As promised, here's a list of garden pests that I've gotten to know personally and the remedies I use to TRY to control them. It's certainly not all inclusive. Readers may have experience with pests that I fortunately do not have. If so, please feel free to use the comments button below to add your favorite pests to the list.
Ants -
I've had very few problems with ants. The one exception is a raised bed where we grow some of our strawberries. The ants have been kind enough to use the top of the lumber as a pathway to the berries. I sprinkle diatomaceous earth (finely ground shells of a sea creature which are deadly sharp edged and slice through the ant's soft body) along their path. They instinctively avoid the stuff and, therefore, the plants needing protection. It can also be spread directly on the soil. Although diatomaceous earth is not likely to cut through human flesh, I would be wary of getting it in eyes or inhaling it through the nose or mouth. Also, it must be replenished after a rain or on windy days. Although I've never tried it, insecticidal soap would surely work since ants are soft bodied creatures. And, there are commercial ant traps which fool ants into thinking they've found food (bait). They enter the trap, become covered with an insecticide (poison) and return to the colony. The poison rubs off on other ants and kills them as well. I can't comment on the traps as I have never used one, but I don't think they'd be a good idea around curious children or your pets.
Aphids -
A few aphids on a plant wouldn't appear to pose a big problem. The real problem with aphids is that they seem to multiply at the speed of light! And then they are a problem - hundreds of little mouths sucking the fluids out of your plants. A full blown infestation can easily ruin your garden. These green plant vampires are easy to find, however; although they are small, they gather in large feeding groups. Make a habit of inspecting plant buds and the under side of flower and vegetable plant leaves (also look for orange spots on the underside of squash leaves & spray them too). When you find them, spray with a commercial or homemade insecticidal soap. Death is pretty much instantaneous.
Asparagus beetle -
I haven't had a problem with these attacking our asparagus during the season, but I did see them late in August feeding on the wispy asparagus ferns. That probably means I will see them earlier this year tasting the asparagus spears that we will harvest. Insecticidal soap took care of them last year.
Caterpillars -
The only caterpillars I've paid much attention too are the white butterfly caterpillars. They love nothing more than a nice cabbage plant, but will settle for broccoli as a good substitute. Space considerations made me give up those two vegetables, but I still see them from time-to-time as well as their black droppings at the top of other plants they are feasting on. Insecticidal soap takes care of them. (Also, see cut worms below.)
Cicadas -
I've had a few cicadas every year, but there have never been enough of them to do any large scale damage. I just annoy them so they fly off into my neighbor's yard.
Cucumber beetles -
These little flying critters look very much like a ladybug except they are a bright green. Some have black spots while others sport black stripes. I haven't had a lot of problems with them. When I do find one, I spray it with insecticidal soap.
Cut worms -
These little monsters bring about disappointment and anger among gardeners everywhere year-after-year. It's disheartening to visit the garden the morning after first putting plants in the bed only to find some of them chopped off at the base of the stem....I know! Cut worms look like white butterfly (cabbage) caterpillars except they are a brown color. They are the larvae of the cutworm moth, a common, plain brown, and very unattractive night flying moth. The cutworm is a nocturnal creature like its parents. It travels across the ground and bites off the stem of a variety of plants right at ground level. My problem with them has always been my tomato plants. My problems pretty much ended when I began spreading wood ash around the plants. I also fashion collars from plastic cups by cutting out the bottom of the cup and slipping it over the new plant. I then push it an inch or so into the soil. A 3" or 4" collar will do. The combination of the acidic ash and collar seems to have solved the problem.
Japanese beetles -
See my post "Time To Battle Beetles", March 14, 2011
Ah, yes....North Americas only marsupial! I know I had some small amount of possum damage last year. Seems they really like ripe tomatoes! I found out where it was entering the garden, put up a block and didn't suffer any great damage. That being said, I know it has grown into an adult since then (see picture above) and that it can clearly scale a six foot fence! So, once the tomatoes begin to mature, I'll be ringing each plant with some wire fencing. If worse come to worse, it may need to be safely relocated, but that is truly a last resort. After all, in addition to tomatoes, opossums love eating SLUGS!
