Garden Insect Pests

With Guy Esposito MD

Insects. Their numbers are mind-boggling. According to the Smithsonian Institute there are over 900,000 species identified and the estimate for the unidentified range from 2 to 30 million. At any time, it is estimated that there are some 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) individual insects alive. The point is that they are everywhere in and around your garden. From a gardener’s point of view there are good insects and bad ones, and it only takes a few of the bad ones to ruin your plants, the same plants that you depend on to grow tasty vegetables in your garden.

Believe me that when I tell you that it is very frustrating to do all of the work necessary to prepare a vegetable garden only to see the plants eaten and destroyed by insects  - before you have had a chance to enjoy the harvest. By carefully watching your plants as they grow and mature I have learned that you can prevent this from becoming a significant problem.

First, you must identify them. You need to know what kind of insects you are looking for. Each type of plant has its’ own special enemies. Not every insect is a problem and in fact some of them are not only harmless but in fact may help you control the others. So identifying them properly is very important.

Second, take the recommended steps to eliminate them. In the next video I will talk about insect control methods such as pesticides as well as the more natural method of using other insects, such as the Praying Mantis, to help save your plants.

Ingredients

How To Identify Insects

I use a reference book, The New England Vegetable Management Guide, to help identify and control the insects in my garden. In the back of the book it has a whole section on the different plant diseases and insects. It has plenty of good photos to help you out.  NOTE: You can access the guide online at http://www.nevegetable.org or order a copy from the University of Massachusetts Bookstore or from the Cooperative Extension in each New England State.

Aphids and Mites

The first category of bad insects is the leaf attacking insects such as aphids, also known as white flies, and mites. Aphids are sap sucking insects that will be eaten themselves by ladybugs. Mites are very small but will collect in large groups on leaves and end up doing a lot of damage. Spider mites are known as a major pest of indoor plants but are easily controlled in the garden. The two-spotted spider mite is the most commonly found mite and is about the size of the pointed end of a pin. This pest weaves its web under leaves or on the growing tips of tender shoots. It damages leaves because it scrapes away at the leaf surface to eat. The more mites, the more damage you’ll see on your plant.

Root Eating Insects

The second type of insect that you need to look for signs of are root attacking insects such as maggots. If a plant is stunted or if it starts to wilt for seemingly no reason, there may be vegetable root maggots in your soil. The best way to tell is to gently lift the plant from the soil and examine their roots. If vegetable root maggots are the cause, you will see the roots with holes eaten into them. Root maggots usually attack either beans and peas or cabbage, broccoli, turnips, or even radishes. They are not exclusive to those plants and can be found on other types of vegetable plants.

Beetles

Another classification of insect pests are beetles, the most common of which are the Japanese Beetle and the Cucumber Beetle. The Japanese beetles are iridescent copper-colored and a green head. The cucumber beetle comes in two types, the striped and the spotted. They are both lime green. Cucumber beetles are a very destructive pest and will target plants other than your cucumbers. You do not even have to be growing cucumbers to attract them.

Caterpillars and Worms

Lastly, there are caterpillars and worms to worry about. Everyone who has grown broccoli and tomatoes know about these, such as the Tomato Hornworm. If you have ever seen a tomato plant with most of its leaves stripped you will probably find one or more of these worms as the culprit, blending in with the green background. Tomato hornworms are heavy eaters, munching on entire leaves, small stems, and even young fruit. Hornworms are also typical pests of eggplants, peppers, and potatoes. Most likely, you'll notice the damage before you notice the hornworms

The other common worm is the Cabbage or Cauliflower Looper and Cauliflower Catepillar. The cabbage looper will attack cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and rutabaga.  They will also attack beets, celery, lettuce, peas, potatoes, spinach and tomato. The Cabbage Looper is named for the way in which it arches its body while moving.  When fully grown, the caterpillar has a greenish body that is 11∕2 inches long and tapers near the head.  There is a thin white line along each side of the caterpillar and two white lines along its back.

The Cauliflower Caterpillar will devastate your cauliflower plants. They are green and will blend in with the plant foliage. You will almost always find caterpillars on the back or underside of a leaf, and the best answer is to just pick them off and kill them.

Instructions

Guy Esposito is an orthopedic surgeon whose other passion is vegetable gardening. From his early medical school days until the present, he has been growing a variety of vegetables in his home garden. He is the head gardener for the PBS series Ciao Italia (www.ciaoitalia.com)  which for the past twenty-one years has featured  in each season several episodes based on his garden. His garden has also been featured in print in Yankee Magazine and Northeast Flavors. He has given public seminars on the health benefits of a lifestyle based on home-grown vegetables. When not attending to his duties as Chief of Surgery of the Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, New Hampshire, he can always be found in his garden.