Garden Pests
Submitted by: Kelley Wilson
It is a good idea to learn about garden pests most common in
your area. This is the only way to keep your plants safe. By
learning the signs left behind on your plants, you can often
know what is ailing them by the evidence you find and finding
the appropriate pesticide to combat any infestation. Some
conditions can make your garden susceptible to infestation of
lawn pests, such as inadequate drainage.
One way a lawn pest can harm a plant is by sucking nutrition
from them. This will inevitably destroy their leaves, stems,
roots, and buds. Some common garden pests are slugs, snails,
mites and grasshoppers. A large infestation of grasshoppers can
completely destroy a lawn because they will devour the stems,
grass, vegetables, leaves and fruit.
Another common pest is called a spider mite. It is indigenous to
North America and attacks both indoor and outdoor plants. This
is an extremely destructive types of lawn pests. Keep an eye on
your plant leaves, as spider mites live on the underside of
leaves and feed off the leaf tissue, sucking away the plants
nutrients. If you notice light colored dots on your leaves,
these could be the feeding marks left behind. As the feeding
continues, the leaves will turn yellow, dry up, and fall off.
These garden pests are common in dry and hot conditions. An
interesting thing to note is that they go through 3 molting
stages. After the first molting stage they are called nymphs and
have 8 legs. After mating, it is possible to produce up to 300
eggs over a couple of weeks. From egg to adult takes five days,
which is very rapid reproduction, thus you can have a rather
large infestation quickly.
There are others that are found on the underside of leaves as
well. Whiteflies are another troublesome pest. They are found in
large groups, and are also are sap-sucking insects. These garden
pests are quite destructive creatures. They secrete honeydew, so
leaves will be sticky, or covered in a black, sooty mold. There
are 250 vegetable and ornamental plants that are among the host
plants for these pests. Whiteflies reproduce rapidly as well,
with 200 to 400 eggs being laid, and they go from eggs to adults
in 25 days at room temperature. They have a life span of one to
two months.
Ladybugs are great to have in your garden. Their food of choice
is aphids. Aphids will destroy a plant right before your eyes.
It is said that you can mix a bit of soda pop and water together
and lightly spray the ladybugs. This makes the wings slightly
sticky and wont open for them to fly away for a minimum of about
a week. This will keep them around to feast on your menacing
pests a little longer. You can keep ladybugs in the refrigerator
for up to a few weeks releasing a few at a time. Just make sure
you don’t freeze them. Ladybugs will live up to a year.
Garden pests vary in size from deer, rabbit, squirrels, on down
to micro pests. There are so many different pests that can
attack your gardens. This is the reason you need to identify
which pest to target. There are many forms of treatment for your
garden, depending on the pest you have. If you contact a
professional sales person, they can give you all the options
available for your specific problems. Remember, the more
information you can gather on the pest in your garden, the
better chances of ridding your yard from them.
The professional sales person can help you determine if the pest
you have are beneficial for your plants and flowers, as some
garden visitors are actually natural helpers. They will also
give you advice on whether or not you should plant some
companion plants or flowers to help maintain a your garden.
About the Author: For Do it yourself pest control products and
advice visit http://www.abuginajar.com
Source: http://www.isnare.com
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