These are just a few of the not so plant friendly bugs you’ve probably come across in your garden. Although I mentioned insecticides in the treatment method of these pests, please know that its always our last option and we NEVER promote the use as its not good for our pollinators or planet.<\/p>\n
Japanese Beetles<\/strong><\/p>\n I often joke about how hoses can turn the greatest of mood into an awful mood in a matter of seconds.\u00a0 Those kinks really get me.\u00a0 You know what is despised amongst the plant people world more than a hose? Those nasty copper bodied, blue green headed awful buzzin beetles. \u00a0These small insects carry a big threat. They do not discriminate when it comes to what types of plants they feed on, though they do have favorites. In our experience, they have gone after Plum and Birch trees, Buckthorns, and boy do they love the roses.\u00a0 Today we even found them on our Passion Vine. In fact, they are classified as a pest to hundreds of different species. They are one of the major insect pests in the Eastern and Midwestern United States, causing monumental damage to crops every.year.<\/p>\n Here are some options for controlling or preventing damage to your plants:<\/p>\n Hand Pick:\u00a0<\/strong>Unfortunately, the most effective way of getting rid of Japanese beetles is to hand pick them off \u00a0your plants. It\u2019s time consuming, but it works, especially if you are diligent. When you pick them off, put them in a solution of 1 tablespoon of liquid dishwashing detergent and water, which will cause them to\u00a0drown.<\/p>\n Neem\u00a0Oil:\u00a0<\/strong>Neem oil and sprays containing potassium bicarbonate are somewhat effective, especially on roses. The adult beetles\u00a0ingest a chemical in the neem oil and pass it on in their eggs, and the resulting larvae die before they become adults.\u00a0Note:<\/strong>\u00a0Neem can be harmful to fish and other aquatic life, so don\u2019t use it near lakes, rivers, and ponds. It also needs to be reapplied after\u00a0rain.<\/p>\n Use a Dropcloth:\u00a0<\/strong>Put down a dropcloth and, in the early morning when the beetles are most active, shake them off and dump them into a bucket of soapy\u00a0water.<\/p>\n Insecticides: <\/strong>This is our absolute last choice but often it is requested by customers.\u00a0 Al, our chemical guy sprays a systemic in the spring to prevent the damage but that option is never going to work 100% (realistically nothing is going to work 100%)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Spider Mites\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n Spider mites on houseplants and outdoor plants is a common problem. The damage can not only make a plant look unsightly, but in time it can even kill the plant. It is important to treat ASAP in order to keep the plant healthy.\u00a0 Initially, the damage will be seen as small yellow or brown spots on the leaves.\u00a0 When webbing begins to occur its safe to say you have an infestation.\u00a0 The best way to check for spider mites is to shake the leaves of your plant over a piece of plain white paper, if your findings look like pieces of pepper\u2026go ahead and treat.\u00a0 Bonide makes a spray Mite specific (along with many other companies)\u00a0 Our preferred method of treatment is Neem Oil.\u00a0 To effectively apply, you want to hold the plant so that you can spray the under side of the leaves.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Aphid<\/strong><\/p>\n Don\u2019t get yourself down when you come across aphids in your garden, they find their way into any and all gardens.\u00a0 These tiny (adults are under \u00bc- inch) pear shaped soft pests can appear white, black, brown, gray, yellow, light green, or even pink.. Some can be waxy, and some have a wooly like coating.\u00a0 By sucking the nutrient rich liquids from your plant, these tiny pests can do big damage to your plant.\u00a0 Apply neem oil for treatment.\u00a0 In large spots, Eight can be applied for a direct contact kill.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Bagworm<\/strong><\/p>\n The adult female bagworm is maggot-like in appearance, soft-bodied, and yellowish-white. She will lay anywhere from 500 and 1000 eggs within one bag, after which she dies. The eggs remain inside the bag throughout the winter until they hatch the following spring. \u00a0From late May to mid-June, bagworm larvae (caterpillars) begin emerging from the bags. Almost immediately after emerging, a larva starts to produce its own bag. The bag is constructed so the larva’s head and legs are free. This construction allows the larvae to move about the plant as it feeds on the foliage. When a host plant loses its foliage due to lack of nutrients, the larvae will crawl off it with their bags and search for a new plant to feed upon. In mid-August, the mature larvae stop feeding and attach their bags to a twig. They close up the bag and pupate. By mid-September, the bagworm has completed its development, and adult males begin emerging from their bags. The male moth has a black, furry body and feathery antennae. The wings are almost transparent and have a span of about one inch.<\/p>\n \u2026gross<\/p>\n The ideal way to treat Bagworm is to keep a good eye on your tree (most common in evergreens) and pick off and squish immediately.\u00a0 If your infestation isn\u2019t controlled by birds and your handpicking, in the spring, as soon as eggs hatch you can spray with Bt. Bt is a bacterium that causes the larvae to become sick, stop feeding, and later die.\u00a0\u00a0 If the infestation isn\u2019t in time, you can use a insecticide but not only do we not recommend that method, its not as effective either.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" These are just a few of the not so plant friendly bugs you’ve probably come across in your garden. Although I mentioned insecticides in the treatment method of these pests, please know that its always our last option and we NEVER promote the use as its not good for our pollinators or planet. Japanese Beetles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-landscape"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dee-signlandscaping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dee-signlandscaping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dee-signlandscaping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dee-signlandscaping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dee-signlandscaping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dee-signlandscaping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91,"href":"https:\/\/dee-signlandscaping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions\/91"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dee-signlandscaping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dee-signlandscaping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dee-signlandscaping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}