Insects Nuisance and Plant Pests

The stems of my asparagus have black marks, some stems wilt and others turn brown. I have found a few beetles crawling on the plants. Are they causing the problem?

We have a Bay Leaf plant that we keep in a sunroom during the winter and dig into the ground in the summer.  We noticed the leaves are sticky. It is growing fine, but some of the leaves have black spots.  Should we discard those leaves?   

Something is eating my bee balm! Little pale green worms appear inside the flower heads before they open. I've tried treating the plants with insecticidal soap and baking soda to no avail. Can you suggest a solution?

This past year one of my black-eyed Susans formed a strange shape, almost like a set of lips with a yellow beard and a spiky hairdo. What caused this?

I’m having trouble with squash and pumpkin borers. I lost all of my plants last year. I haven’t found anything to get rid of them. Do you have any solutions?

I have had problems with rose borers in the past.  I am planning on purchasing new shrub roses and want to avoid this problem.

We have bush type roses that grow on the south side of our home. Over the past few years we have noticed they are becoming infested with some type of pest that creates pods on the stem. It seems to suck the life out of that stem and moves on to another. Inside these pods are small worms. We have done some dusting in the past, with little luck. We trim out the infested stems, but it seems as this is becoming a losing battle, as more appear. What are these little pests and how can we be rid of them? 

I have these red bugs all over my gardens on 2 sides of my house—they might be called elder box bugs or beetles? Are they just a nuisance or are they harmful? When they all gather in a warm spot, the pile of them is huge! Or so it seems to me! I’m trying to decide if I need to do something and if so, if I can do it myself or if I need an exterminator.

Last summer my 1 year old sweet cherry trees bore 4 cherries and before they became ripe enough to eat for myself, I found black ants eating them. Is there any way to keep ants off of produce? I thought about applying cooking oil around the trunk of trees to keep them from climbing up. Would that hurt the tree?

In fall, a lawn service informed us we had chinch bug damage to our lawn. We thought it was just burned out from the hot, dry summer. How can we tell if we have chinch bugs? If so, how can we treat the lawn and prevent future problems?

I am wondering what's happening to my clematis buds.  Either pests or disease seems to be eating away at the buds before they are able to open.  It seems to start at the fattest part of the bud on only on one side.  Can you tell me if you know what's going on?

The leaves of my columbine have white streaks. The plant flowered and seems to be doing fine.

For the last couple years I get tiny worms on my columbine. They defoliate the plants almost before I realize they are chewing away.

What can be done to keep bugs and worms from attacking root vegetables?

I need help in finding out how to diagnose and treat what appears to be a disease or pest problem in my landscape planting. I have three creeping cotoneasters in a small Asian garden in my front yard. One of the three cotoneasters is showing quite a bit of die-back. Several branches have crispy, reddish brown leaves that appear to be dying. At this point the other two plants do not seem to be affected. If this one dies it will ruin my landscape if I replace it with a new much smaller cotoneaster.

I had cutworms for the first time last year and they snipped off 5 of my tomato plants. What are they and what is the best way to protect my plants from them?

How do I keep my English ivy looking good?

It seems that all of my pine trees, including Ponderosa and Mugo, have been invaded by a small pumpkin orange worm that bores into the tip of the new shoot of each branch. They generally show up in late spring and kill all the new growth on the trees, which sometimes can be up to six inches. Is there anything I can spray on the trees that will get rid of these worms?

I received a 7 foot Ficus tree about 8 months ago. The plant has been going downhill during the time I have owned it.  It regularly loses leaves, has limited new growth and has some white fuzzy substance on a few of the leaves. 

My weeping fig (Ficus benjamina) has a clear sap on the leaves, but the plant seems healthy.  Should I be worried?

I have had a problem for several years with fungus gnats in my houseplants. I went to a florist and bought systemic insecticide, which killed the insects but I am concerned about the strong smell and safety of my cat and dog. The insects returned and I tried insecticidal soap that damaged my plants and did not control the gnats. Is there something more NATURAL that I can use to get rid of them? The bugs eventually kill the roots and are eating the leaves.

For the past couple years when I brought my potted gardenia plants inside they did fine for about a month or two and then they started having problems. The deep green color of the leaves starts to fade to pale green and they start to grow some white things on the branches. The white things actually look like little tiny cotton balls about the size of a fertilizer pellet.

Our green beans are being rampaged by bugs. They are grayish-brown with black dots and remind me of lady bugs. How can we control these hungry pests?

I have two beautiful hibiscus plants that boast gorgeous blossoms every year. Every year, however, something eats the leaves, leaving them with a lacey appearance. Is there anything I can do?

How can we get rid of an aphid infestation on our hibiscus plant we brought in for the winter? The plant is blooming beautifully, however each bud is covered with aphids. One thing to keep in mind is the treatment must be safe for our 5 young children.   

