Erick Many different types of garden pests can affect your plants and flowers. There is a wide range of insects, arachnids, and other creatures that will cause damage to your yard. Here are species of garden pests that could invade your garden.
1) SLUGS & SNAILS
Slugs are particularly fond of salad vegetables, but they will eat almost any plant. They are mainly nocturnal feeders, but their slime trails are sure to locate them in daylight hours. Snails are less common invaders, but if you grow hostas or other decorative plants, they may take a fancy to them.
2) APHIDS
Aphids can multiply quickly and strip even vigorous plants of their leaves. But the worse thing about them is that they produce a sticky substance called honeydew, which can encourage sooty molds on plants and may also block up your hosepipe with its gunge.
3) CATERPILLARS
Caterpillars will happily munch through your cabbages and broccoli if you do not keep a watchful eye. They can be controlled by using Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which you can buy in garden centers or mail orders.
4) SLATERS & MILLIPEDES
These are both arthropods, but they get on better than slugs and snails do. They prefer damp conditions, keeping their habitat dry by storing wood logs off the ground in a shed or garage.
5) CUTWORMS
Cutworms eat holes in plant stems near the soil line, snipping them off at ground level. They are more likely to attack seedlings, so you may find the first signs of their presence by finding seedling stems already chewed through.
6) EARWIGS
Earwigs do not eat plants, but they may harm young seedlings by snipping off newly germinated shoots or tunneling into bigger plants. They are attracted to light at night, so you may find they have taken up residence in your greenhouse or polytunnel.
7) WHITEFLY
Whiteflies suck sap from the underside of leaves, leaving them stippled and weakening plants in the process. They often thrive when plants are stressed for other reasons – e.g., lack of water, over-fertilization – so correct the cause of the stress before you attempt to deal with whiteflies.
