Garden pests · helpfulbugs.com

Fungus gnat

Bradysia spp.

Larvae chewing roots in wet media

ROOT6 controls

Spotted lanternfly

Lycorma delicatula

Sticky honeydew and black sooty mould under infested trees; weakened or dead grapevines

SAP2 controls

Green peach aphid

Myzus persicae

Yellowed, curled young leaves, honeydew, spreads viruses

SAPVirus8 controls

Springtails

Collembola

Tiny jumping specks in wet compost — harmless decomposers

HARMLESS

Western flower thrips

Frankliniella occidentalis

Silvered scars, black frass specks, flecked petals

SAPVirus7 controls

Brown marmorated stink bug

Halyomorpha halys

Sunken white or yellow blotches on tomato and pepper, scarred and misshapen fruit; crowds in the house every autumn

SAP3 controls

Earwigs

Forficula auricularia

Ragged holes in petals, seedlings and soft fruit, chewed overnight

NUISANCE

Two-spotted spider mite

Tetranychus urticae

Pale stippling, bronzing, webbing under leaves

SAP5 controls

Citrus mealybug

Planococcus citri

White cottony clusters in leaf axils, sticky honeydew below

SAP4 controls

Red imported fire ant

Solenopsis invicta

Domed mounds with no entrance hole in lawns; painful stings that leave white pustules

CHEWING0 controls

Snails

Cornu aspersum (brown garden snail)

Irregular holes in leaves and fruit, slime trails, bark gnawed on young trees

CHEWING1 controls

June bugs

Phyllophaga spp. (May/June beetles)

Adults nibble tree leaves at night; grubs chew lawn roots

ROOT1 controls

White grubs

Scarabaeidae (Popillia, Cyclocephala, Rhizotrogus, Phyllophaga)

Grubs chew grass roots; turf browns and lifts like a carpet

ROOT3 controls

Slugs

Deroceras reticulatum and other species

Irregular holes in leaves, slime trails, seedlings gone overnight

CHEWING1 controls

Spongy moth

Lymantria dispar

Leaves chewed to the main veins; whole oaks stripped by late June

CHEWING1 controls

Japanese beetle

Popillia japonica

Adults skeletonise leaves and eat flowers; grubs chew lawn roots

CHEWING4 controls

Tomato hornworm

Manduca quinquemaculata

Whole leaves eaten, green fruit gouged

CHEWING3 controls

Boxelder bugs

Boisea trivittata

Crowds on sunny walls in autumn and bugs indoors over winter; almost no harm to trees

NUISANCE

Grasshoppers

Melanoplus spp. and other Acrididae

Large ragged sections chewed out of leaves and flowers, young plants stripped

CHEWING0 controls

Chinch bugs

Blissus spp. (B. insularis, B. leucopterus hirtus)

Sap feeding at the base of the grass; sunny patches yellow, brown and die

SAP1 controls

Squash bug

Anasa tristis

Wilting runners, speckled leaves that yellow and brown

SAP3 controls

Leaf-footed bug

Leptoglossus spp.

Aborted or pitted tomatoes, withered pomegranate arils, sunken spots and dried juice sacs in young citrus

SAP2 controls

Soil mites

Oribatida and others

Slow specks in compost — mostly harmless decomposers

HARMLESS

Squash vine borer

Melittia cucurbitae

Vines wilt suddenly; wet, sawdust-like frass at the stem base

CHEWING1 controls

Greenhouse whitefly

Trialeurodes vaporariorum

Clouds of white adults, sticky leaves, sooty mould

SAP7 controls

Bagworms

Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis

Brown, thinning evergreens hung with spindle-shaped bags of needles

CHEWING1 controls

Fall armyworm

Spodoptera frugiperda

Lawns browned in a moving front; ragged corn whorls full of frass

CHEWING5 controls

Tobacco hornworm

Manduca sexta

Whole leaves eaten, green fruit gouged

CHEWING5 controls

Black bean aphid

Aphis fabae

Dense black colonies on shoot tips, curled leaves, honeydew, poor pod set

SAPVirus5 controls

Woolly apple aphid

Eriosoma lanigerum

White cottony tufts on apple bark and pruning cuts; knobbly galls on twigs and roots

SAP3 controls

Brown soft scale

Coccus hesperidum

Flat brown bumps on stems and veins; heavy honeydew

SAP2 controls

Colorado potato beetle

Leptinotarsa decemlineata

Defoliated tops, orange egg clusters

CHEWING3 controls

Fall webworm

Hyphantria cunea

Loose silk webs over branch tips; leaves skeletonised inside

CHEWING1 controls

Wireworms & click beetles

Elateridae: Agriotes, Limonius, Melanotus, Conoderus & others

Narrow round tunnels bored into potatoes and roots; seeds and seedlings that fail to come up

