As the snow melts and the first crocuses push their colorful heads through the thawing earth, gardeners everywhere feel a surge of excitement. Spring is a time of rebirth and rejuvenation, not just for plants but for the myriad of insects that see your garden as a banquet laid out in their honor.
While many bugs are beneficial, aiding in pollination or acting as natural pest control, others can wreak havoc on your carefully nurtured plants. Here’s your ultimate spring pest hit list: 15 bugs to watch out for this season.
Table of Contents
1. Aphids
These tiny pests, often green, black, brown, or pink, suck the sap from plants, causing leaves to curl, yellow, and distort. They also secrete a sticky substance known as honeydew, which can lead to sooty mold.
Look for aphids clustered on the undersides of tender leaves and new growth tips, especially in warm, sheltered spots.
Tip: Introduce ladybugs or apply neem oil as a natural deterrent.
2. Slugs and Snails
Snails and slugs are known to munch on the primroses’ leaves
These slimy invaders are especially fond of young, tender plants, leaving behind a tell-tale trail of destruction and their signature slime trails.
You’ll usually find them hiding under mulch, stones, garden debris, or moist soil during the day.
Tip: Set up beer traps or scatter eggshells around the base of plants.
3. Cabbage Worms
Cabbage worms and cabbage loopers are some of the worms that love to eat broccoli leaves
The larvae of the cabbage white butterfly, these voracious eaters will happily munch through brassicas, leaving ragged holes in their wake.
Search for these green larvae on the undersides of cabbage, kale, and broccoli leaves, often hidden among the folds.
Tip: Plant thyme or sage as deterrents, and manually remove and destroy any eggs or larvae.
4. Japanese Beetles
Japanese beetles or asparagus beetles both types of beetles are very active in attacking your plant
These metallic pests are not picky eaters and can decimate a wide range of plants. They are known for their skeletonizing leaves, leaving behind a lace-like structure.
These beetles are easiest to spot in the morning, clinging to leaves and flower petals in sunny areas.
Tip: Use pheromone traps or hand-pick beetles off plants in the early morning.
5. Squash Bugs
Squash bugs eat the foliage of plants with mouths that are able to pierce the leaves and suck out the sap from them
Prevalent in gardens with squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers, these bugs suck the sap out of plants, causing wilting and eventual death.
They often hide beneath large squash or pumpkin leaves and lay their bronze-colored eggs underneath.
Tip: Plant nasturtiums as a trap crop and remove any eggs found on the undersides of leaves.
6. Spider Mites
These tiny spider relatives thrive in dry, hot conditions, attacking the undersides of leaves and spinning fine webs. Severe infestations can lead to leaf loss and plant death.
Look closely at the underside of leaves, where you might see tiny mites or their fine webbing, especially in hot, dry spots.
Tip: Increase humidity around affected plants and introduce predatory insects like ladybugs.
7. Cutworms
Cutworms typically eat the base of your tomato plants at nighttime, making them hard to spot
These nocturnal caterpillars feast at night, cutting young plants off at the base.
Cutworms hide just beneath the soil surface around the base of young seedlings, emerging at night to feed.
Tip: Place collars around seedlings and till the soil in fall to expose and eliminate larvae.
8. Leaf Miners
Leaf Miners
Leaf miners are larvae of various insects that tunnel between the layers of leaves, creating distinctive squiggly lines.
Their larvae live inside leaves, so look for winding, squiggly trails running through the leaf surface.
Tip: Remove affected leaves to prevent the spread and release beneficial insects like parasitic wasps.
9. Flea Beetles
While flea beetles love to eat the leaves of the broccoli first, they will also go for the stems once they mature
Tiny yet troublesome, flea beetles chew small holes in leaves, especially favoring young plants.
Flea beetles jump when disturbed and are usually found around the base of young plants, especially in dry, dusty areas.
Tip: Apply diatomaceous earth around plants or use floating row covers to protect them.
10. Whiteflies
Whiteflies
These small, winged insects cluster on the undersides of leaves, feeding on plant juices and causing yellowing or wilting.
Check the undersides of leaves, where clouds of tiny white insects will flutter up if the plant is disturbed.
Tip: Use yellow sticky traps to catch adults and apply insecticidal soap to control larvae.
11. Thrips
Thrips
Thrips are minute pests that scrape at plant cells, causing discoloration, streaks, and stunted growth.
Thrips often hide deep inside flower buds or in crevices of leaves, especially on stressed or newly transplanted plants.
Tip: Encourage predatory insects and apply reflective mulch around plants to deter them.
12. Scale Insects
Scale insects on my Monstera deliciosa
Scale insects attach themselves to stems and leaves, sucking sap and weakening plants. They’re often protected by a hard shell, making them difficult to control.
Look along stems and the undersides of leaves for immobile, shell-like bumps clustered tightly together.
Tip: Apply horticultural oil or scrape off with a toothbrush for small infestations.
13. Tomato Hornworms
Hornworms
These large, green caterpillars can strip a tomato plant bare in days.
These large caterpillars blend in along the stems and the underside of tomato plant leaves — look for missing foliage first.
Tip: Hand-pick them off plants (they’re surprisingly camouflaged) and introduce natural predators like braconid wasps.
14. Colorado Potato Beetles
Colorado Potato Beetle
Known for their striped shells, these beetles and their larvae feed on potato leaves, potentially destroying crops.
You’ll find these striped beetles feeding along the tops of potato, eggplant, and tomato leaves during warm days.
Tip: Rotate crops annually and hand-pick beetles and larvae off plants.
15. Earwigs
Earwigs
Though they prefer decaying plant matter, earwigs can also damage seedlings and flower petals. Tip: Set up oil traps and maintain a clean garden to reduce hiding spots.
These pests hide during the day under mulch, rocks, or flower pots, coming out at night to feed.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
While individual tips can help control these pests, adopting an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach is a holistic strategy. IPM focuses on long-term prevention and combines biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic, health, and environmental risks. This includes:
- Monitoring: Regularly inspect your garden for signs of pests to catch infestations early.
- Cultural Controls: Rotate crops, select resistant varieties, and time plantings to avoid peak pest seasons.
- Biological Controls: Encourage or introduce natural predators and parasites of the pests.
- Physical/Mechanical Controls: Use barriers, traps, and manual removal to reduce pest numbers.
- Chemical Controls: As a last resort, consider targeted, low-toxicity pesticides, applying them responsibly to minimize impact.
Spring brings life to your garden, not just in the form of blooming flowers and emerging seedlings, but also through the return of insects, both beneficial and detrimental. By knowing which pests to look out for and how to manage them effectively, you can ensure that your garden remains a thriving, vibrant ecosystem throughout the season and beyond. Happy gardening!
Daniel has been a plant enthusiast for over 20 years. He owns hundreds of houseplants and prepares for the chili growing seasons yearly with great anticipation. His favorite plants are plant species in the Araceae family, such as Monstera, Philodendron, and Anthurium. He also loves gardening and is growing hot peppers, tomatoes, and many more vegetables.