Garden Vegetable Pests

• Vegetable plants growing in home gardens are often infested with insects. Aphids are a common pest of many ornamentals and garden vegetables. These pests are typically black, green or yellow, and damage plants by sucking the sap from the foliage. Some species of aphids carry diseases that are spread to plants through feeding injuries. Cutworms are serious garden pests, cutting plants off at the soil line and feeding on roots and foliage. These larvae damage plants both above and below the soil line.
  
  

Perennials/Bedding Plants

• Perennials and bedding plants are food for pests such as slugs. Slugs prefer high humidity and thrive under moist conditions. These pests feed on the stems and foliage, causing wounds that allow fungi to enter the plant. Feeding at night with their rasping mouthparts is how slugs damage garden plants. Slugs leave trails of mucous on host plants, which looks silvery on leaf surfaces. Spider mites are another pest of perennials and bedding plants. Although spider mites are arachnids, they are not true spiders. Spider mites damage plants by feeding on leaves with their piercing mouthparts that they use to extract plant juices. Spider mites often cause leaves to appear flecked or stippled and leave a fine webbing on host plants.
  
  

Fruit Trees

• Scale insects are common fruit tree pests, often damaging pear and apple trees. Scales are very small, circular in shape, and infest leaves and fruit. Heavy infestations reduce vigor and crop yield. The pear sawfly is often responsible for damage to pears, sweet cherries and other trees. In its larval stage, it is known as the pear slug, which damages leaves from feeding. Once mature, the pear slug is transformed into the pear sawfly, is a nonstinging wasp.
  
  

Control

• Most garden pests are managed with cultural controls and insecticides. Aphids and spider mites are controlled by spraying a hard stream of water onto the tree or plant. This knocks the insects from the plant, reducing their numbers. Parasitic insects, such as ladybugs, feed on these pests. Slugs are often eliminated with traps or by lowering the humidity in the garden. Other insects may require chemical control