You know the thrill of watching your plants grow from seedlings into full-fledged flowers. However, if you’re not careful to take care of them, some pests might come along and get in the way.
Whether it be aphids or slugs, many different types of garden pests can damage your beautiful blooms.
Here, you will get the common flower pest problems and how to prevent them from taking over your garden! But before that, let’s be clear on what pests are and why you need to remove them from the garden.
Why is it Necessary to Get Rid of Flower Pests?
- Pests carry illnesses that wreak havoc on your flowers; therefore, pest management is essential.
- The goal of eliminating any type of bug from your flower garden is to keep you safe and healthy.
- You harvest better yields when you get rid of flower pests.
Let’s look at some common flower pests and how to get rid of them.
Common Flower Pests and how to Get Rid of Them
One of the keys to successful pest management on flowers is early discovery. Treatments with insecticides are rarely 100 percent effective. A regular and attentive examination of the plants will aid in the early detection of pest problems.
Even so, here are examples of a few pests and simple tips for getting rid of them.
Aphids
These pear-shaped organisms pierce plant tissues. If you don’t treat the plants, their leaves will wrinkle, they will also have poor development, and eventually, die.
Furthermore, the aphid produces a sweet, sticky compound that encourages the formation of sooty fungus that attracts ants, who guard the aphids because the sweet sticky substance is attractive to them.
Solution: To get rid of aphids, spray plants with a strong stream of water, or uproot and kill infected plant sections. Spraying with gardening oil, insecticidal soaps, or neem is an excellent organic approach.
Japanese Beetle
The adult is half-inch shiny blue-green and bronze bug, and the larvae are white grubs with brown heads. Beetles eat flowers and parts of the foliage. Grubs eat root systems and other organic matter.
Solution: Get rid of them early in the morning, when they’re less energetic, scrape them from the flowers into a jar of water and soap. You can also use mesh insect coverings or pesticide soap.
Spider Mites
Plant fluids provide the food source for these tiny pests, which are associated with spiders. They deplete a plant’s health by making leaves turn yellow, brownish, or gray and fall off in enormous quantities. Delicate silk webs on the lower leaf surface are another obvious indicator.
Solution: Lady beetles, assassin bugs, and praying mantises are predator insects that prey on spider mites. Therefore, introducing them to the garden will assist you in getting rid of this pest.
Alternatively, you can mix 5 gallons of water, half cup buttermilk, and four cups wheat flour and drizzle on the leaves.
Borers
Borers are a sneaky pest that eats away at your floral plants from within.
The iris borer is the most destructive in the flower garden, tunneling through a whole iris rhizome and leaving infectious rot in its path.
If you detect sawdust-like residue around the base of your flowers or ragged leaf edges, you should be concerned.
Solution: To discourage borers, Remove iris leaves in the spring because they serve as a habitat for borer insect eggs. You can use a systemic insecticide or a biodegradable spray in the springtime.
Digging up damaged plants after blooming, trimming away the bad rhizomes, and replanting the significant chunks is the best non-toxic management.
Scales
At first sight, scale insects may appear to be dead. The waxy coating on the bugs’ protective shell makes them look like lichen or other organic growths on their hosts.
On the other hand, the scale insect beneath this waxy layer is very much alive, eating on garden flowers throughout the growing season. Slow growth, leaf fall, yellow patches on leaves, and sooty mold development flourish on the scale’s honeydew are all signs of damage.
Solution: Remove the insect-infested branches and leaves from the area. If the population of insects is low, picking them off by hand is a reasonable option. Using a cotton swab soaked in rubbing alcohol, smear individual insects.
Encourage predatory insects that eat scale pests, such as ladybugs and lacewings. To treat scale, use pesticide soap or oils. This activity will necessitate repeated treatments, but it is highly eco-friendly. Apply neem oil to the damaged plants, oil in a pure form of a very efficient pesticide.
Mealybugs
Mealybugs are tiny in size and move slowly, so they don’t attract much notice. The honeydew they exude encourages the growth of sooty mold. Once enough sooty mold grows on the leaves, it inhibits photosynthesis, weakening the flower and making it more vulnerable to pests in the garden.
Solution: do not overwater or over-fertilize your flowers because plants with increased nitrogen levels attract mealybugs. Touch the pests with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to desiccate and destroy them rapidly.
You can also use water or chemical sprays to get rid of the pests. Use pesticide soap or neem oil; these are safe products for honeybees and other pollinating insects.
You should encourage beneficial insects that eat mealybugs, such as beetles and lacewings.
Whiteflies
Whiteflies flutter around their host plants like a fleeting cloud when disturbed, yet their harm is significant. This is another honeydew-producing bug that promotes the growth of sooty mold while also turning plants yellow and stunting them after drawing on plant juices.
Whiteflies also transmit some flower diseases. Whiteflies are the misery of greenhouse flower gardeners, who use yellow snare traps to check their presence.
Solution: Use a vacuum to extract these insects off plants, taking advantage of their small size and vulnerability. You can use yellow sticky traps to catch mature whiteflies. Ladybugs and lacewings are natural predators that can also be of use.
Insecticidal soaps are effective against heavy infestations, but you must use them regularly. Eliminate whiteflies by using neem oil and other agricultural oils; make sure to saturate plants thoroughly.
Conclusion
The majority of harmful pests attack a wide range of flower species. In any instance, distinguishing the damage common flower pests cause is critical so that you may be able to implement management techniques before the harm becomes severe.
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