Pigtrotters Definative Pest List

[Akornpatch]

Definative Pest List!

About the pests we might commonly find in our gardens. Mostly this applies to outdoors, but one can never know when you'll carry an interloper in on your shirt and infest your room! I have also never seen anything else like this on the net, so if you want to use it for all your other plants as well, it's not MJ exclusive.
So without further ado, from A-Z and with control methods at the end, here we go!

Damaging Insects with Photo ref. and type of damage.

Aphids--- Sap-suckers, they pierce and suck the sap from your plant.

Armyworm--- Miners, the adults lay eggs in your leaves and their larve chew through the inside, leaving serpentine trails of decay on the surface.

Bagworm--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves.

Brown Scale Insects--- Sap-suckers, they pierce and suck the sap from your plant, causeing stunting and discolouration.

Budworms--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves.

Cankerworms--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves. Notice the formation legs only at the front and back

Casebearers--- Miners, the adults lay eggs in your leaves and their larve chew through the inside, leaving serpentine trails of decay on the surface.

Crickets--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves.

Curculios--- Sap-suckers, they pierce and suck the sap from your plant, causeing stunting and discolouration.

Cutworms--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves.

 

[Akornpatch]

Fall Webworm--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves. They also create a fine, silk webbing between the decayed leaves and branches, which can take over entire sections of the plant

Fruitworms--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves and fruit.

Froghopper Also known as Spittlebugs.--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves.

Galls Also known as Psyllids--- Miners, the adults lay eggs in your leaves and their larve chew through the inside, leaving serpentine trails of decay on the surface.

Grasshoppers--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves.

Hawthorn Shieldbug--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves. Notice the way they use the damage they leave as part of their camouflage.

Horntails--- Miners, the adults lay eggs in your leaves and their larve chew through the inside, leaving serpentine trails of decay on the surface.

Hornworms--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves.

Katydids--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves. They are more slender and longer of leg than grasshoppers.

Leaf Crumpler--- Chewing, they hide themselves inside the destruction they create. These caterpillars attract rot and fungi on your leaves.

 

[Akornpatch]

Leaf Cutter--- Chewing, they cut leaves with their mandibles to take back to their nests.

Leaf Folder--- Chewing, they web between the sides of the leaves and pull them in, allowing themselves to feed without distruption.

Leaf Rollers--- Chewing, similar to the leaf folder, except they roll the leaves into a tube.

Leaf Skeletonizers--- Chewing, they munch away as a community to kill off leaves.

Mealy Bugs--- Sap-suckers, they pierce and suck the sap from your plant. Very distinctive and easy to spot on the underside of leaves.

Midges--- Miners, the adults lay eggs in your leaves and their larve chew through the inside, leaving serpentine trails of decay on the surface.

Nematodes--- Sap-suckers, they pierce and suck the sap from your plant. Very distinctive and easy to spot on the underside of leaves.

Planthoppers--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves. VERY difficult to spray because they hop away at the slightest movement.

Rootworms--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves. They'll peel the leaves off in strips.

 

[Akornpatch]

Sawflies--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves. These guys infest the plant, similarly to the leaf skeletonizers.

Snails--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves. Snails are a familiar pain in the arse.

Slugs--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves. These are also a familiar pain in the arse.

Spanworms--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves.

Spidermites--- Rasping/Slurping, they scrape off the epidermal layer and lap out the chlorophyll, leaving stippling and yellowing on the leaves.

Damage from spidermites

Thrips--- Rasping/Slurping, they scrape off the epidermal layer and lap out the chlorophyll, leaving stippling and yellowing on the leaves.

Walkingsticks--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves.

White Flies--- Sap-suckers, they pierce and suck the sap from your plant.

Wireworm--- Chewing, they just straight out eat your leaves, fruit and vegetables.

 

[Akornpatch]

Beneficial Insects: (The ones we like)

Assassin Bugs--- These guys prey on a variety of bad bugs, pretty much anything they can catch. They ambush their prey and inject them with poisonous saliva.

Lady Beetle--- Effective against the rasping/slurping variety of pests, as well as other small pests, they are effective predators. Able to fly, they usually don't stick around, though.

Praying Mantis--- More likely to stay on a plant they can get food from, these guys are excellent predators, killing many flying insects. They don't eat many varieties of worms (caterpillars) though.

Predatory Mites--- Very effective when dealing with an infestation of mites/thrips. They will actively hunt out and kill spidermites.

 

[Akornpatch]

Control Methods:


Natural Methods:

Garlic Spray - Tried and true favourite. Usually not very strong, but it can be used against small infestations of sap-suckers and rasping/slurping pests. It acts more as a deterant than a means of control. See below for recipe.
Tobacco Spray - Another easy to make, fairly effective spray. Effective against sap-suckers and rasping/slurping , semi-effective against small infestations of worm-variety chewing pests. See recipe below.
Caffeine Spray - Slightly more difficult to make an effective brew, as the caffeine required is more than your average cup of coffee. Effective against slugs and snails. See recipe below.
Diatomaceous Earth - Very effective against all crawling insects. It cuts open their bodies and they dehydrate (and basically bleed to death). Can be made into a spray, or just dusted around the base of your plants. It is made from very finely ground fossilised seashells. Unfortunately, you will need to re-apply after rain.
Copper Wire - Effective against slugs and snails. Whenever they touch copper, it causes a negative chemical reaction on their skin and kills them. Effective application would be to circle the sides of your container with copper wire, or put a small cage around the base of your plants.
Sawdust - Medium effectiveness against slugs and snails. They have no grip on sawdust (when it's dry) and end up getting stuck (more or less like little poos in a kitty litter tray).

Chemical Methods:

There are many products on the market that will be effective against insects and pests. Most come in the form of sprays or pellets. There will be different brands all over the world, so there is no point listing the ones I would use in Australia. However, there is a matter of toxicity and danger to discuss. Chemical sprays will list one of the following on the back, if they are in any way toxic:
Caution - This indicates the least toxicity in a product.
Warning - Indicates a higher level of toxicity.
Danger - Indicates the highest level of toxicity.
Read the instructions carefully on the bottle, and make sure you only use sprays that are suitable for vegetables and fruit. Personally, I would not use a spray that had a higher level than 'caution' on the back, and even then only sparingly (or I would cut it with one of the other natural sprays).
Always be aware of the danger you might pose to other wildlife, as well. Just because something is not toxic to you does not mean it will be non-toxic to your animals. Generally, however, the packaging will list what animals may be harmed. Also, do not mix chemical pesticides unless you have (or have a friend with) a degree in chemistry & biology. You have no way of knowing what effects the mix may produce, or what new toxic substance you have created.

Recipes:

Garlic spray:

2 crushed cloves garlic
2 drops dishwashing detergent
1L water

Sit the crushed garlic in the water (warmed) for 2-3 hours. Strain into a spray bottle, add the dishwashing detergent and shake thoroughly.

Tobacco spray:

Handful of used cigarette butts (you can use 4 cigarettes, but who’d waste them?)
2 drops dishwashing detergent
1L water.

Sit the butts in the warmed water for 2-3 hours. Strain into a spray bottle, add the dishwashing detergent and shake thoroughly.

Caffeine spray:

If you can get your hands on pure caffeine (10 ml) crystals, that would be the best method. If not, 2 tablespoons of Guarana will be an effective replacement.
2 drops dishwashing detergent
1L water.

Sit the Guarana in the warmed water for 2-3 hours. Strain into a spray bottle, add the dishwashing detergent and shake thoroughly.