For questions about garden pests such as insects and mammals.
1
vote
1answer
36 views
What are these white arthropods infesting my succulents?
My attempts to grow succulents continue to struggle - two from my wedding, which had been doing fairly well, appear to have developed, fairly swiftly, an infestation with some sort of mite:
Any ...
1
vote
1answer
98 views
What is causing these dark spots on my bonsai tree?
My Cussonia bonsai suffers for a couple of months now from an unrecognized pest.
First I thought these are mites, so I bought a powder that you mix with water and spray on the leaves. But ...
2
votes
1answer
25 views
My aloysia has some kind of rash
I have some herbs growing in a couple of pots on my balcony. Today I noticed that the aloysia leaves are all covered in this stuff, it looks as if somebody emptied an ashtray on it. It mostly on the ...
5
votes
1answer
149 views
What is this grub-like bug that's eating my eggplant leaves?
Recently I noticed some bugs eating the leaves of my eggplant. This is the first time I've ever seen these and so far the only plants they are on are the eggplant, they wont touch the peppers next to ...
2
votes
3answers
125 views
fava bean beetle?
I've noticed this beetle on in our Fava beans. They crawl out and fly away, leaving perfectly circular little holes. Any idea what they are and what they do? Besides the little hole, the beans seem ...
3
votes
1answer
53 views
Holes in our landscaping
Something's digging in the shredded bark, unearthing our shrubs/roses/perennials. What is it and what's it after? It's July in Michigan -- a little late for grubs, right?
3
votes
4answers
303 views
Keeping goats from eating my plants
I have a couple of goats I like to let run around my yard, problem is I have a few flowering plants out there too. The goats seem to target these heavily, I was wondering if there was some way to keep ...
2
votes
1answer
195 views
Leaves at the tip on new branches of my cherry-trees are wrinkled
On my cherry-trees I observed that the leaves of the tips of newly grown branches are wrinkled and inside there is something which simply said looks like black dirt. The leaves do not look damaged, ...
0
votes
1answer
83 views
How do you get rid of a swarm of cicadas?
I noticed a swarm of large amber coloured bugs on my walk home today. I think they were cicadas (they were moving too fast and it was too dark to take a picture). They seemed to be swarming around ...
2
votes
1answer
97 views
What is this moth-like bug on my tree?
Check out what I found today on my 2 year old tree.
It's about 2 to 3 inches in length not including those massive wings.
glorious full size picture
full size #2
The tree is a Texas Mountain ...
4
votes
3answers
232 views
What are these critters in my guava tree and do I need to get rid of them?
I have a couple of guava trees that are starting to flower and while noting the flowers today I saw a number of very small, black bugs hanging out on some of the leaves and stems. They look like baby ...
6
votes
2answers
556 views
Why are there wasps in my garden?
I tend to my garden once a day and about half the time see one or more wasps crawling on one of my lettuce heads. I've always been told that wasps are predators so I presume they aren't there to eat ...
3
votes
1answer
151 views
How to make a fake scare owl, and do different animals respond to different abstractions?
I would like to keep squirrels off of my peach tree. They have gotten over half of the peaches already.
Is there a way to make a home-made scare owl? I have found a few resources on-line, but they ...
8
votes
3answers
294 views
Ants and aphids - which should I fight first
My garden is full of ants, but I thought they are harmless and so I have been putting up with them till now.
However, yesterday I noticed that a pot plant has some aphids in it, and a lot of ants were ...
6
votes
1answer
177 views
What keeps digging up my veggies?
The last two mornings I have come out to find 4 or 5 of my newly planted vegetables dug up out of their holes. The plants themselves appear to be undamaged so I just keep replanting them in the hole ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
How to protect vegetable garden from pests (possibly squirrels or possums)?
I don't know if it's squirrels or possums or what, but some pesky varmints keep eating my produce. How can I stop them from getting to it? Since they can climb the fence around the yard, obviously ...
3
votes
1answer
38 views
Could I have prevented an Emerald Ash Borer infestation?
Our city sent us a letter informing us that the ash tree in our parkway was infested with the Emerald Ash Borer insect. The city removed the tree a few weeks ago.
Is there anything I could have done ...
5
votes
1answer
106 views
What is the best way to keep deer away?
I've been contemplating putting up a fence, but I'm not exactly sure how high it should be. Can anyone point me to some instructions on what specs a good deer fence should have as well as how to ...
4
votes
1answer
152 views
What are these black spots on white splotches appearing on my tomato seedling?
Here are pictures of the infected leaves. I cut them off the plant as soon as I saw them today.
Click for full size
Here are close-ups of the most infected leaf:
Click for full size
What can ...
9
votes
2answers
369 views
What is this bluish-grey bug on my lettuce, and how do I treat it?
