Questions tagged [pests]

For questions about garden pests such as insects, birds and mammals.

In horticulture, the word "pests" is usually used for macroscopic animals, although smaller organisms (e.g. bacteria, fungi, viruses, nematodes) could be considered pests, as well as invasive plants (e.g. vines and parasitic plants).

Macroscopic animal pests are dominated by insects and mammals, although other arthropods, reptiles, and birds could all be pests.

All of these groups primarily contain beneficial or neutral organisms, so generally control methods should be limited and in the form of deterrents rather than chemical poisons.

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Ants in my garden: good or bad?

While weeding my garden I found a bunch of ant nests (red ants and small black ants). My first inclination was to destroy the nest and send them packing, but I didn't know if they might aerate the soil, or keep worse pests at bay. Are they of any…
agent-j
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How do I get rid of white flies on my basil?

I've recently noticed that my basil and other herb plants are infested by tiny white flies. They spread out like snow-flakes when I spray the plants with water, and there are scary looking number of what appear to be the eggs of those flies on the…
Kei
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How do I keep mosquitos out of my fountain?

I found lots of mosquito larvae in my fountain. How can I get rid of them? A local store has the doughnut thingies but they are expensive. I'd prefer a homemade solution if possible. I tried vegetable oil. It worked but looks ugly. Any other…
Kevin Lawrence
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How do I get rid of ducks from my backyard?

There are a couple of ducks in my yard (male and female). I think they have come to my backyard to make a nest. I fear that if this happens half my backyard will become off-limits due to an angry duck-mom. I also worry that they will munch on my…
Om Patange
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Are millipedes good or bad for the garden?

Are millipedes considered good or bad for plants? From wikipedia: Millipedes are detritivores and slow moving. Most millipedes eat decaying leaves and other dead plant matter, moisturising the food with secretions and then scraping it in with…
Sheshbabu
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How do I deal with millipedes eating my vegetable seedlings?

After cursing all the slugs in my yard and removing the few that I could catch, I was quite shocked yesterday to discover 100+ young plants all chewed to the ground. I was going out at 9 - 10pm to find the slugs but was only seeing one or two per…
going
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How do I prevent raccoons from eating my corn?

This harvest I was not able to pick a single corn cob. Some large animal(s), I suspect raccoons, got to them before they were ripe (I would find peeled and gnawed corn littering the lawn and the corn stems bent down when I got home). I had crushed…
Om Patange
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How do I identify and control spider mites

I am looking for an extensive answer with references that: lists many of the plants that can be attacked by spider mites the conditions that encourage them brief information about their lifecycle how to identify them and the damage they cause all…
kevinskio
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Why are my tomatoes cracking and what can I do?

(Memphis, TN. Zone 7) First garden. I'm growing tomatoes in two parts of the yard. One gets more sun than the other: the partially-shaded area is producing well, but in the the sun-baked area they're cracking before they can fully ripen. Cucumbers,…
AndrewG
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My indoor plant has an orange mold-like substance growing on it and has tiny white bugs. How can I remove it?

I have my very first plant in my cube and it seems to be doing just fine. However, there is an orange mold-like substance growing on the top of the soil, and I can see a few tiny white bugs crawling around in the soil. Did I do something wrong? …
jjnguy
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Are these bright orange bugs with beady black eyes ladybugs?

I have a few bugs on my pumpkin plant that seem to be eating the leaves. They are shaped like ladybugs but the color isn't red and black. It's more of a shiny bright orange. Since ladybugs are good for controlling aphids and pests, I want to keep…
Spinor8
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Is this caterpillar-like insect a good guy or a bad guy?

I found this guy that came out of a drainage hole of the pot when I watered it. Small, fast moving. I took the pic by mobile. It is small so had trouble focusing on it, and it was moving fast, too. Should I be worried about this insect, or not?
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What is this bug on my adenium plant and what should I do?

I have a dozen adenium plants and on a few of them these mysterious bugs appeared this morning. It's winter season here, the current temperature is ranging between 7°C to 20°C (45°F to 65°F). What should I do about this bug?
Saurabh
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How do I identify and eradicate the pest that is destroying the plants in my flowerbox?

We transplanted an assortment of pretty flowers for our windowsill some weeks ago (albeit rather crudely) and they were growing bright and healthy. Over the last week, however they've been plagued! I live in Scotland and suspect the pest is the…
waj
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How can I control Viburnum Beetle on my Snowball tree?

I have a mature Snowball tree (Viburnum opulus) that is stripped of its leaves and severely weakened several times a year by the viburnum beetle. The Royal Horticultural Society recommend several pesticides but, unfortunately, they are all in spray…
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