’t be confused by the name, this pest is actually a caterpillar. They also feed in spring by attaching the leaves of fruit trees and creating large holes. To rid winter moths, apply sticky traps around your fruit trees.

 

Slugs

You’ll typically see slugs on cool, rainy days and nights. It’s hard to control slugs too because they lay several eggs at a time (3-40). A trick to help rid slugs is with beer. They will seek a hide out when the sun comes out, so leave a partially filled beer can pushed into the soil. Depending how big your garden, you may want to do a few to make sure you knockout several slugs.

 

Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew isn't exactly a pest problem, but it is a very common plant disease. This disease makes your plants look as though they have been sprinkled with gray or white powder. Powdery mildew causes leaves to experience spotting and eventually will turn yellow and die. This mostly affects fruit trees and roses. Prune out the affected leaves and hose down your plants with a forceful spray of water.