ROOT0 controls

Flea beetles

Phyllotreta, Epitrix & other Alticinae

Tiny round shot-holes and pits in leaves; seedlings stunted or killed

CHEWING1 controls

Striped cucumber beetle

Acalymma vittatum

Chewed seedlings and flowers; vines that wilt from bacterial wilt

CHEWINGVirus2 controls

Blister beetles

Epicauta spp. and other Meloidae

Flowers and leaves chewed by clusters of long, soft-bodied beetles in midsummer

CHEWING0 controls

Cabbage worms

Pieris rapae

Large ragged holes in brassica leaves, caterpillars and green frass in the heads

CHEWING5 controls

Cutworms

Noctuidae (Agrotis ipsilon, Peridroma saucia and others)

Seedlings cut through at the soil line overnight

CHEWING4 controls

Cabbage looper

Trichoplusia ni

Ragged holes between leaf veins; frass in the heads

CHEWING4 controls

Mole crickets

Neoscapteriscus spp. (N. vicinus, N. borellii, N. abbreviatus)

Tunnels lift the turf and cut roots; grass dries out and dies in patches

ROOT1 controls

Black vine weevil

Otiorhynchus sulcatus

Notched leaf edges above, C-shaped grubs eating the roots below

ROOT4 controls

Rose sawfly

Endelomyia aethiops

Leaves grazed to see-through windows that turn brown; larvae feed exposed, with no leaf rolling

CHEWING0 controls

Harlequin bug

Murgantia histrionica

Irregular white or cloudy blotches on cabbage, kale and collards; young plants wilt, brown and die

SAP0 controls

Corn earworm

Helicoverpa zea

Ear tips eaten and full of frass; holes in tomato fruit

CHEWING5 controls

Rose aphid

Macrosiphum rosae

Buds and shoot tips coated in green or pink aphids, honeydew, distorted buds

SAP4 controls

Leafhoppers

Cicadellidae (Empoasca fabae, Edwardsiana rosae and others)

Pale stippled leaves; yellow-brown leaf tips on potatoes and beans (hopperburn)

SAPVirus6 controls

Root aphids

Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominale and others

Grey-white aphids on the roots; the plant fails with nothing visible above

ROOT0 controls

Mexican bean beetle

Epilachna varivestis

Lacy, see-through patches eaten from the underside of bean leaves

CHEWING2 controls

Lace bugs

Tingidae (lead species: Stephanitis pyrioides, azalea lace bug)

Bleached, silvery-stippled azalea leaves with black varnish-like spots underneath

SAP2 controls

Leafminer

Liriomyza spp.

Pale winding tunnels inside leaves

CHEWING2 controls

Codling moth

Cydia pomonella

Worm holes in apples and pears, with brown frass at the entry and a tunnel to the core

CHEWING1 controls

Sod webworms

Crambidae (Crambus, Parapediasia and relatives)

Small ragged brown patches; grass blades notched and clipped

CHEWING4 controls

Oleander aphid

Aphis nerii

Bright yellow colonies on milkweed and oleander tips, honeydew, sooty mould

SAPVirus5 controls

Eastern tent caterpillar

Malacosoma americanum

Dense silk tents in branch forks in spring; leaves stripped around them

CHEWING2 controls

Spittlebugs

Cercopidae (meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius)

Blobs of white froth on stems in spring — cosmetic in gardens

NUISANCE

Cottony cushion scale

Icerya purchasi

Orange-brown scales with fluted white egg sacs on twigs; honeydew and sooty mould

SAP1 controls

Magnolia scale

Neolecanium cornuparvum

Large waxy bumps on magnolia twigs; sticky leaves, sooty mould, dieback

SAP1 controls

Broad mite

Polyphagotarsonemus latus

Twisted, bronzed, brittle shoot tips

SAP4 controls

Bean leaf beetle

Cerotoma trifurcata

Small round holes scattered across bean leaves; scarred pods late in the season

CHEWING0 controls

Oleander caterpillar

Syntomeida epilais

Brown, skeletonised shoot tips, then whole leaves stripped

CHEWING3 controls

Diamondback moth

Plutella xylostella

Small holes and translucent "windowpanes" in brassica leaves; damaged growing points

CHEWING3 controls

Tomato russet mite

Aculops lycopersici

Bronzed stems and leaves from the base upward

SAP0 controls

Tarnished plant bug

Lygus lineolaris

Cat-faced strawberries, spotted and distorted shoots, blasted buds

SAP2 controls

Asparagus beetle

Crioceris asparagi (and the spotted asparagus beetle, C. duodecimpunctata)

Brown, scarred spears that bend into a hook; stripped ferns; black eggs stuck on the spear tips

CHEWING1 controls

Rose chafer

Macrodactylus subspinosus

Large ragged holes in rose and peony blooms; leaves skeletonised between the veins

CHEWING0 controls

Melon aphid

Aphis gossypii

Curled, puckered leaves, heavy honeydew, cucurbit viruses

SAPVirus6 controls

Beet armyworm

Spodoptera exigua

Skeletonised leaves, then holes in leaves and fruit

CHEWING2 controls

Peachtree borer

Synanthedon exitiosa

Gum mixed with frass and sawdust oozing from the trunk at the soil line

CHEWING1 controls

Root maggots

Delia spp. & Chamaepsila rosae

Seedlings and transplants that wilt and die; tunnelled roots, bulbs and carrots

ROOT3 controls

Pickleworm

Diaphania nitidalis

Holes in squash and cucumber fruit, flowers and vine tips

CHEWING3 controls

Shore flies

Scatella spp.

