Plant Pests

/Plant Pests

Snails And Slugs

We've included a link all about snails and slugs to help you get control of them. When they get to be numerous in a garden/yard, it will take time to get them under control, but once you do, it'll be worth the effort. Baits formulated for control of slugs and snails are only effective if used exactly right, and some can be very toxic to other organisms (children included). Non-chemical methods are more effective for the long term. The best way to control them is to trap them. You can easily make traps out of melons (carved out, after eating them) or just about anything that will provide a dark, moist place for them to hide under during the day in your garden. (make sure they have room to slither under the trap!) Then you just pick up the trap every day, and dispose of the ones you've caught; then repeat until you think you've got them. You will probably want to use multiple traps at once to get as many as possible every night. Beware that one snail/slug can lay lots of eggs in the soil, so regular cultivation or tilling of the soil surface helps to eliminate the eggs (and helps with weeds too)!
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/QT/snailsslugscard.html

By | 2016-01-20T19:47:27-08:00 January 20th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Slugs Snails Or Chewing Insects

Looks like snails or slugs but could also be chewing insects, like beetles or caterpillars. Look under the leaves for caterpillars and remove them by hand if you find them. Look for snails and slugs at dawn or dusk and remove them and dispose of them. Also look for slime trails around the plants early in the day to indicate their presence. If you have a dark, moist area of your garden or landscape that may be harboring slugs/snails, we recommend trapping them and/or collecting them from the area every morning until you've eliminated them (or as much as possible). There are also organic snail baits formulated with iron phosphate that are safe around small pets and children. Since snails/slugs lay eggs in soil, we also recommend regular cultivation of the soil with a hoe or claw-type tool around the yard/garden, but avoid damaging plant roots. This link provides great info about managing snail/slugs. Pay particular attention to the info about Baits if you have pets and children. Do NOT get bait on your edible plants.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/QT/snailsslugscard.html

By | 2016-01-20T15:42:29-08:00 January 20th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Mealy Bugs

There is really no 'cause' such as you describe for mealy bugs. They are common and ubiquitous insects on a wide array of plants. They do like the new, succulent growth that is often associated with house plants, but honestly, they can be found anywhere.
Stay vigilant, treat the ones you see to prevent or at least minimize the next generation. You can wipe them off with a soft damp cloth or dab them with q-tips dipped in denatured alcohol available at your local pharmacy, then wash off with water. If the infestation is persistent there are commercial sprays available at garden centers for this, but confirm the problem with a horticulturist at your local garden center and follow their recommended control. Usually the label will call for 3 sprays made 8 days apart to break up the life cycle, but make sure it is formulated for your plant.
If these aren't mealy bugs they could be cottony scales, which are more broadly attached at the base than mealy bugs. There are treatments for them too. In either case, be certain the product is labeled for your plant group and use as directed.

By | 2016-01-20T05:21:46-08:00 January 20th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Squash Bugs Or Squash Vine Borers

Squash Vine Borers and Squash bugs,and can easily destroy your plants.
Squash Bug Adults look like long brown stink bugs, with a flat abdomen. Nymphs are pale green to grey with a black head and legs. Older nymphs are covered in a grey powder. The eggs are oval, dark brown, and shiny, and are layed in clusters. Once they become numerous they are almost impossible to stop. Check with your local organic garden center for the best way to proceed.
Squash vine borer adults look like black wasps with red markings, they lay single eggs that hatch out as larva-- they look similar to a cream colored caterpillar. These larva tunnel into the crown and stems of the plant, and proceed to eat the juicy green inner plant tissue. The plant suddenly looks wilted and if the larva is allowed to go unchecked, can kill the plant in 3-4 days. Do daily checks of the crown areas, your looking for what appears to be piles of wet saw dust, this is actually farce, caterpillar poop. This is where they enter the stem and began to eat. If caught early you can gently cut a slit in the stem and pluck the culprit out.

By | 2016-01-20T04:19:23-08:00 January 20th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Leaf Miners

This looks a case of leaf miner damage. These are tiny caterpillars of a small, brownish moth that tunnel into a leaf and eat it during their larval stage. They are usually easy to spot because they leave a trail or tunnel inside the leaf. But when there are too many, the damage forms a continuous look much like this. They are difficult to control, but here are some options:

Monitor plant leaves closely. At the first sign of tunneling, squeeze the leaf at the tunnel between two fingers to crush any larvae. Done soon enough, this killing larvae can allow plants to survive minor outbreaks. Pick off and destroy badly infested leaves in small gardens.

Use floating row covers to prevent fly stage from laying eggs on leaves.

Use yellow sticky traps to catch egg laying adults. Cover soil under infested plants with plastic mulches to prevent larvae from reaching the ground and pupating.

Organic neem oil will break the pestsäó» life-cycle by preventing larva from reaching maturity. Neem oil may also have repellent qualities and interfere with egg laying activities.

