Midsummer means the blooming of flowers and the beginning of a bountiful garden harvest, but for the unlucky, it also brings with it a host of pests that can destroy your garden in a matter of days.
Aphids, slugs, and beetles are just the beginning. Your garden can be home to dozens of pests before you can enjoy your plants. But how can you get rid of them safely?
USA TODAY interviewed pest control experts to hear recommendations for DIY pest control products from SC Johnson entomologists and learn which garden features tend to attract bugs.
Here’s how to protect your garden from the most destructive pests right now, according to experts.
5 Common Garden Pests That Destroy Your Plants and How to Stop Each Pest
slug and snail
Signs of intrusion:
- Irregular holes in leaves and flowers
- A hole in a ripe fruit (such as a strawberry or tomato) close to the ground
- Slugs and snails can be seen on plants
Slugs and snails are common garden pests that enjoy eating leaves, fruits, and vegetables. In fact, anything that rots or ripens is a favorite prey for slugs and snails.
They thrive in dark, moist environments. One of the keys to removing them from your garden is to remove low-hanging leaves, stones, and weeds that provide shade and make their habitat inhospitable. Then remove the slugs from the plants daily or use baiting, a widely used removal technique.
How to get rid of them:
- Remove slugs and snails from plants by hand
- Use iron phosphate baits such as Sluggo
- Set up beer-baited traps using cheap beer or a mixture of water, yeast, and flour.
- Prune the lower foliage, remove debris, and remove weeds.
Japanese beetle
Signs of intrusion:
- I see a green and brown metal beetle
- hole eaten by a leaf
- A “skeleton” that fell into the garden leaving only its membrane behind
- Brown spots on the lawn (signs of larvae)
Japanese beetles typically appear in late May or early June, with peak activity in June and July, but by the time you find them, the damage may have already been done. These beetles can devastate entire gardens, leaving only skeletal leaves in their path.
“They eat over 300 different plants, so this isn’t a pest that sticks to one corner of your garden and destroys it further,” says Ed Dorschun, vice president of business development and technical director for pest control company Catchmaster. Japanese beetles are social feeders that travel in groups to destroy gardens.
How to get rid of them:
- Knock the beetle off the infected bush and place it in a cup of soapy water
- Spraying horticultural insecticides
- Treat your soil with beneficial nematodes
- call an exterminator
aphids
Signs of intrusion:
- small pear-shaped insects that gather on the underside of leaves
- Leaves curl, twist, or wrinkle
- Leaves turn yellow and the plant grows poorly or stunted
- sticky clear liquid waste left on leaves (‘honeydew’)
- Sooty mold (black powdery fungus that grows by sucking honeydew)
- Footprints of ants moving back and forth through the nectar
A small number of aphids may not kill a plant, but large numbers can stunt plant growth and cause serious damage. They prefer new plant growth and are often found in dense groups on leaves and stems.
When aphids feed, they secrete a sticky, clear liquid called honeydew. This shiny substance attracts ants, wasps, and other insects, so it can be just as much of a problem as aphids. It may also turn black when sooty mold bacteria grows.
Aphids can also transmit viruses from one plant to another and can particularly damage crops such as squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, melons, beans, potatoes, lettuce, beets, chard, and bok choy.
How to get rid of them:
- use common pesticides
- Spray (or actually squirt) your plants with water.
- Prune heavily infected leaves and plants
caterpillar
Signs of intrusion:
- Irregular holes in the leaves or completely skeletal leaves
- Caterpillar frass looks like small, black pellets
- a silk nest, tent, or webbed structure
- Caterpillars on leaves and in the garden
One caterpillar is nothing to worry about, but an infestation of hundreds can definitely cause some damage to your garden. Caterpillars eat leaves, which can leave your garden full of holes and leaf bones.
Moths and butterflies lay eggs on the leaves of plants, and a few days later the caterpillars emerge. You can remove caterpillars by hand or spray them with insecticides, but prevention is one of the best ways to keep your garden safe. You can cover your garden with a fabric insect repellent that will prevent moths from laying eggs in your garden.
How to get rid of them:
- Pick the caterpillar and drop it into soapy water
- Spray common insecticides
- Use natural methods such as applying neem oil or a water/vinegar solution to the leaves.
whitefly
Signs of intrusion:
- There are small white nymphs on the underside of the leaves.
- Leaves turn yellow, thin, or dry
- honeydew on leaves, fruits, or under plants
Whiteflies are small white insects that suck sap from leaves. Adults fly around the garden and are a nuisance when disturbed, but it is the nymphs that do the real damage. Nymphs suck the sap from plants, causing the leaves to turn yellow or fall off prematurely.
Like aphids, whiteflies leave behind sticky honeydew that can turn into a black, sooty mold. When this fungus covers a plant, it can interfere with photosynthesis and harm the plant.
How to get rid of them:
- Use plant-safe pesticides
- Blow away infected plants with a strong hose
- Apply soap mixture or neem oil to infected plants.
Does your garden need professional pest control?
There are many DIY pest control products available, but they are not always effective. If you have a larger pest infestation, or if you can’t deal with the bugs, it may be worth hiring a professional pest control service.
The main factors to consider are:
- Fee: DIY products may be cheaper, but they must be treated regularly to prevent pests. Professional pest control typically costs $40 to $70 per month ($80 to $150 per bimonthly treatment), which may not be much different than purchasing pest products and doing the treatments yourself.
- Convenience: Professional pest control is the most convenient option. A technician doesn’t even have to be at home to spray. When you sign up for a treatment plan, you will be notified of the expected treatment date and a summary of treatment completion. If you are a DIYer, you will need to set aside time to treat pests in your garden.
- effect: DIY pest control products are sold in weaker doses than what pest control companies can use, which can affect their effectiveness.
Garden features that attract pests to your garden
“Many homeowners don’t realize that certain areas of their gardens can be very attractive to wasps, especially during the warmer months when colonies are most active,” says John Whiteley-Wilkeson, pest control specialist at Acorn Environmental Services.
In fact, many common garden equipment can be the cause of an overpopulation of stinging insects, ants, and other pests. According to Whiteley-Wilkeson, the most common garden features that attract pests to your garden are:
- fallen fruit
- flowering plant
- outdoor trash can
- outdoor dining space
- dense plants
- hut
