Are you aware of these common landscape pests?
It’s good to know what you’re looking at when something goes wrong with your plants. Sometimes damage is caused by disease, incorrect watering or amount of sun. Insects that feed on your plants are also a reason for concern.
Bagworms are often found feeding on cedar, cypress, abrovitae and juniper trees. They appear as cocoon shaped “bags” that hang from the branches, resembling a plant cone.
Scale are tiny insects that suck the sap from your plants and weaken them. Soft scale is the type found on crape myrtles, that excrete honeydew, which grows black mild as seen in the picture.
Aphids are tiny bugs found in most gardens and don’t always cause issues. Extreme aphid feeding looks like yellow and curling leaves. Like scale, aphids also produce honeydew and can cause sooty mold.
Bagworms, scale, and aphids can be treated with insecticide sprays specific to the type of pest.
Lastly, spider mites are tiny arthropods that puncture plant cells to feed on. Damage caused by spider mites looks like small white or yellow spots, with webbing, often on the underside of leaves. They’re attracted to plants under stress, particularly drought, so properly watering your plants can help protect them. You can also hose off your plants if you identify spider mites on them. If neither of these treatments help, you can use miticides, although some miticides are restricted to those with a pest control license.
If you have any questions, send them our way! Make sure to follow for more outdoor tips and tricks.
