Homesteaders Worrying About Crop Pests
Several posts highlight concerns among homesteaders regarding pests impacting their crops and livestock. These range from insects damaging plants to animals consuming feed, creating worries about food security and the success of self-sufficiency efforts.
SOURCES (60)
“It almost seems like there are three types, or three stages? Of pest on my cauliflower plants. What is it and how do I get rid of it? submitted by /u/BerserkerBladeWing [link] [comments]”
“This is Harmonia axyridis - Multicolored Asian ladybug (also called Asian ladybeetle or Harlequin ladybird). This species of ladybug feeds mainly of aphids so they are helping in you in this case (unlike the Mexican bean ladybug which is a herbivorous species of ladybug that doesn't eat aphids. - not the case here though).”
“Ladybugs. Not Mexican bean beetles like someone else suggested. Their heads are white and black, which means Ladybug. Bean beetles have orange heads.”
“No, this is not Mexican bean ladybug ( Epilachna varivestis ). This is the Multicolored Asian ladybug ( Harmonia axyridis ). Epilachna varivestis is a species of ladybug that feeds on plants whereas Harmonia axyridis feeds on aphids.”
“Hello, I have a lot of ladybug on my corn cobs and I'm wondering if they are bad for it or not? Thank you! https://preview.redd.it/uxnkmpvo1cnh1.png?width=696&format=png&auto=webp&s=19b86db258662ca8bc9e705322129398cf14281f submitted by /u/CaptQuebec [link] [comments]”
“Hello! Our pepper plant has recently acquired some friends. Any help on identification/managing them would be appreciated. Located in SW Ontario, Canada. submitted by /u/Bobbybbrock [link] [comments]”
“Pictures like yours get posted here a fair bit. The consensus seems to be that it's a good thing. Caterpillars eating your garden = bad. Wasps taking out the caterpillars = good. Even if it's in kind of an icky way.”
Wait it just hit me… is that why they’re called EAR wigs?!
“What are these tiny bead like black insects on my Petunia’s. They make the flowers dwindle and drop. What do I do to help plants survive! I’m in northeast Colorado. submitted by /u/Lucky-Summer-7093 [link] [comments]”
“I experimented this year with growing peanuts in between my flint corn. My corn is super happy & producing a lot of ears! Peanuts, not so much. There’s some local wildlife in my area & they loved my peanuts! Chomped all the leaves off. I left the rest of the peanut plants in the ground to see if the leaves will grow back, but I was super curious about what’s happening under the soil. how bout deez 🥜! submitted by /u/AromaticCod9430 [link] [comments]”
“I mean, kinda foe? This is a Sphinx moth and the eggs it lays turn into hornworms but they(and their offspring the worms) are a crucial food source for many species; I get the hate but we can always plant more plants :/ the moths cant just “lay eggs next year””
“SQUASH BEEEEEE. They're just being squash bees. They need flowers to sleep in! They can sleep in the ground too. But squash bees often fall asleep in the flowers. They are silly babies. They do not have a hive. They are solitary ground bees. These are our native, nature given squash pollinators. They sleep and roll around in the flowers, and this makes them really really really good pollinators for them. But ... They sleep on the job. 😂 I think some squash species have longer lived flowers”
“Do you have those cicadas killers?? Those massive bees by chance i have a few of them thst tried to go in my yard but stopped that.”
“But what is all ovwr my green beans??? 😭 submitted by /u/budget80s [link] [comments]”
“Inspect the base of stems on the vine for eggs or other signs of borers. If there are none then either start spending your mornings having coffee by that plant to protect it, or bury the primary vine in something so you don't have to. Then just keep it watered, direct it to grow directions you want (it'll start growing up to a foot a day) keep the number of pumpkins low, hand-polinate flowers if you want...and eventually enjoy a few pumpkins”
“adding to this, its a bit blurry but those little black dots seem to be frass (caterpillar poop) so probably want to look for one of those and they sometimes blend in very very well!”
“That’s why I grow dill! Also parsley since the dill is sometimes spent by the time they show up. https://preview.redd.it/1ynm7elw1mih1.jpeg?width=2562&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9c24bd80a78594126d2db720c02c507bcd5356af”
“Cabbage white butterflies, those white ones you see flying through the day. Interesting, I always heard they were moths, but ai disagreed. If they're common in your area, they're almost as bad as tomato hornworms.”
“https://preview.redd.it/xybiwyfdo0ih1.jpeg?width=1512&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=13f8799ce903d128459ed3895c06f6a9cd75b5a7 I got similar in Greece!”
