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While getting ready to start my own little garden pot at my apartment, I’ve been doing alot of research. I learned about what plants grow well in my climate. I’ve learned what plants grow well in the fall season, and I’ve even learned how I can grow plants in containers to make up for lack of a yard (insert link). Thinking I’m ready to finally start my pot, I got smacked in the face by a fly. Thinking to myself that this little pest is such a nuisance, it occured to me that my plants will also have pest. Some that can be quite devastating. Heading back into the interweb for more research. I learned that there were quite a few pest that I need to watch out for. Here are some of the pest that I found can be quite common and damaging to plants, along with ways to deal with them.
[image source: https://www.kiwicare.co.nz/advice/garden/top-20-garden-pests/]
We will start with arguably the most commonly known pest, aphids. While only a small number of over 4000 aphid species are harmful to plants, they can be quite devastating. Aphids will suck out the sap from plants causing it to distort and wither. They also leave behind excretes known as honeydew, which will attract other pest such as ant., This honeydew also encourages growth of mold and other viral diseases. To help control and deal with aphid, water blasting them off is a good start. You can also encourage natural predators such as lady beetles. You can also try different insecticides treatment such as neem oil.
[image source: https://www.almanac.com/pest/aphids]
When plants are most vulnerable when they’re young. One pest that could kill your plant before it gets started is the cutworm. They will eat through stems, cutting down plants. They will also climb some plants doing damage to buds and foliage. These 1” long larvae can be controlled by using cutworm collars, or physically removing them by hand.
[image source: https://luv2garden.com/cutworms.html]
[image source: http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/forestry/forest_pest_cutworms.html]
Mealybugs are another little pest that are similar to aphids. Also devastating to plants by biting into the plants and sucking out the sap. Leaving honeydew behind which makes the plant sticky and encourages the growth of mold. They can lay over hundreds of eggs when reproducing. These can be treated with strong water blast, encouragement of natural predators and neem oil.
[image source: https://www.abchomeandcommercial.com/blog/mealybugs/]
Slugs, everyone knows them, everyone see them, and everyone can recognize them. One thing that people might not know is that slugs are very damaging to any type of garden. Most of the damage is caused by these little pest when eating through leaves, flower stems and more. Mostly active at night. During the day, they’re hiding in damp, dark, moist areas during the day. Identifying the aftermath by these culprits is easy, they tend to leave behind a slug trail. Barriers can be used to try and repel slugs, as well as hand picking and relocating them.
Last on our list is something that we ourselves may not think of as critters, but can be destructive to our garden is our household pets. Cats love chewing and biting off leaves. Who hasn’t met a dog who doesn’t like to dig? While we’re sure they mean no harm, without placing some type of barrier around your garden, you may find all your hard work undone in minutes.
[Img source: http://www.actionquarterly.com/detail/110416/keep-dogs-out-of-garden.html]
I can’t wait to start my little pot garden. I’m also glad I know more about what to look out for, (especially my cat, because he will destroy my plants for sure.) Do you have any methods to keep pest out from your garden? Any other pest you think should be include on a future list? Please let us know in the comment section below.
Informational sources:
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/gardening/a20705991/garden-insect-pests/
https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/garden-pests/
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74174.html
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=228
