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Welcome To Kristen's Garden pages

Bugs And Diseases

Good Bugs And Bad Bugs

Good Bugs
Believe it or not there is such a thing as good bugs in the garden.

Lady bugs are one of these, so be proud when you see them alight on your favourite flowers. They like to feed on aphids and other soft bodied insects. A few species even eat spider mites, mealy bugs and scale insects. They also eat pollen and are attracted to gardens where Dill, Coriander, Yarrow, and feverfew are growing. They hibernate the winter in the stalks of dead perennials such as Hollyhocks, so don't be so quick to chop the stems of these plants until spring.

Earwigs are an elongated insect with pincers at the back. Normally a reddish-brown or black in colour. Males have longer more curving pincers than females. They hide in dark crevices during the day and are commonly found around compost piles and under planters. They eat decaying vegetable matter and soft insects like aphids and spider mites. Also small slugs. Earwigs are valuable predators of sucking insects in pear orchards. Trap these insects by laying pieces of garden hose, hollow bamboo, or corrugated rolled cardboard on the soil around plants. In the morning knock insects from traps into soapy hot water.

Earthworms are a good addition to any outdoor garden. They eat organic matter and leave behind castings (poop) that is more nutritious than the compost itself. They burrow as deep as 6' and this is useful in aerating the soil allowing air and water to penetrate deeper and more freely.

Ground Beetles are big, black startling insects that scurry out from overturned rocks, these long lived predators hunt at night and hide under rocks or leaf litter during the day. Most are purplish-black and almost an inch long. They have long legs and run very fast. Their larvae are elongated, dark and shiny, with distinct segments and rather large heads. They also move quickly. Both adults and the larvae are beneficial to the garden. They feed on slugs and snails, cutworms, fly maggots and other soil dwelling insects. Some beetles also run up trees or plants to capture caterpillars. Attract and protect these beetles by covering bare soil with mulch. Grow vegetables in permanent beds with mulched pathways to provide refuges for beetles when soil is cultivated.

Bad Bugs And Diseases

Plants are like people. When they become weak or under stress, they get sick an require a "doctor's care". Preventative care will reduce the amount of trouble your plants will need.

Preventative Maintenance
Plants should be chosen to suit the conditions that you are able to provide, thereby decreasing the stress right from the start of your original purchase. Through proper care, plants will remain strong and able to fight off some, if not all, infestations and infections. By over or under watering, plants could be easy prey for hungry insects. Temperature is also a factor for your plants health. In the winter months, indoors, the air has a tendency to be dry and a lot of insects love this. Try to keep humidity up by placing plants on a pebble tray or by misting. A room humidifier is also a good idea. Air conditioning is also a stressful thing for plants. When it is cool plants are programmed to be dormant. Insects get into your home in a variety of ways. They may have come in on a pet or yourself by brushing up against an infected plant elsewhere. New plants introduced to the area may have brought them in. Your plants may have already had the insects and the symptoms were not noticed until new plants show the signs. Plants can also pick up insects when left outside for the summer. Be sure to spray a few times at weekly intervals before bringing them back inside with the rest of your collection.
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Bugs

Mosquitoes
Bad bug for humans. There are ways to minimize them in the garden. Remember that their peak times are at dawn and at dusk. Position outdoor lights away from seating areas since many bugs are attracted to bright lighting. Use a mosquito coil on the outskirts of your area to help keep them away from you and your guests. Stagnant water in garden fountains and wading pools is a perfect breeding ground for them. Use a bird bath and a bird feeder to attract birds into your garden, but remember to change the water often. Skim swimming pools often. Add fish to ponds . Ponds also attract dragonflies and toads who also keep a handle on insects. Wind makes it hard for them to fly. Even the slightest breeze can make them less of a problem. A spoonful of water is all a mosquito needs to lay its eggs. They can sense their "prey" from up to 18' away. They like shade more than sun. Remember to use repellent and long sleeved shirts and long pants to help prevent the bites.

