Insect and Rodent Pests

Eliminate Those Nasty Vegetable Garden Pests

Author: Sarah Duke

Bugs and insects are a huge pain for many vegetable gardeners. The majority of bugs are more of a nuisance than willfully destructive. However, discovering a garden pest making a meal of your crop would make anybody furious.

Among the ugliest garden pests is the tomato hornworm. It is a fat, white and green worm with a big horn that resembles a stinger. It can be plucked from the plant using gloved hands and submerged in soapy water to kill it. Alternatively, you could spray the tomato hornworm with stomach poison insecticide, neem oil, or Bacillus thuringiensis.

Thrips are partial to a variety of plants. You\'ll know they\'ve been there by the random white marks you see on the leaves. To get rid of them, use a hose to wash off the bugs and then spray on some contact poison.

Snails and slugs will devour the leaves on your plants, and they always leave a slimy trail as evidence. You can buy bait to attract and kill them, but you can achieve the same thing with a shallow dish of beer; they\'ll be drawn to it and drown.

If you notice fat white worms in the soil, you\'re probably looking at grubs. Grubs will cause your plants to droop, and may stunt their growth. They can be held in check by adding milky spore to the soil. Grubs later become beetles, which can be wiped out using stomach poison insecticide.

Cutworms tend to attack a plant\'s stem at the base. Putting a paper collar around the plants is really the only way to keep them away.

Corn earworms will infiltrate a cob of corn while it\'s still on the stalk and consume the kernels. Likewise, a tomato fruitworm consumes the insides of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. Choose an insecticide targeted to the elimination of earworms.

Borers are found in many vine plants with thick stems. The only way to eliminate them is to cut them out of the plant. If the borer is discovered near the base, you will have to remove the entire plant and destroy it. Try using insecticide to discourage them.

Another annoying pest is the beetle, which likes to eat the leaves on your plants. You have to get rid of them because they can do a tremendous amount of damage to your garden. You can either spray them with insecticide or just pick them off the plants.

Aphids are frequently found in a vegetable garden. Usually you\'ll spot them as a group of small bugs in a variety of colors. To eliminate aphids, use neem oil or insecticidal soap.

Find what you need to know about vegetable gardening, from the basics to specialty gardening techniques, and compost to garden pests, at The Vegetable Garden Patch.