Safe and Effective Pest Control

Aphids	Apple Maggot
Cabbage Looper	Cabbage Maggot
Mealybugs	Mites
Scale	Slugs and Snails
Striped Cucumber Beetle	Wireworms

Aphids

These are very tiny insects about 1/8 of an inch long. They may be black, green, purple, or red. They will most commonly be found on the underside of leaves or on the new fragile growing tips of plants. It is common to see many ants in the area, as ants “farm” aphids for their honeydew secretions and will serve to protect them.

Aphids are a sucking insect and will suck the sap from plants leaving leaves curled, twisted and distorted. Especially with young tips of plants, the damage can lead to leaf drop.

Aphids are easily washed off plants with only a spray of the hose. However, especially if tended by ants, they will readily be back and you may have to repeat this procedure almost daily. Ladybugs are a natural predator and an average ladybug can eat up to 75 aphids a day. Lacewings, aphid midges, and parasitic wasps also will help keep aphid populations under control. Other organic controls include soap spray, which should only have to be repeated every week or two. Also, a dusting of boric acid around plants will limit ant activity. As a last resort, use pyrethrin or nicotine sprays.

Apple Maggot

Adults are 1/4 inch long black flies. They have transparent wings with light and dark crosswise markings. The larvae are white maggots.

External damage will show puncture wounds where larvae tunnel into fruit. Internally, the larvae will leave tunnels throughout the flesh of the fruit and fruit may drop early.

Remove and destroy early falling fruit. Hang sticky traps with pheromone scents by mid-June through harvest. While these traps are considered only monitoring tools for large orchards, they work very well for control on the small scale.

Cabbage Looper

Larvae are smooth, green worms with white strips down their backs. They reache about 1 and 1/2 inches long. The adults are large gray moths with a silver spot in the middle of each wing.

The cabbage loopers prefer members of the cole family; cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts; but may also attack leaf crops such as spinach, lettuce, kale and turnip greens. Larvae will eat large ragged holes in leaves.

Cover seedlings with row covers to prevent females from laying eggs in crop. Hand pick worms from plants. Attract natural enemies such as parasitic wasps. Spray with BTK (Bacillus thuringiensis).

Cabbage Maggot

Larvae are small white maggots, usually less than 1/3 inch long. Adults are dark gray flies about 1/4 inch long.

Maggots tunnel into the root systems of cole crops. These tunnels allow various disease pathogens into the root system. The first sign of infestation is usually a wilting of the plant.

Cover seedlings with row covers to prevent females from laying eggs in crop. Destroy all plants after harvest. When planting, apply parasitic nematodes to soil around roots.

Mealybugs

Very small bugs about 1/3 of an inch long with flat oval bodies. They have soft, short spines that protrude from their edges. They are covered with a white waxy powder.

They suck the sap from plants, leaving them weak.

For small infestations, touch the bug with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol. For larger problems, spray with a solution of 1 cup isopropyl alcohol with 1/2 teaspoon horticultural oil or insecticidal soap per quart of water. Apply spray every two days until the bugs are gone. Natural predators include ladybugs, green lacewings, and chalcid wasps.

Mites

This relative of the spider is so small your not likely to see it. They love hot, dry weather and can reproduce as often as every two weeks. Plants sprayed with pesticides are especially vulnerable because the beneficials that feed on these little guys will be killed off.

Mites will attack almost any plant and are present throughout the United States. You may see white or yellow stippling or red spots on the upper sides of the leaves and on the undersides, you are likely to see small black pellets of excrement. Sometimes you will see webs the mites have spun. Leaves will yellow, dry and may curl slightly. You can test for mites by tapping a few leaves on a white sheet of paper and then see if you spot the mites crawling on the paper.

Prevent and control mites with a spray of insecticidal soap mixed with a horticultural oil. This will kill the mites and smother the eggs they have laid. Beneficials such as ladybugs, predatory midges, predatory thirps, and firefly larvae will help keep this pest under control. As a last resort spray with Neem or pyrethrum.

Scale

These pests don’t even look like bugs. They appear as “bumps” on leaves and stems. They vary in color from reddish-gray to brown. Scale are so small and hard to notice, infestations are often bad before damage is accessed.

Leaves and plants yellow and drop.

Spay with mixture of insecticidal soap and isopropyl alcohol every three days for two weeks. You can spray with a summer oil, but some plants are sensitive to oils. In early spring, you can spray with a dormant oil to prevent problems. Natural enemies include ladybugs, parasitic wasps and green lacewings.

Slugs and Snails

Slugs are typically 1-2 inches long but can grow to as long as 8 inches. They are gray to brown-black and have soft bodies that are slimy. They are active at night and in moist environments. Snails like similar environments but have a shell on their backs.

They eat large ragged holes in the leaves of plants. They can completely destroy small seedlings and are especially fond of Hostas.

Hand pick. Set out pie pans sunk into the soil so the rim is at soil level. Fill with beer. Slugs and snails are attracted to the yeast and will crawl in and drown. Scatter egg shells or diatomaceous earth around plants. The rough edges will cut the soft bodies of these pests and deter them from the area. Put copper flashing material around area. This particularly works well tacked to the sides of raised beds. The copper gives these pests a mild electric shock. Lay pieces of cardboard or old carpet or boards in the garden. Slugs and snails like the cool, dark enviroment. Check under these once or twice a day and remove and destroy pests. Natural enemies include many birds, garter snakes, salamanders, turtles, and toads.

Striped Cucumber Beetle

Adults are oblong yellow to yellow-green with black heads and marked with three slate black stripes on their wing covers. They grow to about 1/4 inch long. Larvae are white grubs sometimes with a dark head. Eggs are orange to yellow, round, and are laid in the soil.

Adults feed especially on new seedlings of cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, and melons. They may also attack beans, corn and peas. They eat off the stem and often kill the plant. They also may eat on stems and flowers of older plants and eat holes into the fruit. Larvae feed on the roots of the cucurbit family. Feeding by these pests will often transmit viruses such as mosaic and wilt.

The best control of these pests is prevention with floating row covers placed over seedlings to protect them. Also may apply parasitic nematodes to the soil at planting to control larvae. As last resort, use rotenone.

Wireworms

These pests are dark brown to yellow, hard-shelled, and 1/3 to 1 and 1/2 inches long. You will notice three pairs of legs just behind the head. Their eggs are layed in the soil. They are especially common in newly sodded areas.

These worms are the larvae of click beetles and feed on the stems and roots of plants underground, causing them to yellow. They also eat seed.

One of the best controls of wireworms is fall clean up of debris as they overwinter in the soil around plants. Also, wireworms love to feed on potatoes. Cut pieces of potato and place a spear through them and then bury the potato in the ground, leaving the spear above ground to easily find it. In about a week, pull the potatoes up by the spear and you will have trapped the wireworms in the potato. Beneficial nematodes will also help to reduce populations of wireworms.

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