Plant Invading Pests

Plant Invading Pests

As a kid growing up, bugs were always cool. A simple roly poly could provide entertainment for most kids with ease. It did not take much for me to be distracted by a lonesome ant meandering his way across the front porch when I was young. When you are a small child, it is those simple things that make the day great. Now as a grownup it is simple things that make life a nightmare. Insects invading the landscaping you have poured time, sweat AND money is one of those simple things that can really put you in a bad mood. Some insects just provide the nuisance factor and unpleasant to the eye to witness crawling all over your almost ripe tomatoes. Others on the other hand, can be detrimental and even deadly to a plant. So what types of bugs are you likely to see and how can you get rid of them? There are many answers to both, so let’s just go over a few.

Everyone loves a good homegrown tomato. The fact of the matter is the ones you get in the grocery store just do not taste as good as one straight out of a vegetable garden. So if you like to grow tomatoes, please send me some! And if you enjoy watching them grow and ripen, chances are you have witnessed the Boxelder bug crawling around on your tomatoes.

No need to worry, this black and orange creature will not do any harm to your tomatoes, but that does not mean they are not still disturbing to look at. A product containing permethrin, such as Viper Dust is an excellent choice to apply to vegetable and fruit plants to keep bugs like this guy away. No matter what pesticide you choose, be sure to wash the fruits or vegetables well.

While the boxelder is not harmful to the plants, there are still many other insects that are. Once you have spotted the first sign of this miniscule yet menacing pest, you will want to get in gear and eliminate him immediately. The White fly is particularly abundant in the gulf coast states.

Evidence of the Whit fly is nothing more than small whit oblong dots that appear on the foliage of all types of plants. But be aware, this small insect will engulf your plant rapidly and over time will kill its host plant. Once you have first noticed that White Flies are attacking one your plants, you will want to apply a pesticide as quickly as possible to keep the bug from transferring to surrounding plants. An excellent pesticide is going to be any sort of Organophosphate such as Malathion. Malathion is designed to be applied to most plants and after determining the correct mix rate for white fly, spray all the foliage on the plant to a moistened state. There is no need to drown the plant in the solution, but the more foliage you treat the better. This may require you to stand on a ladder to reach some more difficult areas in taller plants such as palm trees. Before you use any pesticide, just remember to always read the label on the bottle and then apply the product appropriately.