Common Garden Pests

How do you deal with certain garden insects and pests? That is a good question and one that growers have been asking since they first put seeds in the ground. One of the first things to do when you find insects in your garden is to identify them. Once you know what they are, you can form a plan to get rid of them.

Here are some tips to help you with your bug problems:

The first thing to do is to take a really good look at the pest once you find one. You want to make a mental note of what plant is on when you find it. If you are not sure what the bug is put it in a plastic bag and take it to your local nursery. They will probably be able to identify it and make suggestions as to how to eliminate it from your garden. You can also a online search for pictures of common garden bugs and remedies.

When you find a bug on your plants or vegetables, take a look beneath the leaves as well. Many times bugs will lay their eggs under the leaf or on the stem.

Before you go on a bug whacking rampage, remember that there are many insects that are beneficial to gardens. These include bees, lady bugs, some spiders, and even wasps. Unless you have a good reason to get rid of these, leave them alone and they will actually help keep other bugs out of the garden.

One of the most devastating bugs you will find in the average vegetable garden is the cutworm. If you find these you should act quickly to get rid of them. The cutworm in notorious for eating the stems of plants and will in many cases eat right through the stem thus destroying the plant. There are many species of cutworms so make sure that you know which type is indigenous to your area.

One way to keep cutworms off your plants is to place some type of collar around the plant's base. You can use just about anything for this purpose. Plastic cups that have had the base cut out will work fine. Make sure that the collar is placed both into the ground a bit and above the ground so that it runs up the plant stem.

Another common pest is grubs. The big problem with grubs is that they attract other, bigger pests like skunks and moles, to name two. You can purchase grub control products at nurseries and co-ops and you should use the product if you find grubs in your garden. It is easier to get rid of them than it is to get rid of skunks.

If you grow tomatoes, be aware of the tomato hornworm. This nasty little bug will do major damage to your plants if left to its own devices. The bug usually comes into the garden during the night hours and lays its eggs. Once the eggs hatch, the hornworm begins to eat and eat and eat. Before you know it, your plants are ruined.

We mentioned above to leave wasp alone, well, the reason for that is that wasps will attack the tomato hornworm and destroy it for you.

As a preventive measure, you may want to cover your plants at night to stop the moth from laying its eggs. According to the old timers, this is probably the best way to keep the problem out of your garden.