As a gardener, you don’t want pests to destroy your plant. However, identifying garden pests is important when it comes to pest control in your garden. Most garden pests are beneficial while some can damage the plants and you compel to take action. Sometimes you can remove those using natural methods but sometimes it needs expert attention. If you are looking for garden pest control in Melton you may find pest exterminators by simply typing Pest Control Melton.
Which Are Commonly Encountered Garden Pests?
Common garden pests are classified on the basis of harm they do to plants. Firstly we will see some garden pests that are beneficial for plants:
Ladybugs: these love to eat aphids, scale & mites. Fungus-eating ladybugs help to prevent discoloration of plants by eating fungus.
Praying Mantis: when they are young they eat leafhoppers, mosquitoes, caterpillars. Praying mantis can even eat grasshoppers, crickets, and other insects.
Lacewing: they eat whiteflies, moth eggs, and caterpillars.
Hoverflies: these are known as helicopters of insects because they eat bugs, thrips, aphids mostly.
Bees: Bees are friendly to plants, it helps flowers to bloom, and most importantly they help in pollination.
What Are Harmful Garden Pests That You Encounter In Your Garden?
After all not all garden pests beneficial for your plants. Some of them can eat and destroy your whole garden. Let us look at some of these.
Mealybugs
They are soft-bodied and sap-sucking insects.
Damage: distorted, curling, yellowing of leaf.
Mealybug’s Control Methods: remove them with a strong stream of water. In addition, sprinkle insect soap or alcohol dipped will also burn them.
Scale Insects
Scales are crawlers and have a waxy coating that makes them immobile and difficult to get rid of.
Damage: they suck plant fluid which leads to discoloration and yellow spots on leaves, distorted fruit, and stunted plant growth.
How To Control Scales: Spray neem or lightweight oil, replace the infested plants, and keep ants away because they protect scales.
Slugs And Snails
Slugs are black and brown color worms with tiny antennae on their head. Snail has a hard circular backshell.
Damage: holes into leaf and flower, and also destroy fruit and seedlings.
To Control Slugs And Snails: handpick and throw it in soapy or salty water, spray coffee mix, beer to kill them.
Caterpillars And Worms
Caterpillars are hard head capsules with segmented larvae.
Damage: chew leaves, steams, and make a tunnel into fruits
How To Get Rid: Handpick caterpillars, birds eat this small worm, spray biological insecticide.
I hope it helped the gardener to identify some of the beneficial pests and give ideas to deal with the harmful pest. In many cases, minor pests attract beneficial insects into the garden and play an important role. So identifying these pests correctly is necessary. However, you can also take help from a professional pest control company for a pest-free garden.