I have a planter with several lettuce plants and other plants growing on my balcony. Recently, all of "normal" leafy lettuces were rapidly overcome by a bug. A sawtooth, more mizuna-like lettuce was ...
2
votes
1answer
183 views
What are the little bugs at my foundation?
The north side of my house is in the shade of some big spruces, and we're in a valley, so the area that they come from is quite shaded. They are little red ant-like insects that I never see until they ...
8
votes
2answers
1k views
What are these white bugs all over my lettuce?
I noticed these tiny white bugs on several of my romaine leaves today. Detail is not great since it was a camera phone, but they're about 2mm in length and there are hundreds of them.
What are they ...
7
votes
5answers
4k views
How do I get rid of ducks from my backyard?
There are a couple of ducks in my yard (male and female). I think they have come to my backyard to make a nest. I fear that if this happens half my backyard will become off-limits due to an angry ...
7
votes
3answers
1k views
How do I prevent raccoons from eating my corn?
This harvest I was not able to pick a single corn cob. Some large animal(s), I suspect raccoons, got to them before they were ripe (I would find peeled and gnawed corn littering the lawn and the corn ...
1
vote
0answers
144 views
How do I get rid of milllipedes in the garden? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do I deal with millipedes eating my vegetable seedlings?
How do I get rid of millipedes they have taken over and are under anything left lying on the ground? I am ...
3
votes
1answer
95 views
What types of fruit are most likely to be eaten by vertebrate pests?
So there are tomatoes in my backyard, and for some reason, nothing seems to eat them even though lots of birds visit the backyard, which surprises me. Do birds and rodents (mice and squirrels) have a ...
12
votes
1answer
1k views
Are millipedes good or bad for the garden?
Are millipedes considered good or bad for plants?
From wikipedia:
Millipedes are detritivores and slow moving. Most millipedes eat
decaying leaves and other dead plant matter, moisturising the ...
11
votes
2answers
1k views
How do I deal with millipedes eating my vegetable seedlings?
After cursing all the slugs in my yard and removing the few that I could catch, I was quite shocked yesterday to discover 100+ young plants all chewed to the ground.
I was going out at 9 - 10pm to ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
My indoor plant has an orange mold-like substance growing on it and has tiny white bugs. How can I remove it?
I have my very first plant in my cube and it seems to be doing just fine.
However, there is an orange mold-like substance growing on the top of the soil, and I can see a few tiny white bugs crawling ...
5
votes
2answers
272 views
Are slugs beneficial or detrimental?
I've noticed quite a few slugs around my garden recently, and I realized that I don't know if that's a good thing or not. I know some bugs are bad and some are good, and I don't know what category ...
7
votes
2answers
505 views
A few leaves on my peppers are showing multiple small holes, should I be worried?
I've noticed that a small number of the leaves on my pepper plants are showing several tiny holes through their surface. These are focused towards the stem of the leaf, and not so much towards the ...
4
votes
1answer
836 views
How can I organically prevent green caterpillars from eating up my kale plants? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is an effective organic pesticide to use against aphids or cabbage loopers?
So these little green caterpillars have been eating most of my kale plants. What can I ...
7
votes
1answer
71 views
How do I identify and eradicate the pest that is destroying the plants in my flowerbox?
We transplanted an assortment of pretty flowers for our windowsill some weeks ago (albeit rather crudely) and they were growing bright and healthy. Over the last week, however they've been plagued! I ...
10
votes
1answer
280 views
Beetle on apricot tree - is it a pest?
My apricot tree is infested with black and white beetles on the branches. They are 2-3 cm / 1 inch long. I can't find an identification on the web. There is no visible damage to the tree. Is this ...
13
votes
5answers
3k views
How do I keep mosquitos out of my fountain?
I found lots of mosquito larvae in my fountain. How can I get rid of them?
A local store has the doughnut thingies but they are expensive. I'd prefer a homemade solution if possible.
I tried ...
17
votes
2answers
8k views
How do I get rid of white flies on my basil?
I've recently noticed that my basil and other herb plants are infested by tiny white flies. They spread out like snow-flakes when I spray the plants with water, and there are scary looking number of ...
20
votes
3answers
1k views
Ants in my garden: good or bad?
While weeding my garden I found a bunch of ant nests (red ants and small black ants). My first inclination was to destroy the nest and send them packing, but I didn't know if they might aerate the ...
7
votes
1answer
279 views
Are fire ants on okra plants a concern?
I've noticed fire ants crawling on my okra plants, particularly where new okra are starting to grow. However, the okra does not seem to be harmed. Is this something I should be concerned about?
9
votes
2answers
424 views
How can I control Viburnum Beetle on my Snowball tree?
I have a mature Snowball tree (Viburnum opulus) that is stripped of its leaves and severely weakened several times a year by the viburnum beetle. The Royal Horticultural Society recommend several ...