Corn and squash are the hot spots for the pollinators here right now.
Agreed! but… Clover = flowers Flowers = bees Bees = $300 er visits 🥴
“They’re small like a mosquito. Not aphids. They seem to be sucking the plant dry. Added photos of damage. What can I do? Thanks submitted by /u/Mike_WardAllOneWord [link] [comments]”
“Not if you have caterpillars in there. They will become butterflies and the cycle continues. I looked in some other comments and it looks like OP already does something like this”
“Caterpillars eat a lot of vegetation, pretty as they are they gotta do that somewhere other than on the farm”
“Color has nothing to do with species identification as native ladybugs can also be pale orange, and at the same time Asian ladybug (which is also a "true ladybug" as it belongs to ladybugs Coccinellidae) can be not only orange but also deep red. Color depends on temperature during pupal development and their diet during larval stage. As for the ladybugs in the picture - the top one is Convergent ladybeetle (most common native species of ladybug in the US) and the two bottom ones are Se”
“They aren’t saying ladybugs don’t eat caterpillars/eggs. They are saying that the impact of ladybugs to the monarch population as a whole is minimal.”
I was amazed that these were baby 👶 ladybugs 🐞 had a ton in my garden.
“it belongs to the butterflies and the bees now. also i learned tonight that bees curl up on flowers to sleep, i hope that brings one of y'all as much joy as it brought me submitted by /u/cellllardoor [link] [comments]”
“Bees love cactus. Real living is watching three or four different species of colorful native bees rolling around together in a prickly pear flower!”
“Hey all, I’m not a beekeeper, but these little buggers are fascinating. A swarm of honey bees has taken over my deck couch about 6 days ago now. I’m waiting for someone to come pick them up. Today I noticed they are leaving a white substance. Does this mean they’re trying to set up shop in the couch? Hopefully their keeper comes today or tomorrow! Thank you! Location Sw Saskatchewan Canada Zone 4 submitted by /u/playsfortips [link] [comments]”
“Hey so it’s my first time successfully growing carrots and I decided this morning to check on them before harvesting them in August. But I didn’t expect to see an army of ants between them ! I mean I know that I have a gallery of ants somewhere in my garden but they don’t bother me much so I didn’t know that they will colonised my carrots ( and cucumbers) patch I dig around one of the carrots to see if it was damaged but I don’t know?? It still has new growth so the roots are well but i maybe th”
Caught this bee in action! submitted by /u/ThatPepperGuy [link] [comments]
“What is this Fuzzy web or cocoon with black specks on the raspberry? submitted by /u/LAFlippo [link] [comments]”
“Thanks for the reply! Looks like you were right as the next day and today I found 3 different leafhoppers amongst my plants. https://preview.redd.it/h1h9dnd9b9fh1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=937dab9eeabd60c741c89efbc5772634d662beb0”
“The insect that has my attention are the ones trying to fly away w/my steak while having a mountain picnic. I think they’re referred to as meat bees 🐝, they can go extinct. Disturb a nest once and they ended up showing what is possible in numbers…Running fyl🥴”
“Hello. I am located in Cumberland county Pennsylvania and I noticed a small amount of white crystals in some of the cells in a brood frame and would like to know what is is. Thank you very much! submitted by /u/Jamescook4719 [link] [comments]”
“Came here to say this. I've seen the same mould problem in my neighbour's garden, but I wasn't sure if it was caused by pistachio shells”
“Dang Japanese beetles have been shredding my corn submitted by /u/CheeryCherio21 [link] [comments]”
“Noticed these guys flying into my crawl space when I was mowing. May be a dumb question but are these bees or something else? submitted by /u/Local_Net4882 [link] [comments]”
“Like the title says, what is this stuff? A week and a half ago, my Peruvian beans were a beautiful green with beans growing. Slowly, they started to yellow via these yellow specks, and this morning, I noticed this red "dust" on some of the leaves. Any idea how to get rid of them? I don't want to lose my beans. Based in socal zone 10 submitted by /u/coffee_juice87 [link] [comments]”
“I've been milling grain for a while now, and we love it. It's the only flour we'll use. I get my grain in bulk from Azure Standard, and last night I dropped the back a little too hard when I got inside the house, and it split -- grains EVERYWHERE. Most was salvaged, but there was a good 1.5-2 gallons worth on the floor. It's summer, so it's been a while since the floor was mopped or even swept, if I'm honest. So here's my question... I know it's definitely not rec”