It is not pleasant to have your garden devoured by insects that we term as pests and see your beautiful landscape turn into a devastated battle-field!
The good news is that you can identify their presence early if you have a good working knowledge about them. Depending on the type of place that they are likely to find and the way that they destroy the leaves and other plant parts, we list for you the 10 most common pests in Florida. It is important to go by the specific name of the place since climatic conditions greatly influence their presence and increased activities.
Different insects have different attacking habits that result in varying consequences. Those that have mouthparts to chew leave holes and tears on leaves and stems. Yet others have piercing and sucking mouth-parts that result in yellowing, browning or wilting of the plants.
Caterpillars are those pests that defoliate plants stripping them bare by feeding on the leaves of plants. It is the category of pest that chews its host. In extreme cases, they also feed on the stems making a plant as bare as possible. These can be usually handpicked in gardens and found among leaves and fruits.
Aphids and Spider Mites are those that have the piercing and sucking mouth-parts resulting in wilting and discoloring. They greatly reduce the vigor of the plants resulting in their wilting and ultimately death. Eliminating them usually requires the use of pesticides through a good knowledge of the materials needed is necessary.
It is distantly close to the Aphid and found in abundance in Florida in the vegetable gardens. They suck on the plant and leave a sugary waste product like honeydew. Insecticides are the most effective remedy to do away with them.
Cutworms are perhaps more devastating in the sense that they emerge in the dark of the night from the soil to cut seedlings and transplants at the very base and slaying them to the ground. They then feed on the stem and leaves of these plants. Aim the base of the plants to spray insecticides and eliminate them.
Gall Wasp and Blueberry Gall Midge Larvae are among those pests that burrow themselves into the leaves and stems causing their tissues to swell. These deposit their eggs inside the plant tissue resulting in their swelling. Getting rid of them will call for the use of pesticides.
These are voracious eaters of large living wood that is tree trunks and branches. You will need the help of professionals to get these into control.
Armyworms at the larvae stage eat the fruit of plants like corns and tubers, beans and tomatoes. In most cases, they are not controllable except for using insecticides.
Apart from these major destroyers, there are also other common types of insects visible in most gardens like the wasps, spiders and ground beetles. These however help in destroying the harmful pest and cleaning up the garden. In fact, nature helps maintain a fine balance by creating different species that abound in your garden!
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