To be a successful gardener, you should know about the organisms crawling through the vegetable patch or living inside flower pots.
While most people prefer to keep a tab on the birds, raccoons, or squirrels scurrying through the vegetation, we decided to look at the organisms that remain out of sight. Bugs give people the heebie-jeebies, but they are essential to having a healthy garden.
But in some cases, they can be pests too, and you must know when to limit their growth. That’s why today’s guide will be an eye-opener for people who want to know more about the secret life of common garden bugs in their yard.
Let’s take a stroll through the garden and see what we can find.
Aha! The first bug of the day is Red Spider Mites, but you probably didn’t notice them yet because these minute organisms inhabit the underside of the leaves. Do you see tiny red dots all over the surface? That’s the work of the Red Spider Mite, sucking the sap from the leaves, resulting in yellow mottling.
Like the Spider Mites, Gall Mites also suck sap, leading to abnormal leaf growth. They are usually visible as bright red spots on the leaf surface, much like a pimple, or in some cases like matted hair. Luckily, they are rarely harmful and mostly tolerable, but some species bite and leave a tiny itchy bump on human skin, causing inflammation.
If you have evergreen trees in your yard, look out for bagworms that are technically moth larvae. You’ll find a bag-like structure hanging from the trees which is a protective casing and offers safety against predators. As the bug grows, the size of the casing increases since it’s made from bits of plant matter. Most importantly, the moth present inside the bag can conveniently feed on evergreen bushes and trees surrounding it.
Most gardeners would think that planting the purple coneflower is safe since it’s highly resistant to common garden bugs found in your yard. But when there are Japanese Beetles on the hunt, nothing’s safe as these critters can attack and gobble up almost any flower. They aren’t picky about what they eat, proving worrisome for most people, especially due to the absence of their natural predators in the USA.
All that glitters isn’t gold, and all patterns on a leaf aren’t beautiful. Sometimes, the designs on a leaf are the work of leaf miners, leaving behind a trail of discolored blotches. The only good thing is that these bugs are harmless in most cases, and it’s safe to leave the garden untreated.
When you have an apple tree in the yard and can’t wait to pluck apples every year, be wary of codling moths. These eat the apples from the inside out and can finish your entire harvest if you don’t apply pesticides. Also, use pheromone traps towards the end of spring to prevent the moths from mating.
With the arrival of spring, you’ll find that certain fruit tree leaves are joined together as if by glue, which is the work of the winter moth. These tiny caterpillars use sticky glue on the leaves, and when the leaves expand, you’ll notice tiny holes on the surface. So, before they infest the entire garden, we recommend laying down sticky traps to capture the moths.
Some bugs like aphids reproduce quickly and can take over an entire plant in days. They also produce a sticky secretion called honeydew, resulting in the growth of black fungus on the leaves. As a result, getting rid of them can be challenging despite their short lifespan of 7 days.
At times, tiny indentations or bumps on the underside of leaves can lead to poor growth; truth is, these are scale insects. Although they try to remain hidden from plain sight, sooty mold and sticky excretions are often telltale signs that the leaves are under attack. It would be best to wash the molds before spraying the surface with horticultural oil.
A common problem for gardeners and greenhouse owners is whiteflies sucking the sap from plants. Moreover, they infest in large numbers, attacking the underside of leaves, which allows viral diseases to spread to other plants. Hang sticky, yellow pads to trap the adults while you can spray a biological chemical on the larvae.
Although they are extremely difficult to spot, the trail of destruction they leave behind is the giveaway that you have Viburnum Beetles in the garden. They eat by gouging holes in the leaves, which doesn’t make for good viewing and slows down plant growth. So, we suggest spraying pesticides on the leaves during spring.
You may find indoor plants showing white patches on the leaves and petals, which is the work of Thrips, more infamously known as Thunder Flies. These tiny black bugs suck sap from the leaves, even infesting onions, leeks, gladioli, and pees. The best way to rid the garden of them is by using biological pesticides.
Sometimes the problem lies underneath the soil, with bugs like Vine Weevil Larvae attacking the roots with their small brown heads. These cream-colored pests are particularly prevalent in potted plants with fleshy roots, causing them to die suddenly. Understandably, most people don’t realize what’s wrong until it’s too late.
If the larvae survive, they grow into adult vine weevils that are nocturnal and feed by leaving notches on the leaves. Luckily, using biological pesticides can limit their spread.
Don’t be fooled by their attractive appearance, as Cabbage White Caterpillars can wreak havoc due to their voracious appetite. They can decimate entire gardens if left unchecked, so rub egg clusters on the leaves and pick off one caterpillar at a time.
Despite their name, the Tomato Moth attacks all fruits, making them unsuitable for consumption. The only option is to remove the caterpillars when you spot them inside the fruit.
Before maturing into the sawfly, the larvae are called Rose Slugs, and they swiftly damage the leaves by feeding on leaf tissues. Moreover, since they attach themselves to the leaf belly, detecting them is challenging unless you notice wrinkles or spots on the surface. Some people confuse them for a leaf disease, but you can remove the slugs with a water blast or use a bioinsecticide like spinosad.
Grasshoppers are notorious, and their infestations strike panic into the hearts of gardeners, as nothing is safe. On average, a grasshopper can eat up to half its body weight, chewing through fruits, leaves, and flowers without stopping. A natural remedy is to create a suitable environment for bluebirds since they feed on the grasshopper, or you can look for commercial bioinsecticides.
Does something stink? Don’t worry; it’s not your dogs, but there might be stink bugs in the garden. They give off a characteristic stinky smell when they emerge during winter, going on an eating spree and attacking tomatoes, raspberries, corn, and apples.
In fact, they are equally comfortable indoors, crawling into the attic and tiny voids, but a suitable way to filter them out is with soapy water or duct tape.
If you find a fluffy white coating on the plants, it could point to a wooly beech aphid infestation. They excrete a sticky honeydew coating across and under the leaf surface, resulting in black sooty mold growth. Moreover, as they suck sap, it affects normal leaf growth.
Compared to other bugs, earwigs are usually beneficial but feed on flowers such as dahlia, clematis, and chrysanthemum. Rather than removing them, lure these nocturnal critters into upturned flower pots containing straws, and release them into other parts of the garden.
The Cabbage Looper Caterpillar gets its name due to its propensity for eating cabbage and its unique loop-like movement. However, they are voracious eaters and leave your cabbage patch in tatters when left unchecked.
The brightly colored cucumber beetle, with spots or stripes on its back, loves to eat melons, cucumbers, and squash. They are also carriers of diseases, so you should remove them without delay.
Check out some of our other guides to control other common garden bugs:
Sting Bugs
Sawfly Larva
Mealybugs
Tomato Hornworms
Slugs and Snails
Flea Beetles
Crickets
Colorado Potato Beetle
Mexican Bean Beetle
Tarnished Plant Bug
Red Imported Fire Ant
Cutworm
Asparagus Beetle
Wireworms
European Corn Borer
Yellow Dog Tick
Squash Bug
Black Carpenter Ant
Corn Earworm
Leafroller Caterpillars
Beetle Grubs
Fourlined Plant Bug
There are many more garden bugs that we can go on about, but knowing about these common ones will help you identify the pests.
As a result, you can remove them quickly or relocate them to other areas of the garden (when possible) to maintain a thriving ecosystem. It’s also crucial to note that the garden is a living habitat, and you can’t eradicate bugs altogether; in fact, you shouldn’t.
Rather, refer to our guide to know how common pests behave and what they eat to take preventive measures.
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