Identifying Garden Pests

Gardening can be a fun and productive activity that adds beauty to a home, and often yields food in the form of fruits and vegetables. However, certain creatures may eat or otherwise harm the plants you are trying to grow. Identifying garden pests and finding ways to remove them from gardens is important knowledge for any gardener.

Aphids are one extremely common garden pest. Identifying garden pests as aphids is fairly easy, simply look for rather small, green or brown insects that live on plants in large numbers. For beginners growing roses, these insects can be particularly annoying. Most aphids do not have wings, but some aphids may grow wings during certain times of the year. Regardless, aphids harm plants by eating them and releasing a honeydew that causes leaves to yellow or brown. Aphids have also been known to carry diseases from one plant to the next. Once identified, aphids can be removed from plants fairly easily. The first method is to spray a mixture of water and a small amount of liquid soap on plants afflicted with aphids. A second method is to introduce predators that feed on aphids, like ladybugs, to the garden. Interestingly enough, ants are also a garden pest, as they transport aphids on their backs to different plants.

Mealybugs are another common garden pest that should be removed from plants. Identifying garden pests as mealybugs can be done by looking for their tiny, whitish-gray, and hairy segmented bodies. Like aphids, they usually congregate on plants in large numbers and suck the juices from plants. They are also known to carry mold to plants. Again like aphids, ants are known to protect them for the honeydew which they secrete. Mealybugs can be removed by hand if their numbers are low enough, but a spray which combines water with rubbing alcohol can be successful in removing mealybugs.

Other garden pests include cutworms, deer, and weevils. Care should be taken when removing unwanted pests from the garden to avoid using insecticides if at all possible, as insecticide kills all insects and bugs, both good and bad.

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