I moved my hibiscus in for the winter and discovered it is covered with white flies.  Where did they come from and how can I get rid of them?

We have two mature (10 years old or older) Honeysuckle plants that were doing very well up to the spring of 2000. When they developed some disease that causes the leaves to turn brown, curl up and die.

Last year my honeysuckle vine was infested with aphids. I don't want to use chemicals because the hummingbirds feed on the nectar. Do you know of any way or of any product that's environmentally safe and will take care of the aphids?

I have hostas growing near our heavily shaded lake home. They do great until late summer when the leaves become riddled with holes. What is causing the problem?

Last year I lost most of my irises. The leaves turned brown and the rhizomes were soft and mushy. What caused this and how can I keep it from happening again?

I love ivies (Hedera), but regardless what I do, they get mites. Is there something out there that I do not know about to avoid these pests?

My 2-year-old raspberry patch is being eaten by Japenese beetles how can I get rid of them?

The Japanese beetles are back. I do not like to use pesticides since the beetles are often feeding on the flowers where the bees would be visiting. Please help.

I recently discovered my jasmine tree is covered in clear sticky sap.  What is it and what can I do?

The leaves on my lemon tree are falling off.  There are tiny scaly things on the branches and undersides of the leaves that leave a residue on the plant.   I have been spraying it with insecticidal soap without much success.

I seem to have problems with disease or pests on my lupine. Last summer a worm devastated the lupine for this first time. I tried to spray but never completely rid the lupine of these pests. This year I replanted and again, I am getting a wilting of the stem and it looks like something is chewing them.

Will you please look at the attached photos and tell me if you know what is attaching itself to my tree. It is a pink magnolia or I have heard it called a "tulip tree." It looks like little bumps all over the tree. When I pull them off them are filled with black stuff and a red liquid. I'm worried it will kill my tree.

Several of my houseplants are covered with something that looks like bits of cotton. There is also a clear sticky substance on some of the leaves. What is it and how do I get rid of it?

The leaves of my morning glory vines are riddled with holes.  I haven't seen any insects.  What is eating the leaves?

My rose is covered with these fuzzy green growths. The plant seems to be doing fine but it looks like some kind of moss or another plant has sprouted out of the stems.

I have three mugo pines that have been doing great. Last year they developed a frost like appearance. It looked pretty at first but I am afraid it is some type of scale insect.

We have worms on our Mugo pine bush. They are eating all of the needles off. We had them last year and thought we had them under control, but they are back and more abundant than before.

I think I have rose chafers feeding on my peonies.

I'm growing several varieties of potatoes this year. Some varieties, but not others, have blackened leaf tips, and plants that look less robust.

 

 

My purple coneflowers look funny this summer. The petals are green and deformed.

Some of my purple coneflowers are wilting, turning yellow and browning. A few stems have died. I have found scattered examples of this throughout my planting.

Something is attacking my roses.   It started with small areas turning light brown and now the whole leaf is a light brown with almost a lacy appearance.

I noticed when you recommend fungicides you never tell readers of the health risks.  How about recommending some of the organic alternatives?

The leaves and the branches of my schefflera are coated with a shiny sticky substance and small oval brown spots all over. What is it and should I be worried?

Last year I planted basil in a pot on our deck. It wasn't long before there were holes in the leaves. It looked like something was eating them. I wasn't sure how to treat it and wanted to check with you before I buy some again. Thanks so much!

I need information on how to control sod webworms. I have had problems with them every year for the three years we have lived here. I am looking for an easy, quick and cheap solution as I was recently laid-off.

For the last three years squash bugs have sucked the life out of my pumpkins, melons and squash. I prefer not to use insecticides but really do not want to give up growing these vegetables. Please help.

How do I keep those little tiny ants off of my strawberry plants?  I don't want to use a pesticide if I can help it.  Last year they ate all the berries off the plants.

I have had several e-mails from gardeners concerning termite infested mulch coming from the Hurricane Katrina area. I want to thank the Wisconsin Green Industry Federation for forwarding the following information. Hope you find it helpful.

Last year all my vine crops such as pumpkins, cucumbers, squash and cantaloupe wilted and died. There were no signs of insects and neither fungicide nor insecticide seemed to help.

I always had nice cucumbers, squash and pumpkins. The last two years the vines rotted off from the ground up. What should I do?

I have both apple and pear trees in my backyard that produces fruit each year. Unfortunately the fruit is usually full of worms. What can I do to keep the trees and fruit but get rid of the worms?

Some type of worm or grub is eating my potatoes, beets and carrots. I plant potatoes in two different gardens and they both are affected.

Last year I had a worm/grub in the stalk of my zucchini plant. They eventually killed the plant. What can I do to prevent this from happening again?