Gardeners cannot identify the pest destroying their yard
34 posts across 4 communities in the last 30 days; 77% from r/gardening.
“As opposed to invasive species as I am, I don't get too upset when I see Asian lady beetles in my yard because I have a terrible recurring aphid problem. I'd rather have native ladybugs, but I work wage full warfare against anything that eats aphids”
“This was not the (sole) work of crows, but either way, the problem is you have grubs, and the critters are digging for them. There is some type of beneficial bacteria you can apply to your lawn to kill the grubs under the roots. The grubs feed on young roots”
“I have multiple broccoli plants that these eggs/bugs are on. I’m pretty sure I need to remove them. What are they and how do I?”
Gardeners are experiencing issues with animal damage (raccoons, Liquid Fence), unexplained plant abnormalities (white balls, variegated leaves), and general garden upkeep. There's a sense of frustration and seeking identification/solutions.
SOURCES (60)
“I’m very new to gardening and just have 3 garden beds with seedlings popping up! One of my garden beds was drying up way too fast so I think I might’ve overwatered it a bit, and these guys showed up. Looks like sand at first,…”
“I spotted this insect on my grapevine. I am wondering if this is a pest or not. TIA submitted by /u/whatsceenpaat [link] [comments]”
“I found these bug in my garden, but I'm not sure what they are. Can they infect my soil, Can they cause harm to my other plants? submitted by /u/balyyu [link] [comments]”
“Today’s garden visitors, didn’t get to nab a photo of a huge grasshopper that popped out of the lawn while I was mowing, but please enjoy the others. submitted by /u/megan_magic [link] [comments]”
“I thought maybe grasshopper eggs but wasn’t too sure. submitted by /u/nal1200 [link] [comments]”
“I live in central Europe and we had a few of these last summer too. But this summer? The ground is full of them. Some say it’s made by spiders, some say it’s wasps. Any ideas? ( size is about 1x1 cm) submitted by /u/KeyAbbreviations1062 [link] [comments]”
Be careful! Io moth caterpillars can sting if you touch them!
“Yes! Living in Florida we know that we need to stay far away from any fuzzy looking caterpillar!”
“As opposed to invasive species as I am, I don't get too upset when I see Asian lady beetles in my yard because I have a terrible recurring aphid problem. I'd rather have native ladybugs, but I work wage full warfare against anything that eats aphids”
“I dug up at least two dozen of these damn things from a flower bed. Are these lawn grubs and do I need to worry about them eating my lawn? submitted by /u/G_Hurry21 [link] [comments]”
“Thank you! That's exactly what it is. The 2nd picture from the Penn State extension link I found by searching wild violet is exactly what I was talking about. https://extension.psu.edu/lawn-and-turfgrass-weeds-wild-violet”
“Me and my mom live in the mountains of southern California and we both have noticed in the last few weeks these tiny white flies in our vegetable gardens. I can take a good photo because they are so tiny, like gnats or fruit flies but bright white. Does anyone know what they could be and if they are harmful? submitted by /u/Miserable-Chain3554 [link] [comments]”
“The red ones sort of look like milkweed bugs (but they aren't on milkweed). If they are they are harmless to your plant and will grow bigger and bigger and then fly away, leaving two large ones to create the cycle all over again. They look pretty ugly when they are big but have no stinger.”
“This was not the (sole) work of crows, but either way, the problem is you have grubs, and the critters are digging for them. There is some type of beneficial bacteria you can apply to your lawn to kill the grubs under the roots. The grubs feed on young roots”
“What is this and is it some sort of ladybug? submitted by /u/Fabulous-902 [link] [comments]”
“Never seen my murder of crows mess with my soil before so that is new behavior I’ll have to read up on. They’ll raid my berries and smaller cherry tomatoes though. I have seen crows and wild turkeys scratching and eating stuff out of fresh hog ruts and it would only take 5-10 pigs to do this level of damage in an hour.”
“Southwest Va — it popped up this Spring after cutting down two of my trees and I have been spraying weedkiller and pulling to no avail 😭 Someone, anyone please tell me how to fix this submitted by /u/artsy336 [link] [comments]”
“Same I swear the bug world has way too many lookalikes. As a woman who gardens, I’ve learned to stop confidently identifying anything until I’ve zoomed in about 15 times.”