Fungus Knats
Fungus Knats are black 1/16" flies. They won't harm your plants but they are irritating to people, like fruit flies. They are weak fliers that barley keep themselves in the air. They may be an indication of over watering. They are soil borne organisms that will fly around looking for somewhere new to lay their eggs. Adult females live for about 1 week producing up to 200 eggs. The eggs are deposited into decomposing material in damp soil. The hatch will occur in 4 to 6 days. Larval development continues for 2 to 3 weeks followed by a pupal stage of 4 to 6 days and then emerging as an adult... starting the cycle over again. Allow the soil to dry down as far as possible without damaging the plant. Remove decaying leaves from the soil surface. A soil drench of Diazinon or Malathion should eliminate the insect.

Mealy Bug
These insects look like fluffy pieces of cotton 1/8" to 1/4" long. They can also have a wavy appearance. Mealy bugs are a member of the soft scale family of insects. They get their name from the mealy, cottony coating the adult females cloak themselves with. The eggs are also enclosed in a protective cottony mass. The Mealy bugs you can see are all females. The males look like very small wasps and have wings as adults. Juvenile forms, or 'crawlers' are tiny (1/32") and flesh colored. Mealy bugs cause damage by sucking fluids from plants, causing leaf distortion and weakening or even killing the plant. They also exude a sticky substance known as 'honeydew' that becomes a growing medium for sooty mold, making the plant doubly unappealing. This 'honeydew' also attracts ants. Mealy bugs are hatched from eggs. A female Mealy can lay up to 300 eggs with or without a male. Incubation lasts up to 14 days depending on temperature and humidity. Nymphs or crawlers mature in about 2 weeks and can be seen moving about the plant. They can be found on the stems or underside of leaves or at the base where the leaves meet the stems. Some symptoms are stunting of growth, yellowing, leaf distortion and a sticky sap that is left on furniture, leaves and floor below the insect. The early crawler stages of the mealy bug lifecycle have the ability to move from plant to plant, and can be carried by a breeze. They are so tiny as to be nearly invisible. For this reason, quarantine any plant that has mealy bugs from the rest of your plants, but treat all plants that were close to the victim as if they were infected also. They probably are. Signs of infestation are white, cottony masses, usually in leaf and branch axils. Mealy bugs also like to hide in any sheltered place on the plant, so gently peel back any layers of leaves and check in crevices. Some mealy bug favorites: Cactus & succulents, schefflera, ivy, citrus, gardenia and hoya, though they will infest almost any indoor plant. Prevention consists of close inspection of any new plant you bring home and regular sprays with insecticidal soaps or oils. If populations are low... the thumb and forefinger trick works well along with dabbing each Mealy bug with Alcohol. Malathion should also work well. It is also important to know when you're beat, and dispose of any grotesquely infested plants. Their waxy coating repels pesticides, rendering many sprays ineffective. There are a few solutions, however. In the event of a 'minor' infestation, i.e. one or two plants with just a few insects, use a Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol to wipe the insects off. It is controlled by using Malathion or rubbing alcohol, undiluted. Mealy bugs are a tropical pest, and are intolerant of frost. Any that are in your garden will die by December.

Scale
There are so many different species of Scale... they can infect nearly any plant. This insect is as it sounds, a hard or soft brown scale on the woody stems or sometimes on the undersides of leaves. Symptoms are the dropping of green leaves, slow or stopped growth. All other symptoms are similar to mealy bug. Here is the life cycle of Soft Brown scale. The complete life cycle from birth to death can take up 60 days. Each female can produce up to 1000 eggs under her protective shell. The eggs hatch and the crawlers eat their way out of the parent. This is only stage at which scales are mobile seeking out a location on a plant to live out the rest of it's life... starting the cycle over again. Some males of certain species of scales are winged. Young crawler stage of growth is easier to eliminate because there is no waxy shell yet. Cover the scale with Malathion or Diazinon, try to do it outdoors. Rubbing alcohol may also help.

