Articles listed under “pest”
Eastern tent caterpillar — June 30, 2009
There are several kinds of caterpillars that spin webs in trees, but you’ll see Eastern tent caterpillars and their webs in late spring or early summer.
Columbine sawfly — June 23, 2009
These larvae of a non-stinging wasp have green heads and bodies without stripes or spots.
Japanese knotweed — June 16, 2009
This extremely invasive weed has simple medium-green leaves and spike-shaped pale-green to white flowers in summer.
Slugs — June 9, 2009
These creatures can be ¼ to 6 or 7 in. long, and may be gray, orange, yellow, brown or black, with stripes or other markings.
Blackspot on roses — June 2, 2009
In spring small black spots appear on the leaves, and occasionally the stems, of roses.
Buffalo bur — May 26, 2009
Buffalo bur grows up to 2 ft. tall and is armed with long yellow spines on its deeply lobed light green leaves and along sturdy stems.
Japanese beetle — May 19, 2009
If these pests weren’t so destructive, they’d be pretty. Shiny bronze-green adults are about 3/8 in. long. Larvae are 1-1/4-in.-long, C-shaped white grubs.
Powdery mildew — May 12, 2009
The white granular patches look like dust on the stems, the tops and bottoms of leaves and occasionally on flowers and fruit.
Poison oak — May 5, 2009
As with their close relative, poison ivy, “Leaves of three, let it be” is good advice.
Aphids — April 28, 2009
Orange, green, yellow, red, brown, black or covered with a waxy white or gray coating — there are all kinds of aphids out there.
White clover — April 21, 2009
This low, 4- to 12-in.-tall spreading weed has white flowers and roots wherever stem nodes touch the soil, but it also spreads by seed.
Eastern chipmunk — April 7, 2009
You’re looking out your window and you see it — a striped rodent feasting on your birdseed.
Columbine leaf miner — March 31, 2009
If you have columbine, you’ll eventually have to deal with leaf miners.
Botrytis gray mold — March 24, 2009
Botrytis gray mold appears as small, wet-looking spots, usually in spring, on tender new flower buds and blossoms.
Sulfur cinquefoil — March 17, 2009
This 2-ft.-tall perennial weed blooms with sulfur-yellow flowers from late spring to late summer. The plant has stout, hairy stems and hairy five to seven deeply lobed leaves.
Tobacco hornworm — March 10, 2009
These 3- to 5-in.-long giants of the caterpillar world have a large harmless spike, or horn, on their tails.
Black nightshade — March 3, 2009
This rambling, 1- to 2-ft.-tall annual weed blooms all summer with clusters of star-shaped white flowers with yellow centers.
Fire blight — February 24, 2009
This aptly named infectious disease makes a tree look scorched, with leaves and stems withered to brown or black.
Cochineal scale — February 17, 2009
Cochineal scale are small (up to 1/4-in.) crimson insects that attack Opuntia, such as prickly pear and cholla cactus.
Narrowleaf hawksbeard — February 10, 2009
At 8 to 20 in. tall, narrowleaf hawksbeard looks like a dandelion on steroids. In fact, this edible annual’s leaves can be used just like a dandelion’s, as a green in salads.
Deer damage — February 3, 2009
Deer populations, once hunted to near extinction, are rebounding to their highest levels ever.
Field bindweed — January 27, 2009
Don’t let this morning glory lookalike fool you — it will take over your garden if you let it.
Spider mites — January 20, 2009
You’ll probably notice the symptoms long before you see the actual pest.
Aster yellows on coneflower — January 13, 2009
One disease that can infect purple coneflower is aster yellows. It’s caused by a phytoplasma, a disease-causing organism smaller than bacteria but larger than a virus.
Purple loosestrife — December 9, 2008
Is it a weed? Is it an ornamental? Purple loosestrife is both.
Fungus gnat — November 25, 2008
Adult fungus gnats are generally considered a nuisance. But the larvae, in large enough numbers, can be a real problem.
Daylily rust — November 18, 2008
Like other rust diseases, daylily rust causes orange spots and streaks on the leaves.
Broadleaf plantain — November 11, 2008
The presence of broadleaf plantain is a concern for multiple reasons. Not only is this weed unwanted, but it indicates that the soil is compacted.
Moles — November 4, 2008
These poorly understood landscape pests are difficult to control. You may never see a mole, but they leave an obvious trail of evidence.
Chickweed — October 28, 2008
This broadleaved annual creeps low to the ground, growing roots at nodes that touch the soil.