Adults and larvae in algae on wet media and benches

ROOT3 controls

Billbugs

Sphenophorus spp.

Larvae hollow grass stems and chew crowns; turf dies in patches

ROOT4 controls

Onion thrips

Thrips tabaci

Silvery streaks and white blotches on leaves; discoloured, rough patches inside cabbage heads

SAPVirus2 controls

Root mealybugs

Rhizoecus spp.

Stunted, yellowing, wilting pot plants; white wax on the roots

ROOT0 controls

Boxwood leafminer

Monarthropalpus flavus

Blistered, swollen, sometimes discoloured boxwood leaves; thin, ragged plants

CHEWING0 controls

Cross-striped cabbageworm

Evergestis rimosalis

Buds and young leaves riddled with holes; single plants skeletonised while neighbours are clean

CHEWING3 controls

Citrus leafminer

Phyllocnistis citrella

Silvery winding mines and curled, distorted new citrus leaves

CHEWING0 controls

European corn borer

Ostrinia nubilalis

Tunnels in stalks and ears; holes under the pepper cap

CHEWING5 controls

Cabbage aphid

Brevicoryne brassicae

Dense grey waxy colonies; curled, yellowed leaves; contaminated heads and sprouts

SAPVirus5 controls

Euonymus scale

Unaspis euonymi

Yellow spots on euonymus leaves; white-flecked stems; dieback

SAP2 controls

Oriental fruit moth

Grapholita molesta

Wilted, dying shoot tips in spring; wormy peaches with gum and frass later

CHEWING2 controls

Tomato pinworm

Keiferia lycopersicella

Blotch mines and folded leaves; pinholes under the fruit cap

CHEWING2 controls

Pear psylla

Cacopsylla pyricola

Sticky honeydew, black sooty mould and russeted fruit; blackened leaves on pear

SAP1 controls

Cyclamen mite

Phytonemus pallidus

Crinkled, cupped and stunted new leaves; withered buds

SAP2 controls

Pearslug (pear sawfly)

Caliroa cerasi

Upper leaf surface grazed away between the veins, leaving lacy brown skeletonised patches; slimy dark larvae feed in the open

CHEWING0 controls

Potato psyllid

Bactericera cockerelli

Yellowing, upward-curled top leaves (psyllid yellows); striped tubers (zebra chip)

SAP1 controls

San Jose scale

Diaspidiotus perniciosus

Grey crust of tiny scales on bark; red-ringed spots on fruit; dying limbs

SAP2 controls

Chilli thrips

Scirtothrips dorsalis

Bronzed, curled new leaves; scarred buds and fruit

SAP3 controls

Mosquito larvae

Culicidae (Culex, Aedes, Anopheles)

Wrigglers in rain barrels, bird baths, gutters and ponds that become biting adults within about a week

SAP1 controls

Potato aphid

Macrosiphum euphorbiae

Large aphid on stems and trusses

SAPVirus4 controls

Lettuce aphid

Nasonovia ribisnigri

Aphids packed into the heart of the head; contaminated, unsaleable lettuce

SAP3 controls

Spotted cucumber beetle

Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi

Chewed leaves, flowers and fruit; larvae feed on corn and bean roots

CHEWINGVirus2 controls

Silverleaf whitefly

Bemisia tabaci

Virus spread, uneven tomato ripening, silvered squash leaves

SAPVirus6 controls

Long-tailed mealybug

Pseudococcus longispinus

Mealybugs with tail filaments about as long as the body or longer

SAP1 controls

Asian citrus psyllid

Diaphorina citri

Twisted, notched new leaves; spreads citrus greening (HLB)

SAP4 controls

Banded palm thrips

Parthenothrips dracaenae

Dull, silvered leaves with dark varnish-like specks

SAP3 controls

Plum curculio

Conotrachelus nenuphar

Crescent-shaped scars on young fruit, knotty or dimpled fruit, and early fruit drop

CHEWING1 controls

Apple maggot

Rhagoletis pomonella

Dimpled, pitted apples with brown winding trails through the flesh

CHEWING0 controls

Swede midge

Contarinia nasturtii

Blind or multiple heads, crumpled leaves, brown corky scarring at the growing point

SAP0 controls