Leaf Hoppers
About 1/8-inch long, the adults are elongated with short, bristle-like antennae. They are lime green with translucent, greenish wings which are held at a roof-like angle over the body. The whitish, elongated eggs are about 1/24-inch long. The immature stages (nymphs) resemble the adults, but are wingless. When first hatched the nymphs are approximately 1/32-inch long. Nymphs are pale green and 1/8-inch long when fully grown. The leafhopper passes through five nymph stages before becoming an adult. Leafhoppers over winter in the Gulf states and migrate northward each spring on air currents. They usually arrive during May or early June. Migration commonly occurs when a high pressure system and a low pressure system combine to produce sustained flows of air. These wind drafts can deposit adult leafhoppers on to crops virtually overnight. After arrival, adults locate forage crops for food and a place to lay eggs. Adult leafhoppers readily fly or run sideways when disturbed. Females deposit one to six eggs daily on plant stems, leaf petioles, and leaf veins. The nymphs hatch in about 10 days. Like adults, they suck sap from leaf veins and run sideways when disturbed. Nymphs molt five times over a period of one to two weeks before maturing into winged adults. There may be several overlapping leafhopper generations per year. By late June, leafhopper populations may increase sufficiently to damage hay crops. Leafhoppers will stay in crop fields until killed by fall frosts. The feeding of both immature and adult leafhoppers is damaging to forage crops. Leafhoppers inject saliva into plants as they feed, resulting in abnormal cell growth and interference with transport of fluids in the leaves. A visible result of this damage is the characteristic "hopperburn," which is a wedge-shaped, yellowish pattern on the tips of the leaves. Prior to this, a slight yellowing or curling of leaves occurs, which is often overlooked. Damage reduces forage yield and quality in several ways. Damaged plants may be stunted, with heavily infested fields experiencing as much as a 50% yield reduction. Damage also results in substantially lower protein levels. General stand vigor is decreased, leading to slow regrowth following cutting, and increased winter kill.

Chinch Bugs
The hairy chinch bug is a common lawn pest that sucks sap from grass with its piercing mouthpiece. Chinch bug damage gives the appearance of small round dead patches (brownish-yellow grass) and opens up areas for weeds to become established. When not controlled, large sections of lawn may die. This is particularly true of sunny, dry areas near slopes and the edge of lawns. Population size depends on the weather, with only small populations being produced under wet conditions. However, if the weather is hot and dry early in the season with minimal amounts of rainfall, a large population may occur. The chinch bug life cycle consists of egg, nymph and adult. The adult over winters in a sheltered location such as hedges, leaves or dry grass. When warmer temperatures occur, the female chinch bug leaves the sheltered area and lays approximately 200 eggs on grass and soil in a dry hot area. The eggs hatch within three weeks producing young nymphs. The nymphs are smaller than the adults, approximately 1/20 of an inch, and are red with a white band across the back. The nymphs pass through five growth stages before becoming adults. Two generations of chinch bugs are usually produced each year. Generally, over wintering adult chinch bugs become active in April and fly from wintering sites to suitable spring hosts. Wheat is the major spring host by virtue of its vast acreage. Here they feed, lay eggs and eventually die. After hatching, first-generation chinch bug nymphs feed and develop on wheat until plants dry down, mid-June and into July, and no longer serve as suitable hosts. Chinch bugs then migrate to more succulent summer host plants. Bunch grasses, such as bluestems and grammas have thatchy crowns which provide adult chinch bugs sites into which they can burrow and thus be protected from exposure to the extreme rigors of winter. Systemic Insecticides are placed in the soil at planting time and eventually taken into the plants through their roots. These insecticides are then transported throughout the plants via their vascular systems. As stated before, Chinch bugs derive their nourishment by removing plant juices from vascular tissues. Thus they also ingest the insecticidal materials and are killed. It is easy to confuse improper lawn care with chinch bug damage. Therefore, it is important to monitor your lawn to determine if damage is caused by chinch bugs or lack of moisture and/or over-fertilizing. Begin monitoring for chinch bugs in June before populations reach high numbers. There are several effective monitoring methods to try if you suspect chinch bugs are attacking your lawn. One option is to take a large can, cut both ends off and push it down into the top layer of the lawn. Pick an area of the lawn where brown-yellow or dead patches of grass meet green healthy grass, as this is where chinch bugs can be found. Fill the can with water and watch for chinch bugs to float to the top. A well fertilized and nutrient-rich area can withstand a chinch bug attack. Thus, good lawn care is the best prevention against chinch bug damage. Understanding chinch bugs, the conditions they favor and their life cycle is very helpful in control. Keep the lawn well fertilized and take caution not to add too much or too little nitrogen. Use proper mowing techniques which include cutting grass two to four inches high, removing thatch, maintaining proper moisture levels, avoiding water buildup, aerating the lawn if it is compacted and using a resistant variety of grass. If you are establishing a new lawn or reseeding an old one, use a resistant variety of grass which will offer protection against attack by chinch bugs. If physical methods are not effective, use a pesticide which will have a minimal impact on both you and the environment. Use an insecticidal soap spray on areas where damage has occurred. Diatomaceous earth can also be used to control chinch bugs. Diatomaceous earth is an insecticidal dust which acts as an abrasive. It cuts the outer layer of the chinch bug's body causing it to dehydrate and then die. Products containing pyrethrin can also be used.

