Pest Pressure

Leaf curl damage from aphids

As the weather warms, not only do people want to get outside, but so do garden pests. We’ve all been dealing with what seems like an excess of caterpillars and things that want to eat all of our beautiful herbs and veggies. Today, we’re discussing ways to rid our gardens of the most annoying Springtime bugs.

Caterpillars: cutworms, armyworms, hornworms, leafminers

Cutworm

The last month or so has seen almost an infestation of worms chewing on our healthy tomatoes, peppers, okra, and herbs. You’ll know it’s caterpillars because suddenly your leaves will be so full of holes that Swiss cheese will be jealous. If you see this, carefully turn the leaves over because you’ll almost certainly see the little critters munching away. They can be reeeallly tiny, just a few millimeters or about half the size of your finger. If you can, grab and fling them off, then spray all the undersides of the leaves with Bt. This is a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensisand it only infects caterpillars. Look for Captain Jacks or Montery.

Aphids

Tiny green Aphids on pepper plant

Aphids love new growth that is rich in nitrogen. How will you know they’re there? The leaves of your plants will begin severely curling under themselves. Aphids are sap-suckers and ants install aphids on your plants because they like the sticky stuff that aphids secrete. So, if you see ants going up and down the stems of your plants, take a look around because they might be working on aphids.

They are little tiny green, gray, brown or black bugs that cling to the stems of undersides of leaves and form a tight colony. They’ll look like little dots right around the newest growth. This is also a lesson to not overfertilize with nitrogen, because many pests are drawn to high nitrogen new growth.

If you see aphids, either blast them with a water hose or spray them with Insecticidal Soap. This liquid is non-toxic and works wonders on aphids.

Whitefly

Whitefly on collard leaf

If you’ve still got chard and collard greens, you’re likely beginning to see some Whitefly. These are very small white bugs that suck sap from the undersides of brassicas (collards, broccoli, cauliflower, mustards, etc) and begin to show up as the weather warms or the plant begins to suffer. Insecticidal soap works very well here. Drench the undersides of the leaves in insecticidal soap.

Squash vine borer

Squash vine borer damage. Photo courtesy of OSU Extension office.

I wrote a whole article on this last year. This is a red and black moth that lays eggs at the base of your squash and zucchini plants. Once they hatch, the larvae eat the plant from the inside out, leaving yellow, granular frass (bug poop) coming out of the holes in the stem. To remove the caterpillars, you can impale them with a wire, but otherwise, once you see this damage, there’s really no coming back. The plant may produce a little while longer but will need to be pulled soon after.

Garden pests can be a real nuisance, but staying on top of them will ensure minimal damage to your garden. Good luck and happy gardening!