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Insect Pests
From the Community Food Bank’s “Gardening Basics: Part 2” Workshop
WHAT’S A PEST? Many different animals may be pests in your garden. In this packet, we deal with
insects because they are usually the most difficult to identify and deal with.
GOOD BUGS? It’s especially important to learn about insects because not all of them are pests. Some
of them do very important work for our gardens. Lady bugs, for instance, love to eat aphids (tiny bugs
that suck on plant leaves and can wreak havoc on even a small garden!). This is why it’s especially
important not to use chemicals to kill the bugs we don’t like: because y doing so we will also kill the
insects or small animals that keep a healthy balance in the garden. It’s okay if grasshoppers leave a few
holes in the leaves of our plants—it’s natural, in fact! Our job is simply to catch these pests before they
take over.
Here are some of the insects to watch out for, and what you can do if they become a problem.
Insects can look very different in various stages of their lives—egg-larva-nymph-adult, so sometimes a
different description is given for each stage.
Pest
Description
Damage
Suck on
leaves and
stems until
plants
pucker and
curl, may
spread
viruses
Where to
look
Underneath
LEAF or
inside the
curled leaf.
Many will
clump
together.
They leave
a sticky
honeydew
Natural
predators
Lady bug,
lacewings,
parasitic
wasps
Aphids
Tiny, softbodied, pearshaped, usually
white though
also grey,
green, tan, red,
orange, white,
black or brown.
Squash Bugs
Adult: Beetlelooking
Length of a
finger-nail; flat,
brownish-black
body
Nymph: whitegreen or gray,
shaped like
adult
Egg:
Brownishyellow and
shiny ovals
Suck on
plants
making
shoots
blacken;
hurt
production
of fruit
Underneath
and in the
base of a
LEAF
where it
might fold
and meet
the STEM.
Parasitic
flies,
praying
mantis
Short and Long term
Management
Short term: Knock off
with strong spray of water.
Long term: attract
predators by planting
flowers or plants with
pollen/nectar, remove
sickly leaves, and spray
with homemade natural
spray. If plant becomes so
infected you can’t get them
under control consider
removing the plant.
Short term: Early in the
morning while it is still
cold hand pick bugs or
drown in a bucket of soapy
water.
Long term: Attract
parasitic flies with
pollen/nectar plants, allow
the plants to grow up
trellises, cover plants with
floating row cover (will
need to hand pollinate if
you do this), rotate your
crops if possible.
Community Food Bank, Inc. • Community Food Security Center
3003 South Country Club Road • (520) 622-0525
www.communityfoodbank.com/community-food-security-center/home-garden-program/
Pest
Description
Damage
Big fat Grubs
(usually June
Beetles)
The larvae of
beetles (white
worms curled in
a “C” shape)
Chew on
roots,
stunting
growth
Usually just
eat the
honeydew
that aphids
give off,
some eat
whole
leaves, bites
are pesky!
Not usually
a big
problem in
home
gardens;
may eat
whole
leaves, buds
or stems
Causes
spotting
(white
specks),
yellowing,
leaf curling,
stunting and
distortion of
plants.
Found on
beans, beets
lettuce,
potato, and
others.
Larva
burrow in
vines and
chew,
causing the
vine to wilt
and die
Ants
Grasshoppers
Leafhopper
Green, hop if
plant is shaken,
very small.
They are also
responsible for
transmitting the
organisms
causing virus
diseases in
plants.
Squash vine
borer
Larva: white
worm with dark
head
Adult:
brownish moths
with red middle
and black spots
Where to
look
Under the
soil
Natural
predators
Short and Long term
Management
Handpick, squish when
you find them.
Chickens love them!
Very difficult: Pour
boiling water in their hill or
sprinkle diatomaceous
earth around the affected
plants.
Whole plant
Eggs laid on
STEMS and
LEAF
STALKS at
bottom of
plant, look
in stems for
burrows,
feces looks
like sawdust
Birds,
fungal
diseases,
ground
beetles,
predatory
flies
Short term: Try to catch
in morning when they are
slower. Chickens and wild
birds love to eat them.
Long term: mix up soil in
fall to kill eggs they’ve laid
(helps for following
season)
Predatory
flies,
parasitic
wasps
Short term: strong water
spray on leaves, use
homemade spray
Long term: Remove
garden debris shortly after
harvest to reduce overwintering sites. Floating
row covers can be used as
a physical barrier.
Short term: Kill adults
when seen, Use a thin wire
to remove larva from stems
Long term: Cover with
row cover early in season,
remove when flowers have
formed and pollination is
necessary, place tape as a
sticky trap around base of
stem.
Community Food Bank, Inc. • Community Food Security Center
3003 South Country Club Road • (520) 622-0525
www.communityfoodbank.com/community-food-security-center/home-garden-program/
Pest
Description
Damage
Cutworms
Larva: paperclip length,
brown-striped
worm, looks
greasy
Cut
seedlings
off at stem
near soil
Leaf miner
Flea Beetle
White fly
Where to
Natural
look
predators
Feed at
night, curled
up below
ground by
plant stem
during day.
Short and Long term
Management
Long term: Surround
seedling with an upside
down paper cup (cut out
bottom) partially bury the
rim of the cup.
Too small to see Tunnel
through
leaves
making thin
brown
trails—not a
serious
problem
LEAVES
Short term: Cut off the
leaf that is infected. These
insects usually do minimal
damage.
Adult: shiny,
dark beetle, the
size of a grain
of rice. Have
enlarged back
legs for
jumping
May leave
small holes
or gray
dimples on
leaves of
young
plants
Can do
serious
damage to
young
plants.
LEAVES of
young
plants, or
lower leaves
on older
plants.
Often attack
young
seedlings
and spend
winters in
weedy
debris
Short term: sprinkle
Diatomaceous Earth
around the base and leaves
of the plant.
Adult: tiny,
soft, white,
winged flies,
about the size of
a pencil point
Eggs: Tiny,
oblong,
underneath
leaves.
Immature
stages:
flattened ovals
that don’t move.
Larvae and
adults suck
on leaves.
Leaves may
be yellow or
dry
LEAVES
may be
sticky or
covered
with black
mold.
Shake plant
and adults
will fly into
the air.
Use yellow sticky traps for
control.
Lacewing,
big eyed
bug, minute
pirate bug
Short term: Pinch off
leaves infested with eggs
or larvae. Try hot pepper
spray.
Long term: Use yellow
sticky traps for control.
Outbreaks usually happen
when natural predator
populations are killed by
insecticides. Encourage
predators. Control ants and
dust which protect
whiteflies from predators.
Community Food Bank, Inc. • Community Food Security Center
3003 South Country Club Road • (520) 622-0525
www.communityfoodbank.com/community-food-security-center/home-garden-program/