Slugs -
Did someone mention slugs??
Does anyone like these things? Beside opossums?
On some warm nights, it seems like slugs are everywhere! Never, ever walk barefoot outside on a summer evening! The do plenty of damage in a vegetable garden, that's for sure. I'm not sure if I know any vegetable or fruit that slugs don't like. For many years, I've poured a small amount of salt on slugs. It's a vicarious thrill watching them melt. I've also used beer traps. I have the convenience of a never ending supply of small cat food cans. This type of can is perfect for the slug beer trap. It seems slugs are attracted to the yeast in beer. Fill a small can, such as a tuna or cat food can, with beer and press it lightly into the soil in the evening. If you have slugs or snails in your garden, you will find some who have drowned in the beer overnight. It's not a pretty sight, believe me. Empty and fill again in the evening, continuing as long as needed, or your beer budget holds out.
I've also begun using a pelletized slug bait. It is a natural, but non poisonous (to humans) product, but I wouldn't want toddlers to have access to it. The bait contains an iron phosphate. The slug is attracted to the bait, eats it, and is sickened by the iron phosphate. The slug is unable to eat, goes into hiding and dies within a few days or a week. The pellets are quite small and naturally decay to become part of the soil (as do the victims).
Snails - See Slugs, above.
Squash bugs -
If you've seen Chinese stink bugs in your house over the winter, you know what the squash bug looks like. The nasty thing about the squash bug is the its saliva contains a poison which causes the plant it's feeding on to blacken and die. I've used a non-organic product on them in the past, but spraying them with insecticidal soap will get them. They will lay small orange eggs on the underside of leaves. You should be looking for them and spray them as well. Dusting the leaves with wood ash or garden lime will also help
Squash vine borers -
These guys may be the ones that I dislike the most. That's because you never see them coming! The adult, which looks like a wasp with an orange body and black spots. The adult lays eggs in the garden area. Over the course of the year, the eggs hatch, and through several stages become a grub by the following summer. As July comes around, they become active, leaving the soil to feed on the main vine of squash plants. You will know you have them one day when you go to your garden and the leaves are suddenly drooping in the afternoon. If unchecked, the plant will collapse and die in a few days time.
When you see this first sign, immediately look at the plant stem just where it comes out of the ground. You will probably see a rough looking orange/brown area near the base of the central vine. This rough discolored area consists of "frass", which is spittle the borer leaves behind as it chews its way up the main stem. Now look for a soft spot and an opening in that area. That will be where the borer entered the vine. Gently press up the vine. You will generally be able to tell how far the borer has moved up the inside the vine. When you reach the area that is still hard and green, you've found the likely area where the borer will be found. However, there may be more than one borer in the vine.
The next step is to get a straight pin or sewing needle. Starting at the point where the borer entered the plant vine, begin poking holes through the vine. I've done this numerous times. Jab through several times every inch, from different angles, going up the vine until you reach the unaffected area. If you're lucky, you will see that you've struck the beast by a flow of brown/black fluid running out of the entry point. But, that does not always happpen. (Other gardeners use a razor knife and carefully open the stem by making an incicion lengthways up the stem.) After you feel reasonably sure you've hit your target(s), you will get a bucket of dirt and bury the stem area up to the undamaged point. This soil will now be watered daily for a week, or more, to let the plant establish new roots and begin supplying the plant with water that was cut off by the borer's damaging activity.
As a final note on squash vine borers, the first time they happened to me, I had no idea what was going on. When I pulled the dead plant from the ground five or six grubs tumbled out of the vine. In addition, I have added beneficial nematodes to the soil since I seem prone to this problem. These guys feed on the borers. Last season I had a problem with two plants, but not all four. The two plants survived, after sewing needle surgery, until the end of the season.
I hope to see you again soon!
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