Trees are susceptible to an array of pests that can seriously affect their health, appearance and growth. It is crucial that you know how to recognize pest infestations at their early stages before it wrecks havoc in your garden, as they can spread to other plants and crops. When you know how to identify a particular pest and understand its potential to inflict destruction, you will be able to apply the right type of pest control treatment to kill pests, as well as apply the proper pest preventative measures to keep them out.
Pests You Can Commonly Find On Trees In Your Garden
There are five kinds of pests that can be commonly found on garden trees. Learning more about them will help you keep pests away and ensure that your trees stay healthy for years.
Aphids
They are so small, you need to take a second look to identify them properly. The bodies of aphids usually feature different colors of pink, white, pale green and even black. Aphids are often found in clusters on buds, leaves and young shoots feeding on the stems and leaves of trees. Sadly, they can transmit viral diseases as they suck out plant juices while feeding and the best way to control aphids is by leaving these pests to be eaten by beneficial pests. Such beneficial insects are –
- Solider Beetles
- Lady Beetles
- Lacewig Larvae
- Parasitic Wasps
- Predatory Midges
- Lizards
- Birds
If you are not confortable about using beneficial insects to get rid of aphids naturally, you can blast aphids from the trees with jets of water or have a pest control professional treat the infestation. Professional pest control treatments are recommended for severe pest infestation, such as when aphids have infested other trees and garden plants.
Whiteflies
Whiteflies are small winged insects that fly about when you touch a plant that looks infested by pests. You can tell that your trees are infested by the yellow stippling to the gradual browning and curling of the leaves. Inspect your trees and all the other plants in your garden for signs of infestation and determine how serious the infestation may be before you decide on the form of treatment to apply. You can remove the Whiteflies by handpicking them from the leaves or by hosing them off with jets of water. You can also opt to introduce beneficial insects to your trees such as –
- Lacewig Larvae
- Lady Beetles
- Parasitic Wasps
Scales
These are insects with waxy shell like body coverings and they are closely related to aphids. In fact, the extent of damage scales can inflict on your trees is quite similar to the damage aphids can also inflict. Scales can either be handpicked or hosed off, but the best way to get rid of scales is by introducing beneficial insects such as Lady Beetles to infected plants and trees. You can also use horticultural oil to get rid of scales from the infected trees during winter.
Gypsy Moths
This type of moth is the most destructive of all garden pests as it can seriously damage trees and plants, most especially in its caterpillar stage. These Gypsy Moths feature a body size of about two inches long with a hairy covering. These moths can be controlled by ensuring that your garden is always clean and by removing the dead branches and stumps from your garden as they can lay their eggs in these locations.It is better to get rid of Gypsy Moths while their are still young because they can become quite difficult to control as they grow bigger. However, if the infestation is already severe, you can always hire the services of a pest control professional to apply non toxic treatments.
Citations:
- Photographed by : krosseel
Featured images:
- License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://mrg.bz/W4wWAh
Valerie Williams is a freelance writer specializing in natural pest control solutions and gardening topics. She offers tips on how to protect and maintain healthy trees and how to identify infestations. She also recommends Preventive Pest Control for any type of infestation problem on trees and plants in gardens.