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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What are yellow balls in the soil?

In the first picture you can find my fingers, a ladybug and small yellow balls. I found them in the soil, close to roots of a plant (Hardy Kiwi) that died last year, probably because of heat stress (I've described the problem also on…
dzieciou
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How can I get rid of fungus on my pepper plants?

I have multiple Pepper Plants (Buhut Jolokia) and some of them had a little too much water. Now there has grown a white mold on the dirt around the stem and I beleve that the plant is suffering from it. How can I get rid of it? Update The white…
Frezzley
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How helpful are whirligig mites?

I've noticed these guys in the garden for years but never bothered to find out what they are. They are bright red, move with great speed, have a single body, and 8 legs. Seems it's actually a whirligig mite which is supposed to be a predatory…
Graham Chiu
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Mice eating sown grass seed

I've been having trouble re-planting a bare patch of lawn at the back of my small garden. I was wondering if birds had been raiding the seeds (and I have bought some plastic netting ready for next attempt), but just a few hours ago at dusk, I…
Neil Slater
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Gophers and rabbits

My entire yard has been destroyed by gophers and rabbits. The rabbits and gophers ate all my grass and ground cover that bloomed beautiful pink flowers. I want to replant, but need to get rid of these pests first. Now there is only dirt in my back…
Bear hugg
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Foamy liquid on plant's stems with green larvae or bug inside - pest or no problem

Every year in May/June I'm observing on different plants, such as strawberries, lavender (pictured below) and different weeds, a foamy liquid containing a green insect or a larvae. At first I thought that this is the work of slugs, but now, that I…
Patrick B.
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Are these maggots and are they okay in the soil around the roots of a fruit tree?

Just dug these up from around the roots of a stone fruit tree. Are they maggots? Are they good or bad for the soil around the roots of the tree? Do they harm the tree in any way? If yes to the previous question then how do you treat this? Location:…
Guy
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Planting to deter cats

I am doing a bit of work around our garden, part of which will involve surfacing a largeish area with bark mulch. There are a lot of cats around our area, and they are already frequently in our garden. I'd like to avoid accidentally creating a…
Paddy
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How do I deter a pesky groundhog from eating my vegetables?

I woke to see my zucchini, yellow squash and sunflower leaves "gone". Are there any proven suggestions on how to keep groundhogs away? I do have a 3 ft chicken wire fence around my garden area. I don't know where the groundhog's home is. I have a…
Kat
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Request for identification of insects on Brussels sprouts

I found these eggs all over my Brussels sprout plant. Interestingly, none of the other plants near this one had any eggs on it. In the close-up, it looks like some of the eggs are hatched. What insect am I dealing with? Should I be concerned for my…
SethMMorton
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What is this grub-like bug that's eating my eggplant leaves?

Recently I noticed some bugs eating the leaves of my eggplant. This is the first time I've ever seen these and so far the only plants they are on are the eggplant, they wont touch the peppers next to them. They look almost like short grubs and seem…
Brian Surowiec
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Leaves at the tip on new branches of my cherry-trees are wrinkled

On my cherry-trees I observed that the leaves of the tips of newly grown branches are wrinkled and inside there is something which simply said looks like black dirt. The leaves do not look damaged, only their form has suffered, It seems that only…
Patrick B.
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How to protect vegetable garden from pests (possibly squirrels or possums)?

I don't know if it's squirrels or possums or what, but some pesky varmints keep eating my produce. How can I stop them from getting to it? Since they can climb the fence around the yard, obviously putting a fence around the garden would not…
psusi
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Who's been eating my corn?

Pretty much all my corn is like this. The tassle ends are all eaten. I doubt the stalk would support possums, so maybe rats, or possibly birds? In NZ near the Zealandia eco-sanctuary
Graham Chiu
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Ants and white fluff on my citrus tree leaves

I've noticed this weird thing on the underside of some of my citrus tree's leaves. It looks like a number of ants stuck in a bunch of white fluff. This is only on some of the leaves, and it's mostly at the bottom. The tree itself looks to be…
Haedrian
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