There are many homeowners who enjoy maintaining a nice-looking landscape and/or garden, and for these individuals, it is very disappointing to find insect pest damage to expensive and patiently cultivated plants. Insect pests inflict damage to a variety of common garden and landscaping plants, including trees, fruits, vegetables, flowers, yard grass and ornamental plants. This is why many gardeners and landscape artists encourage some insect and spider activity in their yards. Insects like bees, butterflies, wasps, ants, and even to a small extent, cockroaches, can pollinate flowers on residential properties. And although spiders are terrifying to look at, gardeners and landscapers generally appreciate a healthy spider population around their home, as spiders prey upon and kill damaging insect pests. The most frequently encountered and most damaging yard pests in the northeast include aphids, moth, fly and beetle species, and although they are technically arachnids, spider mites are quite destructive to residential plants in the region as well. However, there are many ways in which homeowners can easily prevent insect pest damage to lawn vegetation.
A great number of insects and other arthropod pests overwinter beneath plant matter and within weeds in gardens and lawn grass. Simply removing all weeds and dead plant matter with a spade once a harvest is completed will remove arthropod harborages from yards. It is also a good idea to incorporate compost and to regularly check below garden mulch for any nestings pests, such as earwigs, slugs, snails and millipedes. Insect larvae, like grubs, wireworms and maggots, build up around the plant species they prefer to feed on, so changing the location of your plants each year will prevent large insect pests populations and their eggs from becoming concentrated around vulnerable plants. Certain physical barriers can be easily installed below the soil surrounding valued plants in order to keep them safe from voracious arthropod pests.
Have you ever found insect pest damage on an expensive plant that you had purchased?