Gardening Tips: Be on the lookout for pest problems

Hopefully we have finally seen the last snow for this spring! With the arrival of warmer weather, it's time to walk around your yard and inspect for insect problems.

Here is information about some of the common ones you may encounter.

Aphids are small, soft-bodied insects that cluster in large numbers around the tips of new growth and on the underside of leaves. They can be various colours; light green, red or black.

They harm plants by piercing and sucking the juices from soft leaf and stem tissue. This distorts new growth and weakens the plant. They feed on a wide variety of plants.

Since they do have such a soft body, they are one of the pests that are easier to control with organic products. End-All kills both the adult, nymph and egg stages of aphid, whitefly and several other soft-bodied insects.

Spray directly on the insects and the underside of the leaves. Repeat at 7 to 10 day intervals, as aphids have a quick life cycle in warm weather. A mild dish soap mix with water will also work on aphids. Mix 1 part soap to 20 parts water.

Be aware that ladybugs are one of nature's control for aphids, so don't harm these beneficial beetles!

Euonymus Webworm will hatch any time now. They veraciously eat the foliage of Burningbush and other euonymus plants. These pests form a mass of webbing similar in appearance to the tent caterpillar.

Sometimes the best solution is to cut off the branch with the webbing, bag it and dispose of it in your garbage.

This can be done if you catch the problem before the insects head out of the web to feed on the rest of the foliage. Otherwise spray with End-All, Insecticidal Soap or BTK.

BTK (Bacillus thuringiensis) is a biological insecticide that works well for all the chewing caterpillars and other destructive larvae forms of moths and butterflies.

It is the best product to use for Spruce Budworm, Tent Caterpillars and Mountain Ash Sawfly. Spray BTK on foliage so the pests ingest it as they eat.

Look out for Pine Sawfly larvae. This is another small caterpillar-like insect that hatches in vast numbers and eats new needle growth very quickly. Mugho Pine is one of their favourite plants to attack.

This pest is actually the larvae stage of a wasp so BTK is not an effective control. Insecticidal soap will work on this pest if you find them young enough.

Keep a close eye out for the larvae form of the Viburnum beetle. This pest will quickly turn healthy leaves into an unsightly lacework that turns brown and shrivels up.

Inspect the underside of your viburnum leaves right away! If you see a small number of larvae, pick off the leaves and destroy them. Large numbers of pests will need to be sprayed.

I have already seen the Red Lily Beetle chewing on the new leaves of my Oriental and Asiatic lilies. I just squish every beetle I find. If you are a bit squeamish, pick them off and drop them in a container of soapy water mixed with oil.  

Beneficial nematodes are the best control for white grubs and the Cranefly larvae that attack your lawn's roots as well as leafminer that attacks birch and lilac leaves.

There is also a nematode available for control of common pests in the vegetable garden. It will attack Armyworm, cutworm, Iris Borer, onion maggot, carrot maggot, flea beetles and many more garden pests.

Now that soil has warmed, it is the perfect time to apply nematodes as a pest control option. The mixture is applied to wet ground and soil must be watered for an additional 3 days to keep the nematode viable.

Whenever you spray a product to control pests on plants, be sure to choose an overcast day when no rain is predicted or early morning/early evening of a sunny day.

Don’t spray foliage during the heat of a sunny day. The product you use could damage leaves and flowers.

Always remember, that with careful observation, small problems can be dealt with quickly. If a pest goes unchecked, it is always harder to control.