Insects That You Don’t Want to Find in Your Garden

Gardening is one of the many hobbies that people start to indulge in when spring and summer come around. While the fresh lettuce and abundance of squash can be a dream to walk out to, the one thing you always have to anticipate is an increase in pests. While some may be annoying to deal with, many of them have a purpose that can actually benefit your garden. That being said, many pests can also cause some damage to your garden.

In today’s blog, we are going to cover just a few of the insects that you might come across in your Sacramento garden that could be doing more damage than good.

Beetles

There are so many different species of beetles that you can come across outdoors, and while there are some beetles that can actually be helpful in a garden, a majority of them are pests that you don’t want to deal with. The primary reason that beetles aren’t ideal to find in a garden is because they are known for munching on leaves. Unfortunately for gardeners, these beetles aren’t picky eaters and will munch on any available plants they come across.

Caterpillars

An insect that very few people recognize as a pest is the caterpillar. While butterflies are something that we absolutely love to see flying around, their larval form is not. Caterpillars are yet another insect that is known for eating leaves, fruit, flowers, vegetables, and anything in between. Can you see why a garden would be the most appealing place for them to dine? So, as hard as it may be, it’s best to remove any caterpillars that you see and place them away from the garden.

Slugs or Snails

Another pest that people get excited to see in their garden are slugs and snails. Given that they aren’t the most common pests to come across, it’s almost a novelty moment when you do get the chance to see them. Unfortunately, they are yet another pest that you need to worry about finding in your garden — and for a few reasons. One of the primary reasons that they are such a danger is because they attract larger predators that feed off slugs to the garden.

Aphids

An insect that many people aren’t familiar with until they garden is the aphid. The reality, however, is that there are a few different forms of aphids that you can find within your garden. These pests are dangerous to gardens because they feed on the sap within a plant. Once they have pierced the leaf, they are capable of spreading diseases to otherwise healthy plants. Between them feeding off sap in plants and passing diseases along, it’s pretty easy to see why you don’t want these insects finding their way into your garden.

Red Spider Mites

The last insect that we are going to touch on is known as the red spider mite. These insects have very similar eating habits as the aphids that we just finished talking about. These pests will suck the chlorophyll out of a plant’s leaves — that’s right, the very piece that helps plants grow, gone. The most common sign that there are red spider mites in your garden is a slight discoloration in the plants, but over time, if the spider mites continue to linger around the garden, you could see the plants slowly die because they are lacking the required chlorophyll.

Don’t Let Them Become a Problem

While specific bugs can be beneficial to have in a garden, you never want to let these insects go from being helpful to becoming pests. The pests that we’ve covered in today’s blog are just a few of the ones that you need to be cautious of while gardening this season. The best thing that you can do is keep an eye out for them so that you can tackle the problem as quickly as possible. If, however,  you start to notice that there is an influx of pests in or around your home, let the team of home pest control professionals at Earthwise Pest Management help.

Our integrated pest management approach ensures that pests are safely removed from the environment in which they have been able to thrive. Contact our team today to schedule a free consultation on the pests around your home!