Spider Mites
They may be green, red, brown, or even black and you can see them using a magnifying glass. The leaves may become deformed, speckled, yellow, dehydrated, then turn brown and fall off. Misting water on to the plant will reveal the webs that they have spun. There may be clusters of tiny white eggs on the undersides of leaves. An average female mite lives up to 30 days and can lay up to 200 eggs. Hatching is depended on temperatures. 3 days at 90 degrees up to a month at 50 degrees. Unfertilized females produce males. Fertilized females will produce both sexes. In warm temperatures they can quickly take over a plant. If you can only see the eggs it may only be the beginning of their cycle so take care of it right away. Almost all plants can be attacked by these pests and they could wipe out an entire collection in a very short time (my experience). Control these pests with Malathion spray, make sure that you cover the entire plant. Also can use a soapy water bath. Place the plant in the kitchen sink with a mixture of a small amount of mild dish soap and water. Wash all leaves and stems and then rinse thoroughly. They LOVE dry and warm conditions. Mist your plants regularly and keep humidity high to discourage them.

Aphids
These pests have fat, fleshy, wingless bodies. Aphids, or plant lice, are small, soft-bodied, pear shaped insects which are commonly found on nearly all indoor and outdoor plants, as well as vegetables, field crops, and fruit trees. There are hundreds of different species of aphids. Some of them feed on only one host plant, while others will feed on many other plants. Most aphids are about 1/10 inch long, and although most of them are green or black, they may be gray, brown, pink, red, yellow, or lavender. A characteristic common to all aphids is the presence of two tubes, called cornicles, on the back ends of their bodies, sort of like "tailpipes". The cornicles secrete substances that help protect them from predators. In some species the tubes are quite long, while in others they are very short and difficult to see. Aphids feed in clusters, or large groups, and usually prefer new, succulent shoots or young leaves. Some species, known as woolly aphids, are covered with white, waxy filaments which they produce from special glands. Aphids have unusual and complex life cycles which allow them to build up tremendous populations in very short periods of time. Most aphids spend the winter, as fertilized eggs glued to stems or other parts of plants. Nymphs which hatch from these eggs become wingless females known as stem mothers. There are no males present at this time. Stem mothers reproduce without mating, and their eggs are held within their bodies until they hatch so that young are born alive. All offspring are females which soon mature and begin to reproduce in the same way. This pattern continues for as long as conditions are favorable. Periodically, some or all of the young develop wings and migrate to other plants. Some species always settle on the same type of plant; others have one or more alternate hosts. When the days get shorter in the fall and there are cooler temperatures, a generation appears which includes both males and females. After mating, these females lay the fertilized eggs which over winter and eventually hatch into stem mothers the following spring. Aphids feed by sucking up plant juices through a food channel in their beaks. At the same time, they inject saliva into the host. Small numbers of aphids are usually not harmful to plants, but higher aphid populations can cause some damage to plants. A distinctive feature of aphids, as well as some scale insects and other bugs, is the production of honeydew. Honeydew is the clear, sticky dropping that is produced by aphids when they can't use all the sugar that they get from plants. Colonies of aphids are sometimes protected by certain ants. In return for this protection the ants are allowed to collect the sweet honeydew. In most cases, the ants protect aphids that have already established themselves on the plant and keep them through the winter in their nests. In spring, the ants transport these aphids to food plants where they protect them from enemies and at different times the ants take them to new feeding sites. They cluster on young growth and buds of flowers. They may cause severe distortion or stunting of growth. Leaves can be discoloured, curled and small. Malathion is most effective.

