What’s Eating My Garden?

Right now your winter garden may be relatively safe from hungry bugs that are hunkered down to ride out the cold weather. But on warm days insects will be looking for a meal, and your garden will look like a delicious buffet. Some yard pests will even stake a claim and use your garden as a winter haven.

Use the guide below to determine what’s eating your winter garden plants and which insects are most likely to emerge in your garden come spring.

What’s Eating Your Winter Squash, Pumpkin and Zucchini – Squash Bugs

As the name suggests, squash bugs love winter squash. They’ll also devour pumpkin and zucchini. When you have aggressive squash bugs, you’ll notice the leaves start to droop and blacken before falling off. Often the plant is killed entirely.

Adult squash bugs will overwinter in the garden hiding under mulch and debris. Give the garden a good cleaning and clear out as much of the mulch as possible if squash bugs are a problem. Lay down compost to enrich the soil and protect against sneaky squash bugs.

What’s Eating Your Asparagus – Asparagus Beetles

Asparagus beetles prefer to over-winter in gardens. As soon as spring rolls in they’ll emerge and begin searching for something to eat. Their favorite food is – you guessed it – asparagus. The beetles will chew through the tips and leaves causing significant damage.

Ladybugs are a natural predator of asparagus beetles, but right now ladybugs are more likely to be in your house than in your garden. You can use row covers to prevent infestations, and manually remove any beetles that you find.

What’s Eating Your Cabbage, Broccoli, Kale & Cauliflower – Cabbage Worms & Cabbage Loopers

Late in the fall and even early in a warm winter you may have hungry cabbage worms eating through the leaves of numerous garden vegetables. Their favorite foods like cabbage, broccoli, kale and cauliflower can withstand some damage if they’re out of the early growth stages.

Cabbage worms and cabbage loopers can be managed with manual removal and pesticides. You can also plant thyme near vegetables they like to eat since it’s a natural deterrent.

What’s Eating Your Swiss Chard and Spinach – Leaf Miners

Does the Swiss chard or spinach in your garden have tan blotches? Leaf miners are most likely to blame. They are actually fly larvae that burrow their way into the leaves. While this doesn’t kill the plants, it does create markings on the leaves. Plus, the thought of eating fly larvae isn’t appealing. Leaf miners usually overwinter in the soil of the garden so cultivation can help.

What’s Eating Your Carrots, Celery and Parsley – Carrot Rust Flies

Adult carrot rust flies aren’t a problem in the winter garden, but their baby maggots can be. The tiny white to yellow maggots overwinter in the garden where they tunnel into the roots of carrots, parsley and celery. The garden will have to be cultivated in the winter to expose the maggots and get rid of them. You can also plant susceptible vegetables near onions (a natural deterrent) and treat with insecticides.

If you’ve noticed that your winter garden plants are looking less than their best, give Vulcan Termite and Pest Control Inc. a call. Our expert technicians can provide a custom pest control treatment that’s safe for your garden but gets rid of the insects that are taking a bite before you do.

Original Source: https://www.vulcantermite.com/garden-pest-control/whats-eating-garden/