Plant Pests

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Geraniumpelargonium Scale

This appears to be either euonymus or boxwood scale. You will find this on many types of plants because it isn't limited to those two plants. You can try to control it with a horticultural oil but in my experience it is virtually impossible to get rid of it on a plant. It is best to pitch the plant get a new one in the spring or start your own. The scale will infest other plants as well. Check your garden for an infestation as well. Starting annual geraniums from seed is easy.You should start them in a soilless mix in early March and germination should occur within 7-14 days. When they have their second set of true leaves, you can transplant them to 4 inch square pots and keep them growing until it is times to plant them outside after a frost.

By | 2016-04-06T17:57:13-07:00 April 6th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Cabbage Aphids

This looks like a common insect pest called Cabbage Aphids (or sometimes just Aphids - there are many different species of them, but they all have same feeding habit/life cycle). Among other things, you can clean these off with your hands, use a high-pressure spray of water to knock them off, and allow their natural enemies (lady beetles, parasitic wasps, green lacewings, etc) to help control them after you have reduced the population using the above methods. We've also included this link to give you more info about control measures. If you have trouble getting control of them with these methods, you can also get a pesticidal soap from your local garden center. Follow the label directions for best results. Happy Gardening! http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/QT/aphidscard.html

By | 2016-04-06T13:25:54-07:00 April 6th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Slugs Or Snails

We apologize for not getting back to you sooner. We are bit perplexed by your basil leaves. We assume you have looked at the back of affected leaves and didn't see a pest to identify. Also consider that this could be the result of herbicide or pesticide drift from treating another plant nearby. We noticed a chewed leaf in the background. This may be the work of slugs or snails. Look for slime trails to confirm. An iron phosphate slug bait is pretty safe and does as good a job as the more toxic baits. Very early in the morning or at dusk when the garden has been watered, the beasties come out and can be identified and dealt with. The best hunting for slugs and snails is just a bit after dawn. Your basil looks rather pale and we wonder if it is getting enough sun.

By | 2016-04-06T11:51:11-07:00 April 6th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Aphids On Sempervivum

Wow! You have got one bodacious infestation! The little sawdust things are shed skins from the aphids. I'm not sure how successful you will be treating this as there are so many but here goes. First, use a fairly strong blast of water from a hose or good spray bottle and try to knock off as much as you can see. They are soft bodied insects and will usually not survive the blast. Let the plant dry out for a few days and then take a spray bottle with a mix of 50 / 50 distilled water and rubbing alcohol. Spray down everything you can see and especially the things you can't like in the tight stacked leaf areas and let it dry. Give it a wash off with clean water and hope for the best. If you see more appear you may need to repeat the water / alcohol treatment a few times.

By | 2016-04-06T11:05:32-07:00 April 6th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Beetle Or Weevil Pupa

Sorry but we can't ID these insects to species from the photo (not enough detail is visible), but they are the pupal stage of a beetle or weevil species. Many of these kinds of insects pass their pupal stage in the soil until they emerge as adults to start feeding, laying eggs, and producing the next generation. They are not likely beneficial organisms, but are more probably insects that could feed on plants. We recommend you dispose of them. If you know what plant(s) you had in the planter box, that might narrow down the possibilities as some beetles and weevils feed on particular plants, or types of plants; when the larva stage was ready to morph into the pupa stage, the larvae dropped and burrowed into the soil for this particular stage of metamorphosis.

By | 2016-04-06T10:02:06-07:00 April 6th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Tomato Hornworm With Parasites

You have found Nature in action, controlling a pest! The green worm is a tomato hornworm, the larvae of one of the sphinx moths. Tomato hornworms can do significant damage to tomato plants, so should be hand picked for fastest removal. However, when you find one with these white bodies on them, take it off of your tomatoes but leave it nearby in a patch of weeds. Those are the eggs of a parasitizing wasp called a Braconid Wasp - they will soon kill the hornworm and then go on to develop into more Braconid Wasps which will keep other hornworms in check. So this is an example of how Mother Nature prevents one pest from getting out of hand! Save any hornworm with those white eggs, but either smash others or put them on your bird feeder and let the crows find them.

By | 2016-04-06T04:41:17-07:00 April 6th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Black Sooty Mold

The black sooty mold is probably the result of sucking insect damage such as aphids, mealybugs or scale. For sucking insects spray with a suffocant such as a horticultural oil but spray in the early evening to avoid burning the foliage during the heat of the day. There are also chemical systemics specifically formulated for citrus plants as another option, but you would need to get rid of the current problem first and the systemic would be for future control. Also look for ants as they farm the sucking insects for their honeydew, excreta from the insects that leads to the black sooty mold. Use a bait that ants take back to their nests to kill the entire colony and the queen. You can also apply tanglefoot around the trunk of the tree to keep ants out of the tree.

By | 2016-04-06T00:38:11-07:00 April 6th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Classic Downy Mildew On Cucumber

If I were ask for a photo that would show me what downy mildew on a cucumber looks like I would use this photo. This is a classic case of the disease known as Downy Mildew on cucumbers. Short of spraying with Daconil ever 7-10 days from the time it sprouts out of the soil until the time it dies, the only alternative, especially here in Florida, is to grow downy mildew resistant cucumbers. They may still get it but it will take longer. Dasher II and Indio are only two cucumbers on the market right now that show any sign of being resistant. Go to "Vegetable MD" on your search engine and look for "cucumber diseases." There will be a matrix showing all of the varieties on the market and those that resistant to a particular disease.

By | 2017-09-11T15:49:01-07:00 April 5th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Mites

It is not likely you have mites on your Dwarf Alberta Spruce this time of year. Mites are most active when the temperatures are warm for extended periods of time in the summer on this plant. I see no webbing or eggs on the needles in the photograph although the picture isn't that sharp enough to determine that. You could take a hose to knock off spider mites without using any remedies. It will also help remove old dead needles inside. The one exception would be eriophiyd mites. That would require being diagnosed by a professional such as an extension agent because they are smaller than spider mites and the damage is different. It would have to be seen in person for an accurate diagnosis. Contact your Penn State Ext. office and they can direct you to the correct agent.

By | 2017-09-11T15:49:01-07:00 April 5th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Cabbage Aphids

This looks like a common insect pest called Cabbage Aphids (or sometimes just Aphids - there are many different species of them, but they all have same feeding habit/life cycle). Among other things, you can clean these off with your hands, use a high-pressure spray of water to knock them off, and allow their natural enemies (lady beetles, parasitic wasps, green lacewings, etc) to help control them after you have reduced the population using the above methods. We've also included this link to give you more info about control measures. If you have trouble getting control of them with these methods, you can also get a pesticidal soap from your local garden center. Follow the label directions for best results. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/QT/aphidscard.html

By | 2016-04-05T15:23:23-07:00 April 5th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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