By | 2016-01-19T22:00:19-08:00 January 19th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Fruit Tree Damage

This appears to be old borer damage several seasons old followed by sunburn and decomposition. It may be too old to see if you can spot any exit holes with sawdust-like frass. If you do see the holes that borers were the problem. Suggest you show this photo to a horticulturist at your local garden center or a master gardener at a nearby university cooperative extension service to confirm the problem. Or cut off the affected branch so that the horticulturist can identify the problem in hand. For more information about borers here are a couple of sites for you:
Bark Beetles Management Guidelines--UC IPM
www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7421.htmläó_
A long-time (naturalized) invasive bark beetle called the shothole borer attacks damaged branches and trunks of many broadleaved tree species, including fruit ...
UC IPM: UC Management Guidelines for Peach Twig Borer on Peach
www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r602300611.htmläó_
Jul 7, 2014 ... The bluntly oval eggs are yellowish to orange and are laid on twigs, leaves, ... Peach twig borer overwinters on the tree as a first- or second-instar larva ... Peach twig borer can damage stone fruits by feeding in shoots and ...

By | 2016-01-19T12:19:36-08:00 January 19th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Mealybug Or

This "fuzzy fungus" is likely an insect called Mealybug, which are common on houseplants, inlcuding tropicals. The only issue we're questioning is the red substance you mention... not sure what that is, but mealybug lay their orange-colored eggs in the white masses you see in association with some of the individual insects. Could you be seeing the eggs? In any case, you can control these pests by washing them off of the leaf with a cloth moistened in a solution of water and rubbing alcohol; be sure its a very dilute solution as too much alcohol can dry-out the leaf tissues. You will likely find more of these insects feeding on the leaf stems where they meet at the base of your plant. Controlling them at this location is very important and more difficult. You can do this with Q-tips dipped in the same water/alcohol solution. You will most likely need to repeat this process several times to get complete control. You can also take this picture (or better yet a sample of the pest, sealed in a bag) to your local garden center for proper selection of a pesticide.

By | 2016-01-19T07:42:20-08:00 January 19th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Tomato Pests

Its hard to say from these photos, but it could be spider mites and/or disease. Spider mites are tiny spiders that require a magnifying lens to see, but if their numbers are great enough they can do severe damage, if not kill plants. Their feeding can also weaken a plant and make it more susceptible to diseases that may appear as discolored spots/tissues on leaves. Do the leaves have white or gray powdery spots or are the leaves covered with this substance. If so, this would likely be a fungal disease called Powdery Mildew. If this is the only leaf on the plant that is affected, then you've done the right thing by removing it but you should continue to examine the plant regularly for signs of this on other leaves. If there are more leaves affected, you can send another photo of the leaves still attached to the plant, and a picture of the plant itself, and we'll try again to narrow down the potential causes. In the meantime we recommend you take leaf samples sealed in a bag to a local garden center for further assistance. We've also included links with more information.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/PESTS/tomrusmite.html
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems/insects/mites/spider-mites-outdoors.aspx
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/tomato.html

By | 2016-01-18T13:57:29-08:00 January 18th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Scale Infestation

Thank you for your follow up and ialthough it is often challenging to identify insects without a clear close up, we also realize our users need guidance if at all possible. We think the dark bumps resemble armored scale, a sap sucking insect that attaches itself to the leaves, flowers and stems. The most common one is Lecanium scale This looks like a pretty severe infestation. Under the shell is either the sucking insect or she has died and the shell is full of young yet to hatch scale. Inspect other nearby plants and treat them at the first sight of insect. It can be controlled with any insecticide containing Imidachloprid which is a systemic insecticide -- you will drench the soil and the insecticide will be sucked up by roots and into the branches, leaves and hopefully the scale. You can also spray the plant above the soil line with 15:1 water:Ivory soap. Also a horticultural oil will act as a suffocant, but we are afraid the oil will ruin the delicate petals of the gerber flower. If there are not too many, try to gently remove them with your fingernail and dispose in a bucket of soapy water.

By | 2016-01-17T01:24:53-08:00 January 17th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Leaf Miner On Watermelon

Leafminers have been occasionally reported as a major pest in South Florida. The adult leafminer is a small fly (Figure 11), about 1/8 to 1/10 of an inch long with a yellow abdomen. The fly inserts her eggs in feeding punctures on the upper leaf surface. Larvae (maggots) feed between the upper and lower leaf surfaces, creating meandering mines that enlarge as the larvae grow. After approximately two weeks in warm weather the larva completes development and leaves the mine, dropping to the ground to pupate. The complete life cycle can be as short as 18 to 21 days. Infestations can be more severe late in the growing season, particularly if adults migrate out of nearby crop residue into late-planted fields. Defoliation of the crop late in the season can lead to sun scalding of the fruit.

Control with insecticides is difficult. Systemic materials may be required to control larvae within the leaf tissue. Destruction of crop residues from earlier infested plantings may reduce problems in later plantings. Maintain vigorous plant growth through proper fertilization and watering.

By | 2016-01-16T20:12:51-08:00 January 16th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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