“Found this little guy adjacent to my garden. Really cool marking but I don’t know his vibe. Thoughts? submitted by /u/PoeGar [link] [comments]”
“Would releasing (native) lizards into the garden be a good way to control bugs? submitted by /u/DannyTangelo [link] [comments]”
“I don't think birds are attracted by grubs as much as they are attracted by grub damage. Fresh seed doesn't hurt either.”
“Some type of bug eating it? Looks almost like a trail from some sort of caterpillar?”
“I have multiple broccoli plants that these eggs/bugs are on. I’m pretty sure I need to remove them. What are they and how do I? submitted by /u/Ok-Pomegranate8523 [link] [comments]”
Apologies for the blurriness (I have a cage around my garden beds), but are these whitefly eggs on my tomatoes? I spray my entire yard pretty regularly with neem oil, so it's…
“Had yellow Flowers on them a few weeks back. Once we let the garden weeds take over these popped up every where. submitted by /u/tart3rd [link] [comments]”
“For a couple of weeks, I’ve noticed that some animal is “tilling” my garden. This morning I looked out and they were very vigorous last night, spilling it out into my pea gravel patio. I’ve never had this happen before and I have no idea what kind of animal would do this. Has this happened to any of you? Or do you know what this could be? I will appreciate serious responses/advice. Thanks. submitted by /u/melhoff6810 [link] [comments]”
“https://preview.redd.it/bosya27ymdqh1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3285af94f65bf77a07724c0fa49827b87b41d7d0 Saw this guy today in my yard”
“every time i see damage like this on my plants with the whole bunches of leaves missing it’s freakin hornworms lmao”
“no need to exterminate! relocate far away from your tomato and pepper plants and it’ll be fine, they turn into a sphinx moth also known as the hummingbird moth and are incredibly important pollinators! but make sure you get them all, every single time i think they’re all gone i come out and see more ruined plants lol. they also can’t bite or sting, the horn looks sharp but its actually flexible and wont pierce your skin :)”
“You cant guarantee you'll get the correct native species of ladybugs as most of the ladybugs are farmed from California in the mountains.”
“I thought I planted cantaloupe. Noticed these gourd looking fellows hanging today. Whatever it is these 4 vines are going to give me dozens. Have hundreds of flower clusters rocking and bumblebees are loving it. submitted by /u/rtothewin [link] [comments]”
“I’ve been seeing these from time to time whenever I have the door (pictured) open leading to the garden. included a close-up and a picture with a quarter for size reference. Never seen them in the kitchen or anywhere else, just here. Thank you. submitted by /u/2booksguitarsand [link] [comments]”
“What is this on my creeper. The eggs are under the leaves. Help find the species. submitted by /u/Relative_Spot_3002 [link] [comments]”
“The photo quality is rough, but: First photo is likely a pupating lady bug Second photo is likely an assassin bug nymph”
“On second look the first image looks like a bug curling up? Ladybug transforming into adult?”
“I think the second image is a foe, but the orange egg? Doesn’t seem like a ladybug egg. Got around 3 of these on that plant. submitted by /u/bigcheetosfan [link] [comments]”
“Found it near the driveway and a neighbor said it's forget-me-nots, so I plucked it up and stuck it in a better place. But upon Googling, I'm not so sure. Any insight? submitted by /u/JustForShrimpPosting [link] [comments]”
“I figure most of u already know but for those that dont... U ever notice these in your garden? I almost squished them thinking they were bad bugs! submitted by /u/rtlg [link] [comments]”
“Yep! I also called them “doodlebugs.” If you dig up the dirt at the bottom of the hole you can probably catch one - slowly sift through then dirt in your hand and if you have one you’ll eventually see it scooting around. They’re harmless, I used to play with them as a kid. Just be careful, they’re fragile!”
“What are the white little balls on my plant? Yesterday there was a butterfly all over it. Pest or some kind of egg? submitted by /u/godlesscomie227 [link] [comments]”
“These bugs show up on plant every year, they don’t seem to be hurting it but this year there seems to be many more of them. Should I leave them alone? submitted by /u/YaFeya [link] [comments]”
“I found these tiny little eggs on one of my jalenpeno plant leaves! Are these ladybug or something else? Im located in WA State. submitted by /u/CarelessHoneydew8360 [link] [comments]”
“Around 20 feet or so in diameter area overnight in Massachusetts. Any idea what animal did this? We have a lot of wildlife. Skunk? Turkey? submitted by /u/Ok_Science_7817 [link] [comments]”
“I'm overseeding, but birds man..usually I just plop some straw down on top but they pick at that. Any suggestions? submitted by /u/Humble-Spell2502 [link] [comments]”