Getting Rid of Pests in Your Vegetable Garden
Bugs and insects are a huge pain for many vegetable gardeners. The majority of bugs are more of a nuisance than willfully destructive. But if you find a garden pest devouring your harvest, you’re not going to be too happy.
Among the ugliest garden pests is the tomato hornworm. It is a fat, white and green worm with a big horn that resembles a stinger. It can be plucked from the plant using gloved hands and submerged in soapy water to kill it. Alternatively, you could spray the tomato hornworm with stomach poison insecticide, neem oil, or Bacillus thuringiensis.
Thrips overrun numerous plants and create uneven white markings on the plant’s leaves. You can wash the bugs off by using a hose, and then apply contact poison to the plant.
Snails and slugs will devour the leaves on your plants, and they always leave a slimy trail as evidence. You can buy bait to attract and kill them, but you can achieve the same thing with a shallow dish of beer; they’ll be drawn to it and drown.
If you notice fat white worms in the soil, you’re probably looking at grubs. When grubs attack your plants they start to droop and their growth will be stunted. You can usually eliminate them with some milky spore added to the earth. Grubs later become beetles, which can be wiped out using stomach poison insecticide.
Cutworms typically cut down the stem near the bottom of the plant. Putting a paper collar around the plants is really the only way to keep them away.
A corn earworm will attack your corn cobs and make a meal of the kernels. Similarly, the tomato fruitworm will chow down on the interior of eggplants, peppers and tomatoes. Try using an insecticide that specifically targets earworms.
You’ll find borers in thick stemmed vine plants like squash and pumpkin. The only way to eliminate them is to cut them out of the plant. If the borer is discovered near the base, you will have to remove the entire plant and destroy it. Try using insecticide to discourage them.
Beetles are bothersome pests that enjoy munching on leaves. They are able to do an astonishing amount of harm to a vegetable garden, therefore it’s essential to eliminate them. You can either spray them with insecticide or just pick them off the plants.
Aphids are frequently found in a vegetable garden. Usually you’ll spot them as a group of small bugs in a variety of colors. To eliminate aphids, use neem oil or insecticidal soap.