How to Identify and Eliminate Pests in Your Garden

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Step 1

Take a good look at your bug. Determine the size, color & shape of it, the location of it, which plant it was on or near, and any damage it may have caused. Also look under plant leaves and on stems nearby for eggs.
Step 2

Many bugs are named after the plant that they are attracted to, such as the Asparagus beetle, the Squash Vine Borer, the Cucumber Beetle, the Red Lily Leaf Beetle, the Tomato Hornworm, etc. That is a good place to start when trying to identify your bug. You can do an image search on google or or other search engines for these kinds of bugs to see if the pictures match your particular bug.
Step 3

These are some common bugs that may help you to identify bugs found in your garden. Remember that some bugs are beneficial to your garden, so keep those around. Beneficial creatures include ladybugs, spiders, bees, and wasps.
Step 4

Cutworm

If you have ever had a vegetable garden, you've probably experienced the handy work of the cutworm. This is a photo of a plump cutworm, others are thinner, and there are several different kinds of cutworms. They eat the stems of plants, often severing the top right off at the base.
The best thing to do is to prevent access to the stems by placing a collar around the base of the plant. Anything like plastic cups with the base cut off or empty toilet paper rolls will work. Place the collar partway above and under the ground.
Step 5

Grub

There are many kinds of grubs. It is best to get rid of as many of these as possible. They are a very attractive food source to moles, skunks, and other critters. There are several options to get rid of them such as applying parasitic nematodes to your lawn or some other form of grub control.
Step 6

Asparagus Beetle

This is a picture of a Common Asparagus Beetle. They like to eat and lay their eggs on asparagus. Hand squishing may control them.
Step 7

Red Lily Leaf Beetle

The Red Lily Leaf Beetle can cause catastrophic damage to your lilies, but the good news is that a once a month spray of Bayer Rose and Flower Spray keeps them away from your lilies. Weekly application of neem oil may also work. Always be careful with any kind of organic or inorganic pesticide applications.
Step 8

Wireworm

Wireworms are pests. Squish them when you find them.
Step 9

Pillbug or Sowbug

Sowbugs or Pillbugs are also pests and should be removed from your garden. Squish those that you find.
Step 10

Potworm

Have you ever seen those very tiny white/clear looking worms in your garden and wondered what they are? Well, they could be Potworms if they look like this one. These cause no harm to your garden, so let them be. They feed of decayed material in the garden.
Step 11

Tomato Hornworm Moth and Caterpiller

The Tomato Hornworm can do some serious damage to your tomato plants. The moth usually arrives at night and lays eggs on the leaves. Then the tomato hornworms appear and eat the tomato leaves, leaving behind poop droppings. They are hard to find because of their camouflage. Remove all hornworms except for those that have parasitic wasps on them because the wasps will kill it anyway and will attack any other hornworms they find. The best prevention I have found is to use row covers so the moths can't get in there to lay their eggs. Other plants such as borage, marigolds, and nasturtium may also help keep the moths away.
Step 12

Squash Vine Borer

Oh, the dreaded Squash Vine Borer (SVB)! If you know of it, you have likely lost your squash, pumpkin, or zucchini plants to it. I haven't found any effective treatment after infestation of the SVB. The plant is likely doomed. The SVB lays eggs near the base of the plant and the larvae emerge and dig a hole and burrow inside the veins and kill the plant. You can use row covers to keep the bugs away but you need to keep them on all the time and hand pollinate your plants or take your chances with this pest.
Step 13

If you still don't know what it is, take a picture of it, or describe it in words and post that information to a gardening newsgroup such as GardenWeb's Pests & Diseases newsgroup. There are many people on these forums that can help answer your identification questions for you.
Step 14

Just as many pests are attracted to certain plants, they are also repelled by other plants. Try doing some companion planting to help repel certain pests. Some good companion plants are marigolds, nasturtium, feverfew, chives, garlic, and borage.