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Common Garden Pests

A lot of homeowners have a love-hate relationship with the insects in their garden. There are bugs that are great and beneficial for the garden since they defend plants against harmful pests, enhance soil quality, improve pollination, and much more.   

However, other pests can taint produce, stunt growth, and damage foliage. So, which insects are good for your garden and which ones are bad?  

Though the exact pests that invade any garden will differ on the season, weather patterns, plants, climate, and region, there are a couple of pests that are common and troublesome to homeowners in a lot of various regions. Today, we’re going to share with you some of the most common garden pests. If you’re having trouble with these pests, contact a professional garden landscaping Albuquerque company for help. 

Armyworms 

These greenish or brown larvae march throughout plants like an army. They skeletonize plants and chew through leaves. They will also gnaw into fruits. They’re typically active during the night. Luckily, you can control minor infestation with a simple hand-picking method. If more armyworms are present, you might require insecticides. 

Grasshoppers 

You can instantly recognize these leaping pests with their strong jaws, large heads, and long legs. Their jaws can defoliate the stems and leaves of a huge range of plants and crops. If you use row covers on young garden plants, you can discourage these pests.  

Other ideal control methods include rototilling in the spring or fall to destroy their eggs and allowing birds in the garden to eat the insects.  

Tomato Hornworms 

Tomato hornworms are big caterpillars. Typically, they’re difficult to detect due to their diagonal stripes and amazing green camouflage. However, you cannot miss the damage they can do to your garden. These pests can chew through fruit, stems, and leaves. The easiest way to get rid of them is to hand-pick them. You can also get rid of their larvae if you till the soil in early spring or late fall. You can also prevent hornworms with the help of ladybugs.  

Snails 

These shelled and slow-moving mollusks can do serious damage to your garden. Snails can chew on the foliage. They will also leave behind gross trails. However, hand-picking is a great method of control since they are slow. You can also allow birds to eat these snails.  

You can prevent snails from infesting your garden if you lower watering after dark. You should also try applying diatomaceous earth around your plants.  

Scales 

Scales look like white pale lumps that infest both outdoor and indoor plants. They usually suck the plant’s sap. Because of this, it stunts the growth of your plant and causes wilting. If the infestation is severe, it can kill the plant.  

If you want to prevent this type of infestation, make sure you’ve got praying mantises and ladybugs in your garden.  

Aphids 

Aphids are pear-shaped, pale green, and small bugs that appear in big groups. They suck the plant’s sap. This can lead to slow growth and wilting. If you’ve got a severe aphid infestation, you might have to hire a professional to get rid of them.