Thrips
Thrips are slender and about 1/8" long. Their coloration is black to banded to nearly a translucent color. At times, some are winged. Very small, slender, brown or black and very active insects may be spotted with a magnifying glass. They attack house plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables. They like Gladiolus, Iris, Daylily and Roses. Dots of black excrement can be seen on the leaves. Eggs are laid on or in plant tissues. The egg to adult cycle takes 18 to 21 days. There is a silvery, speckled appearance to leaves. Flower buds turn brown and distort. Blossoms become streaked, leaves twisted, discoloured and scarred. Fruit is pitted. Cabbage leaves develop dark patches. Add systemic to soil such as Malathion. Spray with Orthene or any pesticide labeled for Thrips.

Ants
Some ants actually care for and "farm" other insects. Aphids, scale insects and mealy bugs suck the sap of plants. These insects can't use all the sugar that they get from the plants, so they excrete "honeydew", which the ants collect to feed the colony. Ants will transport aphids from plant to plant and take the eggs into their colony for the winter. Ants will also defend aphids from insect predators, such as lady beetles and lacewings, by attacking them in large numbers. Ants themselves do not normally damage plants, but the are a sign of other pests that should be controlled.

Whitefly
These pests are 1/12" long. They start fluttering around when the plant is disturbed. Leaves will be mottled and yellow. The female White Fly will begin laying about 100 eggs 2 days after birth. The eggs will take approximately 10 days to hatch into crawlers. In about 10 days these crawlers will become adults. Their entire life cycle last 3 weeks. Whiteflies stick their sucking mouth parts into the plants tissue and then they shed their old bodies and become more like scale. These two stages need to be treated differently but at the same time. White fly on a small scale are not that difficult to control. Start by taking the plant outdoors and shake the heck out of it and quickly move to another location. Next spray with a contact insecticide and/or systemic insecticide. Malathion and Diazinon are effective.

Leaf Miners
Larvae hatched from insect eggs burrow into the leaf and travel within the leaf, feeding and burrowing. The larva or pupa may be visible inside the leaf when held up to a light. The burrowed areas may appear as a spot, blister or as a straight or twisting line. Areas of the leaf may die and dry up. Once feeding has been completed, white cocoons may be visible on the underside of the leaf (as with Apple Leaf Miner) or the larvae may fall to the ground to pupate within the leaf litter. Normally impractical. Should only be considered on smaller trees and perhaps fruit trees. Spray in the early stages of damage with Malathion. Most leaf-miner burrows or tunnels are either thin, winding, whitish trails or broad, whitish or brownish blotches. Though leaf miners do not usually cause injury, they mar the appearance of ornamental trees and shrubs. One method of control is to remove and burn infested leaves; spraying with nicotine solutions or dusting with insecticides is effective only when the adults are emerging

Cyclamen Mites
Newest growth may be stunted and leaves are brittle and maybe curled in shape. Colour of leaves may change to bronze or grey-brown. Flowers fail to bloom and fall off. Soak pots and area around plants with a weak bleach solution.

