Each year, I get a number of calls asking for identification of common garden insects. Unwelcome pests reduce yields and lower the quality of harvested fruits and vegetables. Insects may cause damage through boring, sucking, or chewing plant parts such as roots, foliage, or fruits and vegetables themselves. In addition to plant damage, insects are often vectors of diseases that, if unnoticed and unmanaged, can cause significant issues in your garden. Effective control of most insects can be done in a safe and economical manner to help reduce losses. The use of cultural practices, mechanical and biological control, and chemical applications can provide season-long garden insect control.
First and foremost, soil preparation, planting time, and plant rotation is essential. Be sure to soil test and make any needed amendments far in advance of planting your garden. You should dig or plow your garden in the fall and spring, at least three weeks before planting. This helps reduce numbers of soil insects by eliminating weeds that pests need and exposing them to weather conditions and predators. If you cannot plow at the end of the growing season, at least remove the debris or residue from this year’s plants. Sun solarization, or heating of moist soil under clear plastic can help reduce soil-inhabitation pests as well prior to planting. Mulch can also be a useful addition to provide a barrier to weeds, maintain soil moisture, and reduce the risk of insect pests. Be sure to plant your garden early, as vegetables maturing for harvest later in the season will have higher insect populations and more issues than those that are mature and harvested early. On a harvest note- the longer you leave vegetables and fruits in the garden after ripening, the higher the likelihood it will get attached by insects. Many insects are specific to a certain type of plant such as cole crops, cucurbits, or others. Rotating your garden, or planting a crop in different sections each year, can help reduce insect problems by eliminating the pest’s preferred plant. Similarly, try to avoid planting similar plants in one area- for example, do not plant all of your tomatoes in the same row or cluster. This helps reduce the spread of a pest should you start having issues.
If you’ve followed some of the practices above, hopefully you will not have insect issues in your garden. However, if you do start to have some problems, there are a few management strategies you can try. The first step is always to scout regularly for pests and identify what you find. Proper identification is essential for making management and pesticide decisions. Some insects are large and slow enough (such as tomato hornworms) that you can handpick them off of your plants. Be sure to destroy any egg masses you see as well. If you find a boreing larvae, you can split the stem to expose the larvae, kill it, and place soil back over the stem to protect the injury. Thrips and aphids dislike reflective surfaces, so aluminum foil placed around the base of plants might be an effective control method, or you can typically just hose them off the plants with a directed stream of water. Some pests can be managed with traps, barriers, or biological control like other predacious insects.
Should these management techniques not be effective, consider using a pesticide of some type that is specific for the insect you’re having issues with. Organic and synthetic pesticide option do exist and are proven to be effective at killing pests and safe for humans and pets. Organic pesticides are typically derived from a ‘naturally’ occurring source and include things like neem extracts, pyrethrum, sulfur dusts, and so on. Traditional synthetic insecticides include active ingredients like malathion and carbaryl. All labeled and registered pesticides available to homeowners have been determined to be safe based on current state and federal regulations.
If you need help identifying garden pests or a treatment for them, please let us know at uge3181@uga.edu or 706-359-3233.
