Insect Pests



Insect Pests

From the Community Food Bank’s “Gardening Basics: Part 2” Workshop

WHAT’S A PEST? Many different animals may be pests in your garden. In this packet, we deal with insects because they are usually the most difficult to identify and deal with.

GOOD BUGS? It’s especially important to learn about insects because not all of them are pests. Some of them do very important work for our gardens. Lady bugs, for instance, love to eat aphids (tiny bugs that suck on plant leaves and can wreak havoc on even a small garden!). This is why it’s especially important not to use chemicals to kill the bugs we don’t like: because y doing so we will also kill the insects or small animals that keep a healthy balance in the garden. It’s okay if grasshoppers leave a few holes in the leaves of our plants—it’s natural, in fact! Our job is simply to catch these pests before they take over.

Here are some of the insects to watch out for, and what you can do if they become a problem. Insects can look very different in various stages of their lives—egg-larva-nymph-adult, so sometimes a different description is given for each stage.

|Pest |Description |Damage |Where to look |Natural predators |Short and Long term Management |

|Squash Bugs |Adult: Beetle-looking |Suck on plants |Underneath and in |Parasitic flies, |Short term: Early in the morning while it |

| |Length of a finger-nail; |making shoots |the base of a LEAF |praying mantis |is still cold hand pick bugs or drown in a|

| |flat, brownish-black body |blacken; hurt |where it might fold | |bucket of soapy water. |

| |Nymph: white-green or |production of fruit |and meet the STEM. | |Long term: Attract parasitic flies with |

| |gray, shaped like adult | | | |pollen/nectar plants, allow the plants to |

| |Egg: | | | |grow up trellises, cover plants with |

| |Brownish-yellow and shiny | | | |floating row cover (will need to hand |

| |ovals | | | |pollinate if you do this), rotate your |

| | | | | |crops if possible. |

|Pest |Description |Damage |Where to look |Natural predators |Short and Long term Management |

|Ants | |Usually just eat the| | |Very difficult: Pour boiling water in |

| | |honeydew that aphids| | |their hill or sprinkle diatomaceous earth |

| | |give off, some eat | | |around the affected plants. |

| | |whole leaves, bites | | | |

| | |are pesky! | | | |

|Grasshoppers | |Not usually a big | |Birds, fungal |Short term: Try to catch in morning when |

| | |problem in home | |diseases, ground |they are slower. Chickens and wild birds |

| | |gardens; may eat | |beetles, predatory |love to eat them. |

| | |whole leaves, buds | |flies |Long term: mix up soil in fall to kill |

| | |or stems | | |eggs they’ve laid (helps for following |

| | | | | |season) |

|Leafhopper |Green, hop if plant is |Causes spotting |Whole plant |Predatory flies, |Short term: strong water spray on leaves, |

| |shaken, very small. |(white specks), | |parasitic wasps |use homemade spray |

| |They are also responsible |yellowing, leaf | | |Long term: Remove garden debris shortly |

| |for transmitting the |curling, stunting | | |after harvest to reduce over-wintering |

| |organisms causing virus |and distortion of | | |sites. Floating row covers can be used as |

| |diseases in plants. |plants. Found on | | |a physical barrier. |

| | |beans, beets | | | |

| | |lettuce, potato, and| | | |

| | |others. | | | |

|Squash vine borer |Larva: white worm with |Larva burrow in |Eggs laid on STEMS | |Short term: Kill adults when seen, Use a |

| |dark head |vines and chew, |and LEAF STALKS at | |thin wire to remove larva from stems |

| |Adult: brownish moths with|causing the vine to |bottom of plant, | |Long term: Cover with row cover early in |

| |red middle and black spots|wilt and die |look in stems for | |season, remove when flowers have formed |

| | | |burrows, feces looks| |and pollination is necessary, place tape |

| | | |like sawdust | |as a sticky trap around base of stem. |

|Pest |Description |Damage |Where to look |Natural predators |Short and Long term Management |

|Leaf miner |Too small to see |Tunnel through |LEAVES | |Short term: Cut off the leaf that is |

| | |leaves making thin | | |infected. These insects usually do minimal|

| | |brown trails—not a | | |damage. |

| | |serious problem | | | |

|Flea Beetle |Adult: shiny, dark beetle,|May leave small |LEAVES of young | |Short term: sprinkle Diatomaceous Earth |

| |the size of a grain of |holes or gray |plants, or lower | |around the base and leaves of the plant. |

| |rice. Have enlarged back |dimples on leaves of|leaves on older | | |

| |legs for jumping |young plants |plants. | |Use yellow sticky traps for control. |

| | |Can do serious |Often attack young | | |

| | |damage to young |seedlings and spend | | |

| | |plants. |winters in weedy | | |

| | | |debris | | |

|White fly |Adult: tiny, soft, white, |Larvae and adults |LEAVES may be sticky|Lacewing, big eyed |Short term: Pinch off leaves infested with|

| |winged flies, about the |suck on leaves. |or covered with |bug, minute pirate |eggs or larvae. Try hot pepper spray. |

| |size of a pencil point |Leaves may be yellow|black mold. Shake |bug |Long term: Use yellow sticky traps for |

| |Eggs: Tiny, oblong, |or dry |plant and adults | |control. Outbreaks usually happen when |

| |underneath leaves. | |will fly into the | |natural predator populations are killed by|

| |Immature stages: flattened| |air. | |insecticides. Encourage predators. |

| |ovals that don’t move. | | | |Control ants and dust which protect |

| | | | | |whiteflies from predators. |

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