Potato Beetle
Yellow or orange, hard-shelled beetles (3/4") with black stripes. The adult female will lay 25 orange-yellow eggs that are deposited in groups on the underside of the leaves. The female could lay as many as 500 eggs in the course of 4-5 weeks. After about a week the eggs hatch and hump-backed larvae, red in colour with black spots will start to feed. Adults die after eggs have been deposited. Mainly Potato plants are affected but they have been found in Tomatoes, Eggplant, Peppers, Cabbage, Petunia etc. The foliage is eaten. Clusters of yellow eggs are found on the undersides of the leaves. Spray plants with Diazinon, Methoxychlor or dust plants with Sevin or Tomato & Potato Dust.

Leaf Rollers
Small greenish to greenish-brown caterpillars feed on leaves, buds and fruit (especially Apples). A light web is spun, rolling and drawing several leaves together, often enclosing a cluster of newly formed fruit. Masses of 30 to 100 eggs are plastered on twigs, branches and trunk of trees. They are covered with a dull-brown or gray varnish-like material. They remain there until next spring. Pale green worms with a brown head and a brown plate, just back of the head. They feed for about a month in the folded or rolled leaves. The adults are moths with brownish front wings (wingspan up to 1") mottled with pale gold toward the front, emerge in late June and July. They mate and lay eggs. All kinds of deciduous fruit trees, forest trees and some bush fruit. Damage is that small apples have holes eaten out of the side or center and leaves are rolled into a cocoon type of design. Trees may be defoliated (skeletonized) with numerous fine, white, silken webs over bark and trunks. Diazinon is the best treatment for this bug.

Web Worms
Webworms are caterpillars that feed while protected by webs. These caterpillars primarily feed on leaves. They vary in size from 1/2 to nearly 1 1/2 inches in length. Some webworms are known by other names, only those caterpillars commonly called 'webworms' will be discussed here. Inch-long green or yellow caterpillars, bristling with silky hairs, are actually moth larvae. In summer and early autumn they weave expansive webs that bind together the ends of branches. They eat every leaf within reach, continually building larger webs until late autumn, when they pupate. Resembling dirty rags and filled with black droppings and wriggling worms, the webs ruin the aesthetics of any garden. Hyphantria cunea attack many kinds of deciduous trees, shrubs and vines. Pecan trees are a favorite. Besides aesthetic concerns, web-worms can seriously damage the harvest of fruit and nut trees. Not only can they quickly consume vast quantities of leaves that are needed for fruit production, but they also bind up the ripening fruits and nuts in their webs. What's worse, webworms can seem impossible to fight. Their webs are often out of the reach of conventional sprayers; commercial spray equipment can result in a rain of pesticide over large areas of your garden. It's enough to ruin your appetite for, say, pecan pie. To plan an effective schedule of prevention and control, it helps to understand the life cycle of Hyphantria cunea. In early spring, moths come fluttering up from cocoons carefully hidden in the bark of tree trunks and in ground debris. The adult moths are about 2 inches from wingtip to wingtip and are white spotted with brown. They lay eggs in clusters on the leaves of suitable host plants. The eggs hatch within a week. Out come tiny caterpillars, the first generation of the growing season, spinning webs and eating leaves. This first infestation is so mild that sometimes the first-generation caterpillars have eaten their fill by early summer. They form cocoons and pupate, usually in the bark, of a tree or underneath leaves or other debris on the ground. By midsummer they re-emerge as moths. A second generation follows -- this time larger and more destructive. Because the webworms -- in one form or another -- are present year-around, it's possible to devise a year-round strategy for dealing with this pest. Here are some tactics that have worked for me:* In winter or early spring, remove fallen leaves, ground debris and mulch, which may harbor over wintering webworm pupae. Replace the debris with fresh, pest-free mulch. Inspect susceptible plants for the greenish egg masses, which are typically laid on the undersides of leaves and are protected by a woolly or scaly covering. Eggs are deposited from late spring through fall. Remove any affected leaves and destroy them. This strategy requires time and sharp eyes and is obviously impractical for tall trees.

