Some pests prefer to live inside your home, while others prefer to dwell in your garden. While most of the insects in your garden may not directly harm you, they can still damage the vegetation and cause the plants to rot. Therefore, it becomes important to eliminate those pests to keep your garden green and lustrous.
However, you can take several preventive measures to keep pests away from your garden. While such measures can be effective for some time, they may not be long-term effective unless you work with a professional pest control agency like Brooks Pest Control.
Different garden pests and threats they pose
California is the third-largest state in the United States, which is why it has different climatic regions. Therefore, you can find different species of pests in different parts of the state. However, the following are some common pests that can be found across the entire state and how they can damage your garden.
- Aphids: Aphids are small pearl-sized bugs that have long legs and antennae that can be yellow, green, red, black, or brown colored, depending on the color of the plant they feed on. They leave behind sticky droplets all over the plant, which are droppings of the insect, also known as honeydew.
They can cause yellow leaves and affect the growth of shoots. While a few aphids can’t cause much damage, a larger number can cause considerable damage while attracting ants with their honeydew.
- Red spider mites: Red spider mites suck on the plant sap, which causes continual fluid loss, and the plant withers or wilts, eventually leading the plant to die. Besides, their web can also prevent plants from getting enough sunlight.
- Scales: Scales have an unusual appearance. Armored scales appear like a hard bump, while soft scales look like a waxy or cottony bump on the plant. While armored scales are about 1/8th of an inch, soft scales can be about 1/4th.
Scales can cause leaf yellowing, blemishes on fruits, premature leaf drop, bumps on twigs and leaves, and other problems.
- Thrips: Thrips are about 0.5 to 2mm long tiny insects with fringed wings. They are brownish or yellowish colored. Their presence can be identified by the shiny black droppings they leave behind.
They suck nutrients by puncturing the plant leaves, which can cause discoloration and distortion of leaves, white spots on leaves, and premature leaf drop. It all ultimately affects the quality of fruits and flowers.
How to prevent a garden pest infestation
Certain pests may require a specific type of pest control treatment to remove them from your garden. Therefore, it is always a good idea to hire a highly skilled and experienced pest control team to eliminate pests from your garden.
However, you can also take the following measures to prevent a pest infestation in your garden.
- While several insects may be in your garden, not all of them threaten your plants. Therefore, the first step would be to identify the pests.
- To save your garden from an infestation, you can seal your growing area using mylar to build a tent or room around your vegetation to keep the insects from entering your site.
- Maintain good growing conditions by keeping your garden free from contaminations that may attract pests.
- You can also use neem, garlic, pepper, clove oil, etc., to keep pests away from plants.
- You can use companion planting methods and grow plants that repel pests to save other plants in your garden.
Final takeaway
Some pest infestations can completely ruin your garden, and it can be difficult to restore it following such infestations. Therefore, it is important to regularly check your garden for signs of pests and take preventive measures as early as possible. Consider consulting with a professional pest control agency for better results.