Summer has arrived and so have the dreaded garden pests! I’ll be covering the creepy, crawly kind. (The big hairy kind can be kept under control with a secure fence.)
The most common garden pests are aphids, Japanese beetles, squash bugs, cutworms, slugs and snails, jumping worms and squash vine borers. Left unchecked, these creatures can do tremendous damage to your outdoor plants and vegetables.
Instead of dosing your plants with chemical pesticides — which I definitely do not recommend – consider an organic or natural way to keep these pests to a minimum. There are a lot of options to choose from.
Keeping most pests under control can be as easy as picking them off your plants and dropping them into a container of soapy water. With aphids, which are tiny and delicate, it can be enough to just spray the affected plant with a hose, both above and under the leaves. If you have a heavily infested plant that hasn’t yet affected its neighbors, the best thing to do is to enclose the plant in a large plastic bag and simply throw it away in the garbage. Never dispose of it in the garden or in a compost pile.
Beetles and squash bugs – which, true to their name, like to make a meal of pumpkin and squash plants — vary in their behavior. Some are fast, some slow, and some congregate in large groups. Always check under the leaves of your plants and under any boards you may have in the garden. (You can purposely lay down a board to attract them.) If you find an infested leaf, cut it off — the squash don’t mind – and then step on it or put it in a plastic bag. Another strategy is not to consolidate a single variety in one spot. When your plants are scattered among different locations, pests may concentrate on just one of them and not find the others.
Pests will tend to attack plants that are unhealthy or otherwise vulnerable. So keep your plants as healthy as possible by supplying plenty of water and fertilizer and pruning off damaged leaves. Japanese beetles are large and pretty easy to knock off into soapy water.
Cutworms get their name because they chew through stems, cutting them off from the plant. Trim the bottom off a paper cup and place it around the main stem – this prevents cutworms from being able to reach it. Scattering broken eggshells on the soil also helps: worms don’t like crawling over the sharp edges. Eggshells are a good defense against slugs and snails for the same reason. Slugs and snails also like beer. Pouring some into a plate that is shallow enough for them to easily climb into, but deep enough to drown in, works well.
An organic spray called Neem Oil is available for purchase. When you follow the directions carefully, it disrupts the insects’ growth and feeding patterns.
Jumping worms are becoming a real problem, and can easily go unnoticed since they’re underground. They’re relatively new to the United States, but have already been found in 37 states and are spreading. Jumping worms are similar to our regular earthworms, but have a white band near their head and move or “jump” around erratically when you touch them. Burrowing in the top few inches of the soil, they consume a critical layer of organic matter and leave behind a soil that looks similar to coffee grounds. This disrupts the soil structure and dramatically raises the soil’s pH, hindering seed germination and strong root systems.
Jumping worms grow and reproduce much faster than regular earthworms because they don’t need another worm to reproduce. They’re easily spread via potted plants, mulch,
gardening tools and footwear. We have them at the Community Garden. I found at least 500 in a single 3-by-5 foot raised bed. If you have jumping worms, minimize moving plants around and be on the lookout. If you see one, put it in a plastic bag in the sun or in a container of water. Always replenish the soil with compost.
Lastly there is the squash vine borer. One day you have a healthy, vibrant plant, the next day it’s wilted and then dead! Vine borers are hard to detect, so you may never spot them coming. Early in the season you can take preventive steps and wrap aluminum foil around the main stems of your plants and cover them with several inches of mulch. This will make it difficult for the borer to find the stem. If a warm spring is expected, you can also plant your squash early and hope for produce before the borers show up. (The same goes for planting squash late, after the borers have hatched and left.)
If you suspect that, despite your best efforts, borers are attacking your plants, examine the main stems. If you see any holes in the stems with an orange, sawdust-like appearance, a larva has already bored its way in and is cutting off nutrients to the plant. It may be too late to save the plant, but you should still dig out the grub to end its lifecycle – adult moths can lay up to 250 eggs apiece.
I do not recommend silica-based diatomaceous earth, which is harmful to beneficial insects as well as pests and is unhealthy to breathe. Instead, try adding plants with strong odors that make it difficult for insects to smell their way to your vegetable plants. Marigolds, nasturtiums, borage and mint are all good options. You can also encourage insect-eating birds to hang out at your garden by providing bird baths and birdhouses. Staying aware and diligent is the key.
Elizabeth White grew up on a farm in Shekomeko Valley and holds a degree in agronomy from SUNY Cobleskill. She’s been an active member of the Pine Plains Community Garden since 2020.