Japanese beetle
The Japanese beetle is brilliantly colored, oval, and less than half an inch long. Wing colors are coppery with fine lines that run the length of its wing cases, and the body is a beautiful metallic green. The five tufts of white hairs projecting from under the wing covers on each side and the two patches of white hairs at the tip of the abdomen are the distinguishing characteristics.
Adults feed in the daytime from early June to Labor Day. They devour leaves as well as flowers. Leaf tissue is eaten between the veins so that the foliage looks somewhat like lace. Adult beetles not only damage many ornamental plants, shrubs, vines and trees, but also small fruits, tree fruits, row crops and many other plants. Beetle grubs feed on plant roots, attacking mainly turf (lawns, golf courses, and pastures) but also damage the roots of many other crop and ornamental plants. Malathion and Orthene (acephate) can help control these pests.

Snails and Slugs
Snails and their "shell-less" cousins, the slugs, are common residents in the garden. Most of these feed on decaying organic matter but many can chew the foliage of living plants. Snails and slugs prefer the dark and usually do their damage at night, leaving ragged leaves. Use a flashlight at night to detect these pests or look for the slime trails on damaged plant foliage in the early morning. These pests require high humidity or moisture and usually reach pest status during wet years or during the rainy periods of the spring and fall. Control is best achieved by making the garden less suitable for snails and slugs. Remove excess mulch in order to allow the soil to dry slightly, clean up any fresh plant debris and open the plant canopy so that sunlight can reach the ground. Snails and slugs are attracted to the yeasty odor of beer and several traps are available that use this odor. The larvae of fireflies, ground beetles and parasitic flies feed on snails and slugs. If habitat modification, traps or natural predators do not reduce snails and slugs, pesticide-laced slug and snail baits can be use.

Isopods (commonly called pillbugs) are not insects but relatives of the crab and shrimp. They have a head with obvious antennae and a trunk region with 11 pairs of legs. They tend to hide during the day and emerge at night to eat irregular holes in leaves of young plants. These pests are easily detected at night with a flashlight or by pulling back mulch around the plants. Under normal conditions, these general feeders rarely cause much damage to living plants since they prefer to feed on decaying organic matter. During rainy weather or where gardens are mulched too heavily and watered constantly, isopods can build up large populations and cause visible damage. The best control for isopods is to remove excess mulch, use irrigation sparingly, and remove any old leaves or dead plants immediately. This will reduce habitat and food necessary for large populations. Some of the general insecticides also have sowbugs or pillbugs on the labels and these can be used during wet seasons when cultural controls are not effective.

Fungus

Powdery Mildew
This is the common cold of the plat world. A disease of opportunity rather than an indication of a sickly plant, it shows up whenever external conditions favour its development. Dry soil, moist air, overcrowding, shade and stagnant air all contribute to mildew. These steps can help prevent this fungus from forming.

	Plant in moisture retentive soil and don't allow it to dry out.
	Water at ground level to avoid wetting the foliage
	Allow plenty of space between plants for proper air circulation. Avoid planting close to buildings or fences the can block air flow.
	Replace older, mildew prone plants with new resistant varieties
	Clean up garden debris and dead head spent perennials to deny mildew a starting space.
	If it does make an appearance, spry with a wettable sulfur, a natural fungicide that can be purchased in either powdered or premixed, liquid suspension form. Like the common cold, it is very contagious, and will severely weaken the plants if allowed to get out of hand. If the plants are in a weakened state it makes them easy food for the other pests that are on this page.